How to Start a Temporary Staffing Agency Business

Thursday, May 2, 2013

How to Start a Temporary Staffing Agency Business

Helping people find work and delivering quality help to companies in need can be very rewarding. Yet temporary staffing is a complicated business; getting it all set up and functioning is a lot of work. When economies turn around and grow, demands for temporary staff rise and those capable of delivering the right staff can do very well for themselves.

Step 1

Incorporate or establish your business entity with a unique and memorable name. You'll need something that will help you stand out and build name recognition down the road. If you intend to serve a specialty industry, consider incorporating something from that industry in your name.

Step 2

Obtain a business license for any city or county in which you operate. If you operate multiple offices, this may mean multiple licenses. Keep your operation legal, as staffing is an industry where litigation can easily happen and you don't want to be found with anything out of order.

Step 3

Secure sufficient financing to operate without revenues for at least six months. You have to be able to make payroll for your temporary staff as well as any recruiting and sales staff in your office. Clients don't always pay their invoices as quickly as you would like. You have to be prepared for a significant gap in cash flow. You will also have all your start-up capital and marketing expenditures to consider.

Step 4

Purchase liability insurance for your business including worker's compensation insurance. Your temporary staff may be performing important functions for your clients. Their mistakes are your mistakes. You don't have direct supervision of your employees and anything can happen to them when they're at the work-site. With so many variables beyond your control, you need good insurance.

Step 5

Set up a system allowing for frequent payroll; staffing agencies pay their temporary staff weekly. While you can purchase payroll software or start with manual checks, many start-ups and small businesses choose to outsource to payroll services.

Step 6

Purchase mailing lists and phone directories for the industry or industries you intend to serve. You'll need materials both for recruiting and for soliciting clients. Consider resources such as professional licensure lists, trade association directories and mailing lists purchased through list brokers.

Step 7

Open accounts with social media sites, as many companies use them as a successful recruiting and marketing tool. Social media -- particularly business oriented sites -- allow you to seek out recruits who meet your needs as well as connect directly with key decision makers and managers of potential clients. If you can get prospective recruits and clients to link to your account, you have a solid avenue way to disseminate new recruiting needs and staff availabilities.

Step 8

Plan your recruiting and sales strategies. The best methods vary based on your target industry and types of positions you intend to fill. Cold call both clients and recruits. Employ direct mail, advertising in trade publications, advertising in newspapers, sponsoring local or industry events, posting to job boards, "drop-by" visits to potential clients, attending trade association events, email blasts and soliciting referrals from current contacts.

Step 9

Secure office space if you intend to have staff and a place where clients and recruits can come visit.

Step 10

Hire sales and recruiting staff if you plan to be more than a one-person operation. Both recruiting and selling to clients involves good sales talent. Look for someone with a successful track record in staffing or the industries you intend to serve.

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1 comment:

UnknownMay 30, 2013 at 1:11 PM
Temp staffing services provide a bridge to permanent employment. People can try out a prospective employer and showcase their skills for a permanent job with the help of recruitment agencies.
International Recruitment Agencies
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Easy Tips and Ideas to Start Business

Although anyone can start a business, many people fail because of a bad product or improper research. If you want to start your own business, you can improve your chances for success before you even begin. In order to make your business successful, start strong and make sure that your idea will hold out for the long haul.

Have a Good Product

Ensure that you plan to sell something useful. Although you may think that your product is important or special, that doesn't mean the general public will agree. Ask friends, family and strangers what they think of your product. If they don't seem that interested, ask them why. With their suggestions, you can either improve the product or scrap the idea completely. According to Brad Sugars of Entrepreneur magazine, most small businesses fail because they sold a product that didn't have an adequate market. This also applies to small businesses that provide a service. A lawn-care business might be useful for part of the year in a northern state, but it is in-demand year-round in the south. Consider whether people will actually want to use your service and get constructive advice from those not afraid to give their opinion.

Research Local Businesses

Research local companies before starting up your own business. This will not only give you an idea of the amount of competition you will have, but it will also help you price your product or service. If you're looking to start a wedding photography business, you may find during your research that the market is over-saturated in your area. If not over-saturated, you should contact each business and ask them for a price list. Alter your prices so you can stay competitive with the competition in town. Researching similar local businesses will also help you decide where to locate your business location. Try not to start up a store or office close to another business of your type. If your small business is located away from similar business types, this will cause locals to choose you over businesses that are farther away from where they live.

Get Professional Advice

You may know someone who has started their own successful business. Ask him for advice and listen to his stories of how he started his company. You may gain useful advice on the good and bad ways to start a business. Local entrepreneurs can also introduce you to local product providers or advertisers that you may not have met without their help. Accept any advice with open arms, especially if the advice is coming from someone successful in the area.

How to Calculate Business Start Up Costs

Starting a business in no easy endeavor. It takes a great deal of research, perseverance and hard work. While sweat equity will make your small business more successful, you will most likely need real capital to get the business started. Before you start raising capital and/or investing your own funds, the first thing you need to do is determine the total start-up costs.

Step 1

Determine your costs of sales. For most small businesses this means inventory, the cost of raw materials, manufacturing equipment, shipping, packaging, and warehousing. However, not all businesses sell products. In this case, the cost of sales is primarily the direct labor involved in making the sale. For example, to open a small shoe business entails purchasing enough inventory ($10,000) to stock the store.

Step 2

Determine professional fees. Planning your business structure, i.e., limited liability corporation or general partnership, means hiring an attorney. There may also be the need to pay an attorney for help with establishing trademarks, copyrights, and patents. In this scenario, that puts total professional fees at an estimated $20,000.

Step 3

Determine technology costs. Technology can greatly reduce the cost of labor for small business if used effectively. Most small businesses require computers, printers, cell phones, website development, Internet access, software applications, information security, data storage, and outsourced information technology (IT) consulting. If the cost of technology is $10,000 to start, add an additional $5,000 a year for maintenance (hint: maintenance is not included in start-up costs).

Step 4

Determine administrative costs. This varies with business types and may include items such as business insurance, office supplies, product packaging, parking, rent, express shipping, desks, chairs, fax machines, phones, or anything else necessary to operate the business daily. A good estimate for start-up administrative costs would be $5,000 for the first six months.

Step 5

Determine initial sales and marketing costs. Now that you have your product, you need to let folks know about it. Sales and marketing costs generally include marketing materials for presentations, printing stationery, business cards, advertising, trade show events, and public relations. These initial sales and marketing costs can add up to $3,000.

Step 6

Determine the wages and benefits needed to secure a staff. This includes employee salaries, benefits, workers compensation, and payroll taxes. Let's put the cost of wages and benefits estimated at $20,000 for the first three months of business.

Step 7

Add all costs associated with starting the business for a total. Be sure to only include business start-up costs that will be incurred in the first three to six months of operations. For this example, the calculation is: $10,000 + $20,000 + $10,000 + $5,000 + $3,000 + $20,000 = $68,000.

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Thursday, May 2, 2013