A West Midlands based entrepreneur is managing to buck the
current economic trend, rapidly growing a successful business and
advising others on the secrets to his success.
Lee Clarke set up ClarkeWood Consulting; a recruitment company
based in Worcester just two years ago and has grown from two to 10
members of staff in that time providing an increasing number of
jobs for people across the Midlands and the South West.
The company finds both permanent and temporary staff for IT
positions, from single vacancy needs through to large scale
recruitment projects. They currently work with over 2,500 clients
including Halfords and National Express.
He decided to take the leap to be his own boss when he found the
constraints of working for an International Recruitment company
were keeping him away from his wife and four children more and
more:
'I was offered the opportunity to relocate to America to head up
the new US division of my previous company. It was at that point
that I realised work was taking over my family life, so instead,
later that year, I took an offer of redundancy, moved to
Worcestershire and set up ClarkeWood Consulting.'
Lee puts some of his success so far down to networking,
attending several meetings a week:
'It takes time to earn people's trust but networking has been an
invaluable tool in helping us grow. Everybody knows somebody and
thousands of pounds worth of business has been built up through our
networking contacts.'
The company also places a large emphasis on ensuring a good
work/life balance for staff and the whole office recently
celebrated the company's 2nd birthday with a night out at Worcester
city centre's new restaurant 'Bingles Brasserie'. There was a wide
range of facial hair on display with many of the office staff
showing off some rather impressive moustaches in support of
'Movember' in aid of men's health.
Lee has big plans for the next two years, expanding the company
further is high on the agenda, along with continuing to establish
Clarkewood as a leading name in the industry:
'We are always looking for staff to meet our clients' demand.
We aim to develop a name in the market as a staffing company
known for truly representing the highest quality IT professionals,
delivering the right requirements for all customers.'