
From Start to Sale: Insider Secrets for Building, Scaling, and Selling Your Recruitment Firm with Serial Recruitment Entrepreneur Mike Ames
- S1E80
- 52:27
- June 27th 2023
In this episode of The Elite Recruiter Podcast, host Benjamin Mena interviews Mike Ames, who shares his experience of building and scaling a successful recruitment firm and later selling it.
Mike emphasizes the importance of working on your business by investing in yourself through courses, coaching, seminars, networking, and reading books. He suggests scheduling "purple time" to specifically work on your business, planning and developing strategies, and avoiding daily distractions that can keep you from thinking about the big picture of building a successful business.
Mike also stresses the importance of building a team to delegate tasks and boost revenue, as well as having a niche business to increase profits and become a go-to person in the industry. He discusses two types of businesses: scale for sale and cash cow lifestyle, and the pros and cons of each.
The speaker shares their personal and professional challenges in building a scalable recruitment business, including the loss of a colleague in an accident and leaving a company due to a change in direction.
Mike recommends using tools like Blinkist to read book summaries in 20 minutes, buying the actual book if you like the summary, and recommends "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell as it discusses the reasons behind success. He also mentions "The Organization" by Robert Townsend as a book that had a big impact on his way of thinking.
The speaker talks about the rule of 3, 4, and 8 when it comes to growing recruitment companies, and how it takes time and scalability to become wealthy. He warns against yo-yo companies that grow and then shrink when they can't get past the viable stage.
Overall, this episode of The Elite Recruiter Podcast provides valuable insights into building and scaling a successful recruitment firm and the importance of investing in yourself and your team to achieve long-term success.
Bio:
Over his career Mike has started, built and sold two multi-million pound recruitment firms with a combined sale value of $50m.
Both firms were built using a simple formula that does not rely upon big marketing budgets or for super-talented sales people.
He now runs the Flair Growth Consultancy working with owners of SME and micro recruitment firms who want to create a businesses that gives them the income, freedom and security they want.
YouTube: https://youtu.be/kVcPIBCsBJ4
- https://www.recruitmentpioneers.com/
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEAk1qCOXBtDNdR5KE8N8Zzh852pu5tfR
Mike Ames LinkedIn: Mike Ames | LinkedIn
With your Host:
Benjamin Mena with Select Source Solutions: http://www.selectsourcesolutions.com/
Benjamin Mena LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminmena/
Benjamin Mena Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benlmena/
Benjamin Mena TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@benjaminlmena
Benjamin Mena Twitter: https://twitter.com/benjamin_l_mena
The Elite Recruiter Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theeliterecruiter/
The Elite Recruiter Podcast
The Elite Recruiter Podcast is the number one podcast for recruiting professionals.
This is where the top recruiters share: How they got there. What kind of work did it take. Tips, Tools, and Tricks. The Mindset needed to get them to where they are. What they are doing with their success. Goals and visions for the future. So please join me on this journey as I interview some of the best in our industry.
Benjamin Mena
The Elite Recruiter Podcast Host
Meet the Hosts

Benjamin Mena is the founder of Select Source Solutions and the host of The Elite Recruiter Podcast — one of the top global podcasts for agency and executive recruiters. With over a decade of experience placing top talent in the government contracting (GovCon) and cleared space, Ben brings a no-BS approach to the business of recruiting.
Each week, he interviews high-performing recruiters, agency owners, and industry innovators to uncover the real stories behind their success. From six-figure solo producers to million-dollar billers and AI-powered solopreneurs, Ben’s mission is simple: help recruiters level up their careers and businesses through actionable insights, raw conversations, and a community of like-minded professionals.
Based between the U.S. and Bordeaux, France, Ben is also a dad, summit host, and advocate for the future of AI-powered recruiting.