From 0 to 100K in 4 Months: Watch Someone Who Actually Did It

I had this not really dark period, but just really tough period business-wise, which impacted my private life. I was a solo entrepreneur, solo recruitment, and it was all right. I was doing it part-time. I was also selling couches in sofa store. Part-time that, part-time recruitment. Made some few placements, but not that much. It was not really consistent, but I'm very stubborn. I'm like, I believe myself, I can do this. First. The first time ever I questioned myself was half a year ago when I was quitting my part-time job. I went full-time for my agency and I didn't have placements in half a year. I was questioning everything. I lost motivation. I just lost it. I just lost the vision. You were on my screen every day and then suddenly you were popping on YouTube. I thought this might be one of those scammers. And I was like, okay, let's have a call with this guy. Can't get any worse than this. You said, I think you're going through this. You've done this, you've done that. Everything is not happening, but you want to grow this business. I said, yes. And because you told me what I'm going through and what I wanted without me telling you what I'm going through and wanted, you convinced me. I got a message, a notification from Outlook, and it said, you need to check your CRM because someone is interested. I was like, oh my God, it's working, it's working. Okay, let's go. And then the next day, two other people were interested. So I was like, oh my God, this is amazing. It finally worked out. That was the point I was totally convinced, like, okay, everything has worked. I've made 7 placements this year. My target last year, I've already made this month. I did 95 so far. My conversion rate is, I think, tripled since I've been working with you now since January. It's April now, so 3, 4 months.

4 months.

And yeah, since then my business skyrocketed. Just go and just take the chance. If you have nothing to lose, then you only have so much to gain.

Welcome, Stijn. It's good to have you on here. I feel like this is going to be a fun conversation. We're going to unpack a decent amount and there's a lot to go over. But for the benefit of those who are listening, watching, wherever they are, do you mind telling us a bit about who you are and what you do?

Of course, I'd love that. Well, I'm Stijn and I live in the Netherlands. And I'm running a recruitment agency now specialized in the accounting niche. And I've been working with you now since January. It's April now. So 3, 4 months.

4 months.

And yeah, since then my business skyrocketed.

Okay. You're going to have to explain that to everyone as well. Like what the hell's going on? Because there was a journey before and after as well. And I want to unpack some of the things that came up in the conversation as well. And just break down like how all of this has come together. Because I wanna say this like now, if I can, keeping it reasonably professional, I still remember the first conversation that we had. And I could tell that there was a lot of thoughts going through your head. And when I see you now, it's like you're smiling, you're confident, like everything about your personality is, I feel like I'm talking to a different person. Clearly there's stuff that's had an impact and that's what we wanna go over, okay?

Exactly, yes. Brilliant. Well, like how you're looking at me now is the Stein, how I always used to be. I had this not really dark period, but just really tough periods business-wise, which impacted my private life. So yeah, but I'm through that. So everything's going well.

We're going to go into that as much detail as we can without exposing too many personal things, but either way, we're going to go into it.

Okay.

So if we just go like back to before we started working together, if I let's break it down step by step, like when did you start your recruitment company? Do you remember the month of the year?

I not specifically, but my LinkedIn says I started in 2021. Okay.

So just after COVID.

Yes, just after COVID. But I think like really I started in 2023, somewhere around there. Okay. First for someone else as a freelancer and like one year later, one and a half year later, somewhere around there. I said to them like, basically, fuck you. I'm going to start my own.

We'll leave that in the video.

Okay. I was like, I'm going to start my own company because I think I can do better, which at that time was not true. Okay. And I'm just going to start. Let's go. So I was a solo entrepreneur. Solo Recruitment, and it was all right. I was doing it part-time. I was also selling couches in sofa store. Part-time that, part-time recruitment. Made some few placements, but not that much. It was not really consistent, but for me, of course, working part-time was a lot of money if you make one placement. I think one year ago, almost one year ago, I went full-on, full-time for my recruitment agency, and yeah, I made like a bit of money so I could survive for a a bit, and I thought if I put all my energy, time, and effort in my business, then it will grow exponentially, which is doing— which is doing it now. But like one year ago, it didn't when I was quitting.

Okay, I want to touch on the earlier part of that. What— why did you even get into recruitment?

