J3A Recruitment

Start-up, Funding & Back-office

3R GAVE ME THE SOLID FOUNDATION I NEEDED TO LAUNCH MY OWN BUSINESS

Fledgling recruitment agency, J3A, is looking to make a splash in the water and utilities industry. Read on to learn more about how 3R is providing the support, funding and comprehensive back-office systems needed to bring this start-up company’s growth ambitions to life.

MEET J3A

Merseyside-based recruitment agency, J3A, has its sights set on carving out a niche providing contract and permanent personnel to the utilities sector. The company was founded by army veteran and experienced recruitment professional, John Lycett, who after years of dreaming of stepping out on his own, finally took the plunge and opened the doors to J3A Recruitment in February 2023. 

TIMING IS EVERYTHING

It was the various lockdowns that first prompted J3A’s founder John to start thinking about his future. Having worked in recruitment for many years and having spent a stint gaining new skills in a business development role, his thoughts turned to the idea of launching his own recruitment firm.

Knowing it would be a steep learning curve and wishing to ensure he started out with the strongest possible foundations, he contacted 3R for advice and to find out more about the specialist start-up services on offer. 

John explains: “I am someone who always likes to push themselves and working at an agency for a number of years, I kind of got a little bit too settled. It was after the last lockdown and having a spell working in business development that I thought, you know what, now’s the time to go after the dream of doing something myself. I was also missing recruitment and especially the client and candidate relationships.

“Since hitting the button on J3A, I've never looked back. I think it’s been a great decision, both financially and for my family, who I now get to spend more time with. Yes, it’s a completely new challenge, with many highs and lows along the way, but it's been an exciting journey up to now. Long may it continue!”

CARVING A NICHE

Having quickly grown a core group of loyal customers, J3A is now working on establishing itself as a specialist within the water and utilities market. The company is carving out a niche, by spending time understanding the market and its clients, with hopes to then broaden its horizons from there. The long-term aim being to expand the business and bring more people on board.

John said: “I’m now in a position where I can pick and choose what type of business I want to do. I have asked myself ‘what kind of direction do I want my business to go in?’ and I think to manage the business properly and get my branding out there, I need to be as niche as possible. At the end of the day, to be a specialist, I need to perform like a specialist.

“At the moment I am concentrating on the water industry. Once I’ve got a decent foundation in place, the plan is to start expanding that niche out into other similar fields to cover various avenues of infrastructure and utilities.”

EXPERT SUPPORT

So, what has it been like working with 3R on the launch of the business?

Something John has really valued is having the support of 3R’s experienced team, who are always just a phone call or email away. From help with the initial set up to ongoing advice and guidance, John knows he always the backing of an expert team behind him.

John said: “The initial setup of the business was brilliant. I think from start to finish, having conversations with 3R, the tech team and everyone else involved, to be honest, it’s like every day has been a school day.

“One thing I’ve found really beneficial is that even now, six months down the line, there are still things that I come up against which I am a bit clueless about. 3R is always there to help and the process of working with them has been absolutely golden.”

BACK-OFFICE SOLUTION

With no previous experience in setting up and managing the back-office function of a recruitment agency, another area where 3R’s expertise has been a gamechanger for John is in establishing the backend of his business.

3R’s back-office solution has made the whole process easy, while saving John precious time and removing the payment headache agency founders can often face.

John explains: “From start to finish, working with 3R has made the whole process just so straightforward. It’s saved me a lot of time too, that I would otherwise have spent if I was to go out there and do things myself. Another huge benefit is that I’ve never had to chase payment. Everything is just left to 3R to sort out, which is great. Freeing me up to just get on and focus on recruitment. Which I where I really want to be!”

A TRUSTED PARTNER

Working with 3R, J3A has benefited from:

  • 3R's comprehensive Start-up Service which includes all the technology, infrastructure and tools needed to hit the ground running
  • The support of seasoned recruiters who have helped build multiple businesses
  • An expert consultative partner focused on supporting J3A with its goal of growth and success
  • A flexible 100% funding solution helping minimising risk and get J3A paid regularly, every week
  • An 'easy-to-use' back-office platform, as well as support from an experienced compliance, accounts and credit control team members

 

You know, from a systems point of view everything's been absolutely fine. The support of the back office, that's been absolutely perfect. And then yeah, just being able to have conversations and get stuff off my chest when I need to and getting a little bit of advice here and there as well has been absolutely smashing and 2nd to none.”

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Being ex-recruiters, we're always happy to talk! Get in touch with our experienced team to explore a solution that will meet your needs and surpass your expectations.

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