In Their Own Words
Find the answers to your questions
in the lived experiences of our partners
Find the answers to your questions in the lived experiences of our partners
“The OSS Group offer constructive dissection of our business and give us access to their wide pool of resources in the industry.”
– Tom Watkins, The VRT Group
TC Recruitment is a specialist, grassroots recruitment agency for the construction industry, headed up by Chris Tarrant, a trusted recruiter in the UK construction industry.
What was your biggest challenge in starting?
The biggest challenge in the beginning was growing the business. The OSS Group offered financial support that helped me generate revenue much quicker than had I done it on my own. They mentored me and helped me to acquire the necessary business skills and know-how so I could make informed decisions around my business. The operational support I received was a gamechanger that allowed me to get on with the building the business without being bogged down in the administrative side of the business.
Can you identify three unexpected things that happened since starting?
- Freedom to create my work-life balance: I was surprised by a newfound sense of freedom. I was able to set my own working hours and I could choose to work from anywhere. For the first time, my work revolved around my life and not the other way around.
- Financial gains: I was always a top recruiter and I thought I earned well. Once I started my business my earnings increased substantially in comparison to what I earned as an employee. Before my earnings were largely capped. Now my potential is limitless.
- Personal and professional growth: This has been an incredible time of learning – about myself and how to succeed in the business world. I’ve grown more in these past few years than in all my career as a recruiter.
Why should someone else considering following your path, sign up with The OSS Group?
You must trust the people you work with and I trust these guys. They do what they say they are going and they truly want your business to succeed. You will feel supported at every step of the journey.
If you’ve been thinking about starting your own business, these are the guys to partner with.
If you’re ready to write your own success story or you’re curious how we can help make your entrepreneurial dreams a reality…
> Book a call now
Paxton Personnel is a leader in construction and renewables recruitment in northern Scotland. Headed up by Brian Paxton, a career recruiter whose reputation in the industry is the solid, enviable foundation that Paxton Personnel is built on.
What was your biggest challenge in starting?
When you’re employed, you take all the things that make your job possible for granted. From the your phone lines to the desk you sit at to the software you use to capture leads to the collateral you use to market your offering – it’s a lot to think about when you’re starting out. The OSS team just took care of it all.
Can you identify three unexpected things that happened since starting?
- Master of my own destiny: I am no longer hemmed in or limited by the constraints of an employer. That is an incredible feeling.
- Work-life balance: Work-life balance is no longer just a concept. It is something I can actually attain.
- Support from clients: I bet on myself, so I was prepared for the risks involved. I knew I had built good relationships in the industry but somehow, I was still surprised when more and more of my client’s started showing an interest in my business because it was my own. It was a full-circle moment.
Why should someone else considering following your path, sign up with The OSS Group?
Choosing to start a business is scary. Risk is a given. The OSS Group offered real mitigation to the fears I had of going alone. I could not have asked for more complete support and mentorship that I received and continue to receive. I recommend the OSS Group without hesitation.
If you’re ready to write your own success story or you’re curious how we can help make your entrepreneurial dreams a reality….
> Book a call now
RGM Recruitment Ltd, founded by Richard Mills, provides recruitment services in the freelance and contract markets. Before starting his own business, Richard built his career with large multinational blue-chip recruitment companies.
What was your biggest challenge in starting?
Starting a new business can feel overwhelming, especially when considering the setup costs. The OSS Group helped RGM Recruitment by providing upfront funding to ensure the business was fully operational from the start. The Group also worked with Richard to create a detailed business plan and cost forecast, giving a clear financial overview.
Richard, while a market leader in his field, was not necessarily familiar with the intricacies of running a profitable business. The mentorship from The OSS Group’s senior back-office team and board of directors proved invaluable, as they were available to discuss ideas and guide him through unfamiliar areas of the business. This support helped him to develop a well-rounded understanding of all aspects of his new business.
Can you identify three unexpected things that happened since starting?
- Mentorship: Mentorship provided valuable insights and guidance on how to run a business effectively. This included advice on business setup that Richard had not previously been exposed to or considered.
- CRM: The flexibility to customise and adapt the CRM system to suit specific business needs and goals was a great benefit. It ensures maximum efficiency and alignment with business objectives.
- Salary: I received a guaranteed salary during the business setup phase. This financial security allowed me to focus on building my business properly without the stress of immediate money worries.
Why should someone else considering following your path, sign up with The OSS Group?
The OSS Group team is deeply invested in their partners’ businesses and takes the time to understand their vision and goals. They combine this understanding with their extensive expertise to create a tailored plan for success. Their dedication and guidance are crucial for building a strong business foundation.
If you’re ready to write your own success story or you’re curious how we can help make your entrepreneurial dreams a reality…
Specialist recruiters in the home building industry.
What was your biggest challenge in starting?