You know, I have an uncle who has his own recruitment agency, so he inspired me a lot. And I always wanted to be an entrepreneur. I always want to start my own business, and I knew I wanted to be sales related. I was like, okay, let's just do recruitment because I want the internship somewhere. So I applied to that guy who I started with. He said to me, I cannot take interns with me, but you will start working for me. Okay, all right, cool, even better. Somewhere along I quit my school and yeah.

Were you making good money while working in this freelancer type role? I'm guessing it was like a commission-only type recruitment.

Okay, I think I've done 2 or 3 placements at that firm. And then I quit it. Okay. Which is not a lot of placements, but for me it was a lot of money because I was 21 years old, I think, or 20 years old. Okay. How much did you make? I think I made like 15 or 18K. Okay. Which was like a year's salary for me.

That was in your bank account? So the company made some money and then you got a percentage of that, right?

I received 40% of the commission.

Okay, that's reasonably generous.

Yes, that's reasonably. I thought it wasn't.

Back then, but looking back, you didn't know about the stress that comes with running a recruitment business.

Yes, now I know how those guys felt about me and how they run the company. And so, you know, but I was young. I'm still young, of course, but back then I was very naive.

How old are you, by the way?

25. I turned 25 last week.

Okay, I was similar age when I started my recruitment business as well, so this is quite interesting to hear. Okay, so freelancer for a year, you You did 3 placements and then in your words, you decided you wanted to leave and start on your own. You started on your own. Like what gave you the confidence to just go and start on your own first?

You know, I just had the confidence. That's just how I am. I was like, okay, I've made 3 placements. I know the process. Let's dive into it. I have nothing to lose. So let's go. I have more upside than downside. At least that can happen to me is I need to go back, work full-time for someone else. And then at night I'll work for my company. So. Just hustling.

Okay, fair play. So you knew that you have at least some skills and you can make up for the rest with hard work.

Yes.

Okay, cool.

So that was what I was thinking still.

So from what I understand, then you did a year of the business on your own and the first 6 months, how did that go?

Horrible.

Horrible? Yeah, horrible. Okay, tell me.

I think I made one placement, but I was already living on my own. I had to pay rent. My girlfriend was already living with me because I wasn't earning. She had to pay everything. Which I'm really thankful till this day. So she was paying for everything, but she was like, Stijn, we need to change something because you're not earning. I pay everything, which is fine, but you need to provide also because you're a man. Come on, you have this big mouth like I'm going to be entrepreneur. You quit school and you quit your job. You quit that freelance. Come on, Stijn, just be reasonable. Okay. All right. So that's when I started working at the sofa company selling couches because she demanded me to. She said, Stijn, Either you take a part-time job, I don't know what the hell I'm gonna do with you. Okay. So I started, that's where I also learned a lot of sales skills, like negotiating with clients, getting even more confidence, other skills. And then the ball started rolling a bit, made some more placements, not every month, but like every other month, not big placements, but they were all right for me to earn more than my part-time job. And that's, and at the moment I have saved a lot of money and I thought, yeah, let's go full-time. Again, I have a big mouth and I thought, let's go full time.

Can continue that way. So I just want to paint this picture again. Yeah, so what did you do in first year revenue-wise, recruitment business?

I think 20K.

20K?

Okay, yeah, 20K.

Was that a humbling experience?

It was all right. I think it was like 2 placements, no, only 3 small placements. Yeah, something like that.

Did that make you question your decision about starting your own business?

You mean like I want to start my own business?

You question your decision about starting your own business? Like, did you feel like I shouldn't have done this?

At that time, no. Okay.

So even after a year, you didn't feel like you regretted the decision. You was like, no, this was the right thing to do.

Yes. But I'm very stubborn. I'm like, I believe myself. I can do this.

Yeah.

So no, at that time I did not.

Okay.

First time ever I questioned myself was half a year ago when I was quitting my part-time job. I went full-time for my agency and I didn't have placements in half a year.

Okay, so just want to make sure, one year freelancing, one year $20K, then the Roller King from your other half. Yeah. And then you decided to quit the sofa selling job and then go all in on the recruitment business. What was those first 6 months like? They were okay?

When I quit the sofa company, you mean?

From there? So this is last year, so 20—

this was last year, yes.

Yeah, so 2025, first 6 months, what were they like?

