Case studies: Recruitment website owner: Sara Jones

Sara Jones graduated with a degree in law. Following six years working in recruitment she was inspired to set up a business to help streamline the process through technology. She now runs www.Hiring-Hub.com - the online recruitment marketplace.

Hiring-Hub.com is a website designed to make online recruitment effortless and accessible to all businesses, from SMEs to blue chips. The idea behind the website is simple: it was built to provide a free, one-stop resource for employers seeking permanent staff, whether through third-party recruitment agencies for skilled roles or direct job board advertising for non-skilled roles.

After my law degree, I worked in recruitment for six years. I love the industry and I enjoyed working with employers and candidates; it is extremely satisfying when you place a good candidate in their dream role. However, I believed the whole process could be streamlined making it more accessible for even the smallest employers.

The principle of my idea is not dissimilar to sites like Expedia or other comparison websites, which connects people with the best option for them. Hiring-Hub.com’s online marketplace acts as a gateway for employers to find specialist recruitment consultancies that will fill their vacancies for a fixed fee that the employer sets.

Raising the seed capital was not easy, but I found a private backer who agreed to fund the platform’s development in return for an equity stake in the business. Actually building the website and getting my ideas across to the software developers was tough, but we burnt the midnight oil and worked through each process methodically to ensure that Hiring-Hub.com’s backend functionality and navigation is intuitive.

I think I’ve yet to cross my biggest hurdle, which I believe will be successfully marketing the business on a tight budget. Getting the message to employers that the website and technology exists, and that it’s free to use, will be difficult. We have to educate them and show them that this web-based model is more efficient in every way than traditional offline recruitment.

Some people would call me tenacious, but my business partner calls me stubborn, although the same could be said for him. I know what I want and I set out to get it. I think if you have a good idea, a clear vision and a solid business plan you will find someone to back you. It is not easy, but if you can articulate your idea and refuse to accept no for an answer then you will get there in the end. Resilience and persistence is key.

I would advise other would-be business owners to ‘go for it’. Find a way to make it happen and throw yourself into it. Good things come to those who work hard and are prepared to fail. My only other bit of advice is: don’t pay full price for anything - haggle with all your suppliers to get a good deal.