My biggest challenge was scaling the business and internal recruitment. Making the first hire was key. The team supported me through the entire process. Thanks to their financial support, I was able to attract and hire an experienced consultant who could get started quickly. The OSS Group also provided the cash flow for all startup and operational costs. This is a significant benefit that helps to remove the stress that ensure that many startup ideas never become businesses to start.
Can you identify three unexpected things that happened since starting?
- Decision making: I have the freedom to make my own choices and decisions. All with the continued mentorship and support of the OSS team.
- Work-life balance:
Having a young family, I can now attend school events without having to ask for permission from management, which for me is priceless.
- Earning potential:
Simply put, I pocket the majority of what I bill. Now my hard work is fairly rewarded.
Why should someone else considering following your path, sign up with The OSS Group?
The support provided by The OSS Group is fantastic. It removes a great deal of the stress and worry involved in taking the step to either scale your business or go out on your own. This allows you to focus on the day-to-day running of your desk.
If you’re ready to write your own success story or you’re curious how we can help make your entrepreneurial dreams a reality….
> Book a call now
What were you doing before and why did you decide to start your own business?
Before starting my own business, I worked in education recruitment for nine years, spending the last five of those with the same company where I progressed to branch manager. I really enjoyed the industry and had learned a lot, but I reached a point where I wanted to take the next step, to build something of my own and do things my way.
My business partner and best mate shared the same passion and drive, and we both believed we could create an agency that treated schools and candidates more fairly while keeping the job enjoyable. We wanted to take everything we’d learned, all the good practices and lessons from our experience and build the kind of company we would have loved to be part of at the start of our recruitment careers.
Which services have your received thus far from The OSS Group:
The OSS Group have been amazing and really supportive from day one. They’ve taken care of everything for us right from the start, covering the upfront costs for our office and IT equipment, arranging our website and marketing materials, and even covering our salaries in the early stages.
They handle all our payroll, invoicing, and credit control, and they set us up with all the job boards we needed, negotiating great deals with our providers for things like phone lines and CRMs. On top of that, they’ve provided us with full legal support, helping us put together our contracts and policies.
They handle all our payroll, invoicing, and credit control, and they set us up with all the job boards we needed, negotiating great deals with our providers for things like phone lines and CRMs. On top of that, they’ve provided us with full legal support, helping us put together our contracts and policies.
Since starting, what have been some of the biggest challenges that The OSS Group assisted you with? If you can answer in the context of the finance, mentorship, operations etc
From a financial perspective, they’ve been instrumental in covering the upfront costs that can often hold a new business back, such as office space, IT equipment, job boards, and marketing materials. They also managed our payroll, invoicing, and credit control, which gave us the breathing room to focus on building relationships and generating revenue without worrying about cash flow in the early stages.
On the operational side, James helped streamline our setup by negotiating supplier deals, putting systems in place for compliance, and managing key functions like HR, contracts, and policies. This meant we could get up and running quickly and professionally.
In terms of mentorship, they’ve provided constant guidance, whether it’s advice on business strategy, staff management, or navigating challenges in the education recruitment market. Having that level of experience and support behind us has made a huge difference and helped us make confident, informed decisions as we’ve grown.
Can you name three benefits, rewards or unexpected outcomes that you experienced since starting your own business?
Since starting my own business, there have been several rewarding and unexpected outcomes, but three that really stand out are:
- Freedom and control – Being able to shape the business exactly how we want has been incredibly fulfilling. We make the decisions, set the culture, and run things ina way that feels fair and positive for both schools and candidates.
- Personal and professional growth – Running a business has pushed me to develop new skills in finance, operations, and leadership that I might never have learned in a traditional role. It’s been challenging but massively rewarding.
- Building something meaningful – Seeing the business grow from an idea into a team that genuinely makes a difference to schools and educators has been one of the most satisfying experiences. It’s also been great to do it alongside my best mate Adam, sharing both the challenges and the successes together.
Why would you recommend signing up with The OSS Group to get your business off the ground?
I would highly recommend signing up with The OSS Group to get your business off the ground because they take away so much of the stress that comes with starting up. From day one, they handled everything, from the financial side like salaries, payroll, and credit control, to operational support such as IT, marketing, legal documentation, and supplier setup.
Their backing allowed us to focus entirely on what we do best – building relationships, generating business, and growing our brand – without getting bogged down in admin or startup costs.
Beyond the practical support, Joel, Antony, James and Toms mentorship and guidance have been invaluable. They’re always at the end of the phone for advice and genuinely care about helping your business succeed. It feels like having an experienced partner alongside you every step of the way
How did you overcome any financial constraints in the first few months of starting up?
In the first few months, The OSS Group played a huge role in helping us overcome financial constraints. Starting any business comes with upfront costs, office space, IT equipment, job boards, marketing, and salaries – and having their financial backing meant we didn’t have to worry about cash flow while getting established.