Starting my own, I quit it in June 2025, and I had this confidence, you know, like I'm gonna grow my agency, it's gonna grow exponentially, I'm gonna have X revenue by January.

What was the target?

It was like 100K.

Okay, cool.

It was my target. Didn't achieve it.

You made 20K in that year? Yeah. So you set a target for 100K and you made 20K?

So last year I made 67— 60.

Okay, cool. So a good jump up then.

When I made 60K in the first half year, okay, I have a bit of money. So that's when I had the confidence to quit my sofa job and go all in for my recruitment business. But that went horrible because I had some procedures, people had signed contracts, And before they even started, they said, 'Stein, I'm sorry, but I've signed somewhere else.' Another one said, 'No, Stein, I had a counteroffer of my current company, so I'm staying.' And another person ghosted me. And these were like big, high-profile candidates which will get me close to my targets, but didn't. And then a lot of other procedures failed, and then I lost confidence.

So first 6 months you did 67, and then in the last 6 months you were expecting, like, you had some fees bubbling. But how much did you make in the last 6 months of last year?

Nothing.

Empty. Wow.

Really nothing. Like, not even a euro.

Wow. Okay. Did you then regret the decision of starting your recruitment business?

Yes.

Okay.

Like, not really. Like, there was this small voice in my head which said, is this really for you? Because it was going well when you were doing it part-time It's not going well now you're doing it full time. So is this the right thing for you? Like, for me, it was a small voice and it was stuck in my head. I was questioning everything. I lost motivation, but I still wanted this to happen. I wanted to succeed because I had this vision what I want with my firm and I believed in it so much, but I just lost it. I just lost the vision. And that's the time I contacted you because I was following you for a year and I was like, okay, I need guidance. I think I need more knowledge, someone who can guide me. But back then, I don't know. I didn't, I don't know. You were stubborn? Not really stubborn about contacting you, but I don't know if you were the right person. And you know, you have a lot of course sellers who are a scam. So I thought this might be one of those scammers. You were on my screen every day and then suddenly you were popping on YouTube and then more. Then I was like, okay, let's have a call with this, this guy and you know, Oh, what the heck? Can't get any worse than this. And you convinced me, which I'm very glad. And since then, my target last year, I've already made this month.

So how much have you done so far this year?

95 actually. Still need one placement for the 100, but I did 95 so far. It's April.

Does that sound a bit like crazy or stupid or weird just to say that back to yourself?

Yes.

We're in April. I mean, officially we started working like towards the end of January. It's like, it's more like 2 and a half months than it is 4.

Yeah.

So does it sound like completely absurd that you're even saying that you've done the best part of 100K in the first 4 months?

Actually, yes. But now I have this experience, this knowledge, and this structure and company. I'm like, okay, 200K is very reasonable, but why not go to 300K? Because I think I can do it. Target is still at 200 to 240, but I know I can do more.

Okay.

Just execute it.

I didn't know the full details of the numbers until you said it to me there and then, by the way, because I know we've been speaking about placements and targets, but We never spoke details of numbers. Okay, I'm impressed. I remember I said to you that, you know, I'm going to give you a target and you have to hit 100K, i.e., 6 figures, within 6 months of working with me.

Yeah.

And you did it in half the time.

Yes.

As good as.

Yeah.

Look, it is your work at the end of the day, so well done to you.

Yeah, thank you.

I want to go back and even look at, you know, some of the conversations that we had even like before you actually took the step. Tell me about, you know, in that year of struggle.

Yes.

Let's call it the year of grief. The year where you decided to— yeah, the one where you went all in on your business. First 6 months was okay, and the last 6 months were a disaster. What else did you like try to do in your business in that moment? Like while things were like looking shaky and these placements were not working out and they were dropping and falling down, what else did you try to help you get past that hurdle?

Lots of cold calling. Okay. Lots of cold calling because, you know, I have recruitment procedures, but I was also trying something else for accounting firm owners, so they wouldn't need a recruiter anymore, like a LinkedIn management. So I tried to sell that, which didn't work out. Well, it does. I do it different now, but back then it didn't work out because my strategy wasn't right. So recruitment didn't go well. My cold calling, which I put a lot of effort in, didn't also go well. I tried different tactics, like if you have one candidate, you want to have them in procedure with 3 other firms. Which is not really different tactics. It's just the way you need to do it, but I didn't. But I also didn't have a lot of clients back then. And the way I got clients was by cold calling. And now I have other ways, other strategies to get more clients, which are way better. Saves me a lot of time. And yeah, that also saved me and helped me grow my business.

