In my one to one coaching sessions with firm owners, I periodically deal with someone who has clearly chosen the wrong business model for themselves and are now suffering either mentally or financially as a result.

In terms of designing your business model and org chart, the old adage, “measure twice, cut once” would save loads of heartache for those willing to think strategically about what kind of business to build. Most new owners erroneously believe that “bigger is better” and make poor decisions regarding hiring, adding office space, increasing expenses etc.

As a starting point for understanding which business model is best for you, it’s important to understand the various roles an owner must perform. Michael Gerber tells us that there are three roles that every business owner must be able to fulfill, either himself or with the use of employees. The three roles are:

1. The Entrepreneur:
The entrepreneur asks, “Are we doing the right things”? He’s responsible for the vision of the company, the broad marketing and branding strategy, pricing, niche selection, staying ahead of trends, large client acquisition and big picture decisions.

2. The Manager:
The manager asks, “Are we doing things the right way? He’s responsible for day to day management and employee issues. He enforces rules, gives feedback, tracks strategic indicators, leads meetings etc.

3. The Technician:                                                                                        
The technician asks, “What’s the closest thing to revenue right now? This is the role of the recruiter with the phone attached to his ear. He’s making the calls, securing search assignments, recruiting, sourcing etc.

To determine which type of firm is right for you, you must first soberly ask yourself which of the three above roles you’re both talented at and would enjoy performing for the next decade or more.

Think deeply about those three roles. Do you enjoy managing people? Do you only want to work a desk? If you’re someone who loves recruiting but hates managing you have to be very careful about the type of firm you build and either hire someone else to manage for you or keep your firm very small.

Once you have some idea of which of the three roles you may want to perform, it’s time to look at various models you might choose from. There are three models that I’ve seen work very well in our business. Each has plusses and minuses and the “best fit” has more to do with the goals and personality of the owner than anything else. Here are the 3 models:

1. The Lone Ranger Model:
This is the solo operator who works from his home or an executive suite and does everything from empty the trash can to reference checks. Most people who attempt this model do not succeed. The main killer that I see over and over again is their inability to get leverage on their own behavior and do what they know they need to do day in and day out. In our coaching sessions we end up talking a lot about how to get them to make the calls and do the work that leads to placements.

The upside for the lone ranger is pretty obvious; low overhead, high profit margin, low risk, total independence, ability to make changes instantly etc.

The downsides are also obvious; isolation, harder to stay motivated, difficult to un-plug or take a vacation, single point of failure (you get sick, the business grinds to a halt), no ability to sell the business.

2. The Firm Owner Model:
This is a model where the owner has made a commitment to hire full cycle recruiters and to build a company using employees. The main challenges for the firm owner are employee issues and financial exposure. Owners quickly realize that it’s easy to hire recruiters but very difficult to keep them for five years or more. The attrition rate in our industry is an embarrassment (around 80% don’t make it past 1 year) and so the real question is not “who should I hire?” but rather, “what systems do I need to have in place to keep good recruiters happy for a decade”?

The upside for the firm owner is that he can (theoretically) take a vacation without the business stopping, he has a higher income potential, there’s a (remote) possibility of being able to sell the firm in the future, he enjoys the synergy of a team environment and he can build a culture and a brand beyond just himself.

The downside for the firm owner is that he takes bigger risks, has a smaller profit margin, may have his recruiters become his competitors, has to deal with lots of employee problems, and deals with more headaches and complexity in general.

3. The Rainmaker Model:
The rainmaker model is a hybrid of the first two. It’s a lone ranger who hires some researchers to make him a better performer. So instead of the employees working the full cycle of recruiting, they just support the business brought in by the rainmaker. Usually that includes name generation, recruiting and support tasks.

One benefit for the rainmaker is that he still has fairly low overhead as the support staff are paid much less than full cycle recruiters. He can more easily take a vacation as he has someone else who can maintain active searchers. There’s no risk of him training his competitors as his employees don’t perform any business development. He gets the synergy of a team. He can hire his support staff as either contractors or employees and they can work on a part time basis. He’s able to bill more with the added research support.

