Amita Sood, Owner, Career Impetus

The scope for the company becomes apparent from the fact that the enterprise is bridging the ever-widening gap between the employers and the employees, while simultaneously catering to the demand for skilled professionals who can contribute to the company’s growth.

The company’s knack for meeting client and candidate requirements on every set parameters rather than just filling vacancies is what makes it singularly different from the hundreds of other recruitment consulting firms in the country. This besides, the high conversion rates for the positions on offer has bagged Sood an impressively long list of clientele.

While planning an expansion, one of the greatest challenges facing any organisation in the service industry is to ensure growth without compromising on the quality. But Sood seemed rather unperturbed by the idea. “We will ensure that when our company plans an expansion it is not at the cost of quality. We plan to scale-up the business gradually and on a very solid foundation,” Sood assured. 

Entrepreneurs live with uncertainties and this is why most fly the coop, unwilling to take risks. But Sood was, in fact, lured into the world because of its very nature. She found the thrill of living each day on the edge irresistible. “As an entrepreneur, one has to set an agenda, act on it and be responsible for the outcome. And I was all for it,” said Sood with a smile.   

Ready to give a tough fight to her competitors, Sood set out overcoming challenges she faced during the initials months of setting up the company. Her first biggest was to garner business from companies that already worked with established consultants. “Once we started working with them they realised that the quality of our services is far more superior to what they avail from others. It didn’t take us a much efforts to ensure that they become our permanent clients. Today, in fact, the same clients refer us to other organisations,” she asserted.      

To err is human and Sood made no bones about it when she admitted that her biggest mistake was to think that success would come easily. Gradually, however, she realised that it takes time to establish oneself as an entrepreneur, and also that patience is always the trump card in the biz game.

“Although the business we handle comes from various parts of the country, we are still a small set-up, operating out of Bangalore and Delhi. We, however, ensure that we are equipped to cater to clients and candidates across all locations,” said Sood.

The entrepreneur believes it’s still too early to boast of any achievements, but avows that the trust the clients have reposed in the company is by far the biggest reward for them. “In fact, some of our clients inform us about the vacancies even before they release them to other consultants because they know we will pass on only select profiles that meet their requirements,” she said.

Sood further added saying, “Our clients laud us for our ‘different’ approach to executive search. They often seek our advice and inputs while making recruitment decisions. The best thing is that our work is recognised because of ‘word of mouth’ promotion rather than through marketing strategies.”

Of course there were also times when Sood lost courage to go ahead with the venture, especially regretting having forayed into at a time when there was slump in the economy. “Very few organisations were looking to hire. In fact, the focus was more on laying off staff than on recruiting. It was tougher than I had imagined and it was depressing. But I knew there was no looking back. Besides, I love my work,” said Sood when asked if she ever thought of taking a step back. 

Tips for budding entrepreneurs — Be prepared for challenges. In most cases, they are bigger than what one readies themselves for.