Learn the dos and don’ts of running a successful business in your chosen industry before starting out on your own, says VHR Global Recruitment’s CEO and Founder

‘The key to any business is attracting and retaining the best talent,’ says Danny Brooks, CEO at VHR Global Recruitment (VHR).

With years of experience in the recruitment industry under his belt, Danny started his own company in 2003. VHR now trades in 45 countries worldwide and has an annual turnover of approximately £35 million GBP. Headquartered in London, the firm sources contract and permanent engineers for projects around the world and performs executive searches for C-suite roles.

In this interview, Danny stresses the importance of learning the dos and don’ts of running a successful business before launching a startup. ‘Gain some experience of working in a business in your chosen field before starting out on your own,’ he advises.

Can you tell us a bit about your current role and what is involves?

My current role is a combination of overseeing the running of VHR and its global operations together with meeting new and existing clients to gain an understanding of their current and future business plans to ascertain how VHR can support their project and workforce requirements.

What single piece of advice would you offer undergraduate and post-graduate students of business and management who plan to start their own companies after completing their studies?

Gain some experience of working in a business in your chosen field before starting out on your own. This will equip you with some invaluable lessons of how, and how not, to run a business.

When you do start out on your own, ensure that you get everything in writing in relation to share ownership, and that you have a good shareholder agreement.

Mentorship schemes in business are becoming increasingly popular. Who would have been your dream mentor when you were at the outset of your career and why?

Richard Branson – he has created a premium aspirational brand that transcends different sectors. His companies are seen as being fun or ‘cool’ places to work which makes attracting and retaining quality staff a lot easier. The key to any business is attracting and retaining the best talent.

What are some of the challenges and opportunities you’re currently facing, both as a leader and as an organisation?

Challenges: like many businesses, one of the main challenges we’re facing is Brexit. Any changes to employment law either here or abroad will complicate our business, that’s why we have a dedicated compliance team to make sure we’re on top of any changes that may need to be made.

Opportunities: we’re in the process of opening new offices, and now have premises in the UAE, Spain, Italy, Czech Republic and, soon, Ireland. This enables us to engage better with our international candidates, and allows us to be closer to the work our clients are doing.

Danny Brooks is CEO and Founder of VHR Global Recruitment