Hello All,

This is my first blog here, so I thought I would start by sharing my experience on why I started-up my own Recruiting  Firm about 3 yrs ago. The story really begins when I left the Army for college, I never dreamed that I would own a Recruiting and Staffing Firm. Hell, I didn't even know how the business worked, let alone had any interest in it.

I did however have an interest in Human Resources (from being in HR in the Army) and pursed my degree in HR Mgmt. I was interested in big business and getting into a department that could work with a lot of different aspects of a business. So I figured HR would be the way to go, (being there are 8 functional areas) and it worked with all of the business departments more or less. After I graduated from college, I got on with a large company in Atlanta working Corporate HR.

I stayed there about 3 yrs learning the ropes and how everything worked, until I received a call from a Recruiter that had an opportunity in FL working for a large MFG company. I wanted to try a different alternative to the Corporate office environment and expand my experience in the field, so I took the opportunity to be an HR Manager for this new company. While I was there, I learned quite quickly how Recruiting all worked and was intrigued by it. I worked with some pretty good recruiters and they really did teach me a lot about the business and how they sourced, screened, and presented candidates.

What intrigued me the most was the amount of money they had made working for themselves (some in their home office). They seemed to have a pretty good life and didn't have to report to any bad bosses in an over-politicized atmosphere. As time went on and the economy wasn't recovering, my employer started to lose some serious business and I had to lay-off hundreds of employees. Things steadily got worse and we had to start closing down facilities. Well, needless to say, at this point I started to think about what I wanted to do with myself. I thought long and hard about life in general and pondered the meaning of work and why I was in a situation where I couldn't fend for myself. I did so much for each employer that I worked for and saved tons of money in each position I held.

I thought to myself, maybe this is the moment I should go out on my own and start my own company. I had saved enough money to live for 1 year and had the start-up capital also. So that's what I did. I gave my resignation to my employer and took the plunge. I owned a home back in Atlanta and since all my family and friends were still there, we decided to pack up and move back. When we got back and got settled, I started right away. I opened up my office in Atlanta and got my business established. I wanted to staff out positions as well, so I obtained all the required insurances and payroll processes needed for that also.

My first year was a huge success. I was planning an 18 month pay-back model, but I was able to do it in my first 4 months. Things kept going well (Thank God) and I was growing and adding staff. Now I have a pretty good business going and have built some strong relationships with employers. I can say that starting my own firm was one of the best decisions that I have ever made in life.

I hope to stay in this business for quite some time and am still learning things as the years go by... I love Recruiting and HR, but what I love most is being able to work for several different companies in many different industries, all from my little office in Atlanta. That's the best part. Cheers!