So in terms of like what you tried, you looked back at, you know, the last 6 months and you thought, okay, let me just increase all of my activity. So I'm guessing you did like You said lots of cold calls. Are we talking 100 a day, 200 a day, 300 a day?

Yeah, something like that. I just, I, in the weekend, like on Saturday, I was looking at all the firms I wanted to call. I looked at who were the decision makers and I just made a big Excel sheet, which I was calling from Tuesday to Thursday. Monday, Friday, no one is available. Yeah, that's what I did. Like hundreds, hundreds I did. Yeah.

Okay. For 6 months?

Not really 6 months, like 2 months.

Okay. So the last 2 months were really intense?

Yes. When I first quit it and went full on, I had like this big confidence. I was like, now everything is going well. So I didn't put a lot of time in my firm. I went to holiday. I did a lot of gaming actually. I didn't do much. And then I was like, okay, well maybe I need to start do a bit more work.

What kind of gaming did you do?

GTA, a bit of Fortnite, of course. Okay. Call of Duty, something like that.

Okay.

Those are like the 3 games I did the most.

But was this during the day, during like cool working hours, or was this like all the way through the night or during the day? So you weren't actually doing much work. You just took your foot off the gas completely.

Yes. And because I had one big placement who had signed, so I was like, okay, I'm cool. I'm good for 3 months, but he canceled. And I was like, okay, panic. It's No, not really. Not there. Not then. My panic came with the second and I panicked. And then the third came and that's when I broke down. And then I was like, oh my God, what am I going to do?

So yeah. What a bumpy ride that was. Okay.

Yes, it was.

So in your mind, your solution was to increase activity, which by the sounds of it only had a negative consequence. You know, in that moment, did you feel like you had just tried everything that you could possibly think of?

Yes. Okay. With the Koopmans? Yes. I thought I have done everything. But it didn't work out. So that's why I thought maybe it's not for me, but I still want to make it work.

Okay. And in that period, was there something that you remember, like, I really wanted to do this thing, but I just can't do it because of the current state of the business?

Hire people.

Okay. Oh, so you still had the ambition to grow?

Yes, of course. I still have, and back then also. I had some people working for me who quit it in the first 2 months. Because they didn't get the right leads. They put a bit of effort in it, but no results, which I understand, of course. If I put work in something, I can imagine you want immediate results. And so they backed down. They said, Stein, thank you. It's not for me because it's a long process. So yeah, but looking back, I can understand why they didn't want to go further.

Okay. So I want to ask this question because I ask it to pretty much everyone as well.

Yeah.

You know, in that moment where it was like a downhill situation, can you describe to me like what happened, what was going through your head on like the darkest day in that moment?

I thought maybe recruitment is not going well now, but let's see if I can think about something else. During Christmas, accounting firms were closed for 2 weeks or, and there was not much activity to do with recruitment because HR was on holiday, partners were on holiday, candidates were on holiday. So I had 2 weeks to go on holiday myself, which I didn't. So I went back to the drawing boards and tried something else. So I had this idea for building a website for free.

With AI?

Yes, of course, with AI. I built it myself with AI, with Lovable. That project is on pause now because I still think it could be interesting, but I put all my time and effort in it. But yeah, I still thought—

So you were following me for a year during those dark days?

Yeah.

Okay. And in that time you're receiving Royal Roller Kings from your other half, you're questioning all of your decisions, you're maxing out on your activity. It sounds like you were heading more towards like a burnout situation. It's like, I couldn't figure out what was working, so I'm just going to do more of everything and then just see if, you know, maybe it's activity that's missing, right?

Yeah. Okay.

Tough situation to be in. How did you first come across me, by the way?

I think it was Instagram. Okay. Because a girlfriend said to me, Stijn, maybe try a recruitment course. I was stubborn, but you know how Google or ads works. Once you think about something, it will magically pop up on your screen. That's when you came and other Dutch recruitment course sellers, but you sticked along. I don't know, I followed you also as the only person from all the other course sellers. Then I forgot about you, but still saw you on my feed and Yeah, then in December, no, January, I was like, I need to do something, let's go.

