This is a service business with excellent growth potential, in direction of strong stability, a nationwide market with a growing demand and a risk factor that’s rated average or less than most new business ideas.  Temporary Help Services (Temping Agencies) are well suited to absentee ownership situations; require no experience or technical knowledge on the part of the entrepreneur; and have only minimal equipment needs.  Net profits before taxes for some established temporary help services have been reported as high as £300,000 per year.

There’s a difference between regular, private employment agencies and a temporary help service.  The employment agency is an office that matches unemployed persons with available jobs.  The temporary help service hires people onto its own payroll, sends them out on contract jobs, and pays them accordingly.

Temporary help services make money “off the top.”  They send out temporary workers on one-or-two-day-only jobs paying £6.50 an hour to the worker, and collecting £20 an hour for the time the worker spends on the assignment.  More and more businesses are willing to pay the premium costs for a trained person for just a few days at a time, than to accept the burden of 40-hours per week payroll obligation and the task of finding enough work to keep such a person busy enough to justify a full-time salary and the attendant support costs.  Businesses everywhere are finding it easier to pay more for “temporaries” than hired 40-hours per week “permanents.”  That’s the secret of success with this kind of business, and the point to keep in mind when selling your services.

The successful temporary help service recruits as many skilled and qualified workers as possible.  These workers differ from the regular job-seekers in that they’re looking for “temporary” work only.  For any number of reasons, they’re only willing to work on jobs lasting from one to five days, or perhaps two to three weeks, on any one job assignment.

These persons are ideal for the employers needing help but not wanting to hire and train full-time employees.  Your task will be to find and attract top people and to maintain complete files on them.  What kind of jobs they specialize in; their attitudes about work, and when or how often they’re willing to work would be essential information to have in our file.  Each person should be tested in your office, sent out on a few assignments to build a favourable reputation as a good worker, and then offered a permanent listing on your roster of available specialists.

Work hard to build your roster of available workers.  Within ninety days of start-up, you want to be able to send someone out to fill any employer’s needs, regardless of the job requirements.  Job assignments will range from loading dock and light clerical work to word processing and even master-of-ceremonies work.

Depending on the size of your market, you could conceivably specialize in temporary help for data-processing, the medical or legal professions, or perhaps the retail trade; and you’d still make a lot of money.  Generally though, we are going to show you here how to start a “full-service” temporary help agency.

You’ll need a good mix of employers in your area for best chances of real success.  Your area can be one of high unemployment or one with relatively few unemployed. Whichever the case, the thinking of the business community and the work force available should be non-traditional; there should be an undercurrent of thought toward the idea of calling in specialists to handle a job quicker, and more efficiently, than the full-time worker.

The people wanting to affiliate with you as workers will be housewives, college students, retired people and a large number of people who like to work, but don’t want to be tied down to a regular job.  When you explain the concept of your service, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the number of traditionalists you’ll convert to temporary workers.

First, you should visit your local Chamber of Commerce office.  Explain the philosophy of your service, meet the chamber officers and ask for their help.  You’ll find that they have a listing of all the major businesses in the area, plus the names of the right people to talk to in selling your service.  If you request, you might be invited to Chamber meetings and be introduced to the business leaders in your community.  The only kind of information it is not likely they will be able to help you with is a listing of doctors, lawyers and small, home-based, one-person enterprises.  However, don’t neglect contacting these people; they have a need for varied specialized help just as the larger, more widely known firms in your community.

You can locate your offices just about anywhere.  You’ll find, however, that your greatest success will come if you locate in a modern office building housing professionals such as lawyers, accountants, investment counsellors, insurance company offices, etc. Project a professional image.  Locate in a town centre or business section of your town when you are able to do so.

Basically, you’ll need 600 to 700 square feet of office space.  You should have a reception area, two offices and a room to store supplies.  The more prestigious your business address and office, the better calibre clientele you’ll attract.  People looking for temporary work, and employers considering using your services, will doubt your abilities if they aren’t favourably impressed with your image.

It is possible to start this business in your home, but make sure you have the space for a reception area, and at least a semi-private interview area.  Most of your selling efforts will be conducted by mail, phone and personal visits to the employer’s place of business, so you won’t have any problem there.  However, you may run into zoning problems if your city zoning people discover a large number of cars parked at your house every day.  It certainly always helps to be on good terms with your neighbours, and further, working by appointment will help keep traffic under control.