They covered the initial setup costs and managed payroll and invoicing, which gave us the time and freedom to focus on building relationships and generating revenue rather than chasing payments or managing expenses.
That financial support, combined with their advice on budgeting and sustainable growth, allowed us to build solid foundations and get the business moving in the right direction from day one.
> Book a call now
What were you doing before and why did you decide to partner with The OSS Group?
I established Sauce back in 2007, and it had been a good existing business, but I knew we needed a big step forward. So, I decided to partner with the group because of their deep knowledge of the temp recruitment market.
Which services have your received thus far from The OSS Group:
The support we’ve received has been comprehensive across the board. Financially, they provided the investment to grow the business and, crucially, the use of their invoicing discounting facility. On the marketing side, we’ve had a complete redesign of the Sauce website, which is brilliant. Operationally, they handled the legal terms of business for our team trade, streamlined our processes, installed a new telephony system that is both a greater product and much more favourable in price, and supported us in transitioning to a new CRM.
Lastly, the mentorship has been invaluable, especially on how to grow the team, writing a full and actionable business plan that delivers results, and entering the temp market with success.
Since starting, what have been some of the biggest challenges that The OSS Group assisted you with?
What would have taken us a very long time to do and that would have significantly impacted revenue because we were spending valuable time away from revenue-building tasks, was handled by the group’s team. From payroll, to communications, marketing and more, The OSS Group excels from an operational perspective.
Can you name three benefits, rewards or unexpected outcomes that you experienced since starting your own business?
I’ve covered all the benefits but overall the greatest benefit has been taking back my time. Time I could use to focus on building the business, growing my team and more. Time, coupled with a clear strategy, is the ultimate reason for the growth we’ve seen since joining.
Why would you recommend signing up with The OSS Group to get your business off the ground?
Their extensive knowledge across all areas of business especially in areas of recruitment we had no experience in has been transformational for Sauce. If you’re just starting out or you’ve been operating for a while, they can jump in and help you build your business in any direction you’d like to go. They are a brilliant team.
How did you overcome any financial constraints or other challenges in the first few months of starting up?
Even though the business was up and running, The Oss Group provided capital investment, which was a crucial step in our journey.
What have been your biggest ‘wins’ since you partnered with The OSS Group?
Our website got a much needed facelift at an exceptional rate and we successfully broke into the temp market. We couldn’t have done it without them.
> Book a call now
What were you doing before and why did you decide to partner with The OSS Group?
Site Aid Services was established in 2021 and the time was right to scale my operation. I chose to partner with The OSS Group because they’re excellent business minds who have been in the game for more than two decades. The prospect of being mentored by Joel and Antony and the rest of their outstanding team was irresistible. They are experts in the temp recruitment industry and I knew their guidance and input meant I could confidently expand into the temp market.
I’m happy to say the ‘gamble’ has paid off.
Which services have your received thus far from The OSS Group:
I’ve received support across financial, marketing, operations, and mentorship:
- Financial: Investment to help grow the business, and use of the invoicing discounting facility was an absolute gamechanger!
- Marketing: A complete redesign of the Site Aid logo, stationery and a brand guide. Something I didn’t have before. We’re in the process of redoing my website and making my brand come alive on social media.
- Operations: Streamlined approaches, provision of a CRM to help run my business, keep track of current bookings, and build my pipeline. I also got a new telephony system which is a greater product and cheaper in price, and use of trusted and compliant umbrella companies to make sure I stayed out of the HMRC’s firing line. I now also use a digital RTW software to ensure I am placing compliant, fully vetted candidates.
- Mentorship: I received guidance on putting together a full and strategic business plan and the push to follow through saw margin increase from 9.8% on average to a new 14.11% on average.
Since starting, what have been some of the biggest challenges that the group assisted you with?
Obviously the cash injection helped me tremendously but also going from solopreneur to now having a team to handle operations, compliance, payroll and more, meant I could focus on working on the business and not getting bogged down in the back-office machinations.
Ultimately, The OSS Group gave me back sometime. And it was that time that allowed me to increase my margin in a space of [x] months.
I’m proud of that.
Can you name three benefits, rewards or unexpected outcomes that you experienced since starting your own business?
I have to say that getting time back to work on the business has not only benefited me professionally but personally too.
I’m no longer run by my business. Now, I run it.
Why would you recommend signing up with The OSS Group to get your business off the ground?
I’d recommend them because they offer incredible support across all business functions, expertise in the temp recruitment niche, unmatched insight and foresight in this difficult market and running a business that I don’t think I could get anywhere else.
How did you overcome any financial constraints or other challenges in the first few months of starting up?
Despite having the business up and running, The OSS Group provided some capital investment allowing the business to grow.
What have been your biggest ‘wins’ since you partnered with The OSS Group?
That big jump in margin, of course!