All businesses / Recruitment agency

Fingerprint: capital · hours · speed to income · margin · ceiling. The dashed line is mid-scale.

Start a recruitment agency: the real numbers

Placing people, paid on success. Below is what it actually costs, how long before money arrives, and the part most guides leave out.

Startup capital

€3,000–€20,000

Hours / week

35–60

First income

~20 wks

Net margin

70%

Saturation

high

Realistic ceiling

€0–€12,000+

This ceiling is not a wall

The figure above is what this earns in the shape described — you, running it. Past that it keeps going, but by hiring people or adding units, not by you working more hours. That is a different job from the one you would be starting, and worth knowing before you start it.

What nobody usually tells you

Fees of €5-12k per placement and almost no capital mean the ceiling is genuinely high. It is also the most brutal ramp on this site: no placement, no income, and candidates drop out the week before starting.

The route, in five steps

  1. Pick one niche and know every employer in it
  2. Charge 15-20% of first-year salary, invoiced on start
  3. Budget nine months before the first fee lands
  4. Temp placements pay monthly and smooth everything
  5. Your candidate list is the only asset you are building

What you'll need to buy

These are the categories every recruitment agency pays for in the first month. We break down what each one actually costs at this size on the tools page.

candidate databasejob board creditscontracts and legalCRMinsurance

Does it hold up for you?

These numbers are the average case. Whether this business clears your target depends on your capital, your hours and how long you can wait — put them in and see.

Run my numbers → See the tool stack