The downsides are similar to that of the lone ranger and the firm owner in that he can’t sell the business, has employee management issues to deal with and all of the marketing has to still go through him.

Conclusion:
When I started my own firm back in 1998, I tried both the “Lone ranger” and the “Firm owner” models before realizing that the “Rainmaker Model” was the perfect fit for me. Making mistakes in terms of your org chart and having to shrink your firm and office space is more stress and grief than most people realize. It’s so much better to think through what lifestyle and goals you’re committed to realizing and then asking which model is the best vehicle for getting you there.

As I said at the beginning of this article, there is no right or wrong model that applies to everyone but there is when it comes to each specific owner. I can’t count the number of times I’ve dealt with owners of all three models who feel that they made the wrong choice and are now trapped by what they’ve built. If you fall into that category, at least deal with it head on- right now- and decide that you’re going to move in a new direction.

Think long term. Don’t be afraid to make 180 degree course corrections once you know which model would be best for you.

Did you know there are over 2,367 discussions inside our forum?

Can I offer you some advice? Stop working in a vacuum- get answers to your burning questions from seasoned owners and recruiters in our forum.

Unlike a search engine that will just pop back a general answer, the answers you’ll get are specific to you.

And unlike many forums that feel like a ghost town, ours is popcorning with fresh activity and discussions every day. Topics include:

.
So, don’t be a passive wallflower- visit the forum  and ask your question- I guarantee you’ll get some answers.

Good hunting.

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“The axiom that says ‘Nothing avails but perfection’ can be spelled PARALYSIS”

We’ve all been bred to assume that you must always “do your best”. It sounds like a noble and worthy goal, but it’s not always useful.

For instance, in my work with entrepreneurs and recruiters I’ve found that they spend way too much time beating up on themselves about all of the things they are not doing  perfectly on a regular basis. If this led to positive change, that would be fine. But this tendency often leads to pointless self loathing and procrastination.

I’d like to suggest that you don’t have to always do your best.

Think about it; if you had to do your best every day that would mean that you would need to make more marketing calls today than ever before- and then you’d have to make even more tomorrow. Also, these would need to be your “best” marketing calls ever and of course tomorrow, they would need to be even better than today’s.

You don’t have to make your “best” marketing call ever – just make the damn call. Then make another one. And another. As my friend Bob Marshall likes to say, “Pick up the instrument and talk into it“.

I don’t need to go for my best jog ever today- I need to lace up my freakin’ shoes and hit the road for 30 minutes. And do the same thing tomorrow. And then the next day.

Better to keep an even keel and do consistently good work than to get stressed out and hung up on always doing your best. Remember; top producers make a daily habit of the things that mediocre producers do every so often. Focus on creating the right habits and executing them consistently and forget about trying to be perfect.

=> Would you like more business building tips like this? Learn how to get instant access to our member’s area audios, reports and resources.

Here’s how it works:
Keep a cup of marbles on your desk along with a clear jar. For every connect you make, drop a marble into the clear jar. Hear the ping and acknowledge your success. Focus on filling the jar with marbles.

Why it works:
Because it’s easy, it’s fun, it’s self-reinforcing and it involves your senses. Studies have shown that when we find something fun,  easy, and it involves our senses, we’re more likely to continue that behavior.

Give it a shot and let me know how it goes.

Good hunting.

—————————————————————————————————————————–

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Guard your golden hours:

Pour the foundation:
If you want to build a tall skyscraper, you don’t start the foundation at street level. You have to dig deep and pour the foundation well below the surface if you want to build something big. In fact, the taller the building, the deeper the foundation must be. This holds true for people as we

So, if you want to have influence, perform at a high level, build a strong company, become a top producer, you too must have a strong personal foundation. A powerful morning success ritual is an easy way to ensure that you lay the proper foundation to your day-and your life.

My Morning Ritual:

1. The night before:
* Lay out clothes (No brain drain. No excuses not to work out)
* 2 minute breathing exercise- sleep better.