So, practically speaking, starting your business from home will require a much smaller initial investment.  In this particular business, rent and advertising will be your largest expense, so beginning the business from your home is definitely worth considering if your start-up funds are limited.

In actual operation, you could have the applicants interested in your services contact you by phone.  You would then set up appointments either in their homes or your own, thereby eliminating congestion of cars in front of your home, as mentioned above.  If you began on a part-time basis, you could have a family member or friend answer your phone and set up appointments for you.  If you do begin part-time and working out of your home, you might look into the advantages of a professional telephone answering service.

Another idea for saving on costs might be to rent unused space from a business already established.  These businesses might be sales and distribution offices, insurance agencies, quick print or copy shops, and repair service shops.  Look around; many businesses have had to take what was available at the time, and would be more than happy to lease or share their vacant space.  Keep in mind though, that you’ll do much better with an office of your own, and you should move into one just as soon as you can afford one. Proper facilities that convey a professional image should be number one on your list of priorities.

Your business image is projected by your address and the appearance of the building in which you locate.  Your reception area will set the mood of professionalism and efficiency. The reception area should be inviting - walls painted in light pastel colours, wall prints, floor lamps and wall-to-wall carpeting.  It should also feel comfortable while being functional.  Comfortable modern chairs and sofa; perhaps a floor planter or two, reception desk and ash trays all help to achieve this effect.

The main office need have only a desk and a comfortable chair, facing the door, a chair beside or in front of the desk, and a file cabinet.  A print or two on the walls, and perhaps a bookcase are the only “extras” you might use to dress up your office.

Your second office equipment will be for testing your applicants.  You can inexpensively build a table along the length of two walls, partition into cubicles and have an electric typewriter, an adding machine and make a headset connected to a dictaphone/recorder, and another set  up for testing short hand capabilities.  Later on, you’ll probably want to have a word processor and a computer.

Ideally, you should also have a sales office and a storage room.  The sales office will be where you greet and talk with employers who drop in to look you over to find out more about your business.  Mainly, this office will be where your people will work from when calling prospective clients and selling your services by phone.  The storage room needs only shelves to hold various forms, mailing pieces, envelopes and business records.

One way to hold your start-up costs to a minimum is by leasing your office furnishings and equipment.  Whatever you do, remember that you’re projecting an image, so don’t settle for less than the best.  This is absolutely imperative in regard to any equipment used for testing your applicants.  You might be able to work out an arrangement with the business department of a local college, or business school, to send your applicants to them for testing on their machines.  Such an arrangement, even at a cost of £5 to £10 per test, could save you several thousand dollars in start-up costs.

The first person you hire should be either an experienced manager or someone you can quickly train to assume those duties.  It’s best to hold out for a person with at least one year experience as a bona fide personnel manager.  This person should be outgoing, detail-minded, people-oriented and able to work well under pressure without losing his sense of humour.  You don’t want someone likely to blow his cool when confronted with a difficult situation.

Your manager will be responsible for organizing the interview and testing systems, for setting up your sales solicitation program, and for supervising the temporary workers, as well as your office staff.  It’s a highly responsible and demanding position, so don’t be reluctant to spend the money necessary to get the best.  You will need to research to determine what salary such a top manager receives in your area.

The next member of your staff should be an enthusiastic, hustling sales person.  This employee should be experienced and adept at selling by phone as well as in person.  Unless you can afford to pay a good direct mail advertising copywriter to create your mailing pieces for you, it would be wise to look for direct mail advertising or copyrighting experience in the background of the sales person you expect to hire.

Your sales person should spend the mornings calling prospective employers on the phone, and the afternoons making in person sales calls.  With this kind of work routine in mind, look for sales people with high ambition and energy levels.  Try to pick the kind who will come in early and stay late to work on his direct mail efforts, clearing the decks so that he uses his time during regular business hours to close sales by phone and in person.  You need and want a “closer” not an order taker.  Be as selective as you have to be in choosing this salesperson.

In addition to the going rate which a sales person of this type should be paid, you should also consider paying a 5 percent bonus for each new account brought in.  When you find the right person, it will be worth it, so make it worthwhile to join your staff.  Not all sales people will necessarily develop into good sales managers, so try to find one who fits all your requirements.  The sales manager would recruit, organize, develop, motivate and supervise your sales staff.  With those responsibilities, you’d want to offer a salary plus override on the sales production of his staff of sales people.