2. Physical workout:
* Up about 5 AM
* 20 minute run or strength training
* 2 minute breathing exercise
* Finish early- nothing can interfere with workout
* Must be fun
* Log on calendar

3. Mental workout:
* I perform my mental workout during my run
* Appreciation: people, health, affluence. Draws more of it to you.
* 2 Minute Mental rehearsal: visualization of goals
* Listen to audio books

4. Relationship/ fun:
* One hour of coffee everyday
* Conversation with my wife
* This is a reward for working out
* After this we’ve already had personal time

5. Arrive at office: Around 7:15 AM

==============================================

Morning Ritual Idea Bank For You to Choose From:
Cardio or weights
Review goals on flash cards
Mental rehearsal/ visualization
Grape Nuts for breakfast
Read something you really want to read
Spend 20 minutes w/ your spouse/children
One hour for coffee/ paper
Walk three miles each morning
Make your bed before you leave
Spiritual practice for 20 minutes
Write in your journal
Take your vitamins

==============================================

ACTION STEP: Create your morning ritual
Now comes the most important part where you design your own personal morning ritual.

Fill in the blanks below:
1. The night before:
2. Wake up at: ______ AM.
3. Physical workout:
4. Mental workout:
5. Relationships/ fun:
6. Arrive at office at _____ AM.
7. Strong start: I’ll complete _____ calls before 10 AM everyday.

==============================================

Good Hunting.

Gary

PS: If you’d like you receive regular Productivity & Lifestyle Design tips from me, check out my “Done By Noon” Facebook Page.

Just a quick note to pass on two marketing tips that have come up in conversations with people this week:

1. When you want to reboot a dormant client, if you have enjoyed working with them in the past, write a positive recommendation for them on their LinkedIn profile. People LOVE getting public praise and this will endear you to them IF it’s sincere praise (and not fake flattery). Post the recommendation and wait a week. Most likely, they’ll contact you but if not, you can now contact them and you’ll likely find that they’re happy to hear from you.

2. Do you hate cold calling? If so, you need to find another way get in touch with prospects. One method for doing this is to move reference checks from the back of your process to the front of your process. This gets you on the phone with decision makers in a non-selling capacity and gives you the ability to display your professionalism. The key to turning this into a discussion about them is to first display a thoughtful, in depth reference check process. Be sure to get a reference release form signed by your candidates if you’re going to do this that states that you do reference checks on the front end as part of your evaluation process.

Good hunting.

I have to admit, I love to play Charlie Rose and interview people that I find interesting and who I think have a ton of wisdom to share with members like you. There’s an exciting group of interviews coming up in the next few months that I wanted to share with you. Check out the Coming Attractions Page to get the full scoop.

Good hunting.

Have you ever heard of the book, “You Can’t Afford The Luxury Of A Negative Thought”?

That title sounds like it was written especially for recruiters. In my work with Owners & Recruiters I find that they are often feeling guilty and stressed about how much they are not doing on a daily basis. These feelings tend to have a paralyzing effect on them and eventually they end up procrastinating or avoiding important tasks altogether.

So, if you’re getting stressed or are banging your head against the wall regarding a deal…take a deep breath and just chill for 20 minutes.

Get in your car and go for a drive in nature or take a speed walk around the block to clear your thoughts. Do something – quickly- to interrupt the negative spiraling before it builds momentum. I have a cardio machine in my office and when I get bent out of shape I do 5 minutes on the machine and it helps to reset my clock. Or drop to the floor and do 2 sets of pushups.

Also, take some pressure off of yourself. Realize that you don’t have to always do “your best”. If you did your best every day, that would mean that you’d have to make more calls today than ever before- and they’d have to be your “best” calls ever.

You don’t have to make your “best” marketing call ever - just make the damn call. Better to keep an even pace and do consistently good work than to get stressed out and hung up on always doing “your best”.

It’s not always easy to stay motivated so give yourself tangible rewards to keep energized. If you generally go to Starbucks right before work, change this around and say that you can go to Starbucks after you complete your 20th phone call of the morning.

Set a sendout goal for the week and if you hit it by Friday at noon, take a half of a day off and go to the beach.

Good Hunting.

Gary

PS: If you enjoyed this article, learn how you can get full access to all of the articles, audios, and tools inside our member’s area.

Once in a while I’ll hear something like this from a recruiter, “I’d like to network with other  recruiters but I don’t really trust them. Most of them are jerks”.