Okay, and you know when you came, when like we had our first call?

Yeah.

I can remember you still felt very nervous, almost skeptical, unsure, like what was going through your head then?

Oh, skeptical, because I didn't want to get scammed.

Okay, yeah. Even after a year of following me, you still felt like that?

Not really, because if I thought you were a scammer, I didn't join the call. I wanted to see if you could also provide the information and skills which I really needed because there were some other course centers, but they were doing recruitment in another different way. And I was doing recruitment in base form, as you said in your videos. You have a good niche, you have candidates who are actively on LinkedIn, and you want automation and scale your business. I think it was those 4 things which I thought, okay, that's what I want. Others were doing it with ads, like Meta ads and TikTok ads. I thought my niche is not on Meta. Well, they are in private, but putting a vacancy on Meta or TikTok, I think that's not— you will be burning money if you do that.

I remember you said that you had an uncle who had a recruitment business. Did you speak to your uncle before you spoke to me?

Yes, also.

What did he say?

Well, he said, well, the business, how I was doing it 7 to 10 years ago is very different than how it goes today because he was already planning an exit. He's not working at the firm anymore. And when he was still working at the firm, he didn't call candidates anymore for like 7 years. So he gave me tactics on how to do candidate calling and how to do client calling, but how to get candidates and how to get clients is very different how he did it and how I do it now, for example.

Okay. His way was like cold calling.

Cold call.

Okay. So that's where you got the idea from. Yeah. Which is like to cold call until your like thumbs went numb.

Yes. And cold calling is still very effective.

Yeah.

I still convert most clients with cold calling. It's now set up in a way that it's more easy, if you say that. Like it's not always the first contact point.

Like they know who you are by the time you call.

Yes.

Okay. You know what that is? It's not cold call. Not the cold call anymore, but sometimes still do it, but yeah, yeah, of course you do it just for the legacy and the fun of it.

Yeah. Yeah. So that's very fun. If it's not too much, of course.

You know, the first conversation that we had, you had a lot of questions and as I mentioned that you were nervous and unsure, didn't want to get scammed. Besides like, you know, hearing about call sellers and scammers, et cetera, what were the other thoughts that were going through your head?

I didn't have money back then at the time, back then. Because I burned everything because a lot of procedures failed. I had to pay my mortgage, of course, everything. I had to pay taxes. For some people, $60K sounds like a lot, but actually it's not. You're going through it very easily.

Once you factor in the running costs, taxes, etc., it's like, okay, you're like, it's not $60K in your bank account for sure.

No. And I, so I didn't want to get scammed. I hope you were giving the right information for me and I was very nervous about the price.

Okay. So what did you do to prepare leading up to that call? Like, Did you like check me out on LinkedIn, go through YouTube videos? Like, were you like looking for something like, say something wrong so I can be convinced this guy is not right? Like, is that what you were doing or?

No, no. I just called, I just booked in the call and in like 2 weeks from now, let's say, I didn't tell anyone. I told my girlfriend last second, but she didn't. I was like, let's just do it. That's how I am. Let's just go. Let's go with flow and I'll see where it ends.

Okay. And then was there something that happened or something that I said that made you feel like, okay, cool, this is the right thing to do?

Or yes, yes, actually you were asking me questions and I was answering and you said all the things I wanted to hear at that moment. You said, okay, so you said, I think you're going through this, you've done this, you've done that, everything.

Oh yeah, I remember that. I repeated your life story back to you.

Yeah, it's not happening, but you want to grow this business. Yes, because you told me what I'm going through and what I wanted without me telling you what I'm going through and wanted. You convinced me.

I remember that actually, because I was asking you questions and it's like, I remembered like me being in the same situation.

Yes.

And then I just said, Stijn, let me just guess. Yeah. This is what you're doing. And I said, you're at this situation. This is what's going on. You're trying to get clients. You're trying to get candidates. You think you're going to do cold calling. You decided to hire a couple of resources as well, just to test it from a steroid perspective. And now you're questioning why there's no money being made. And you're like, I remember you saying that. How do you know that? Because I was there. Yeah, I remember that. I remember that. Okay.

Yeah, like exactly that. That's what happened. And that's how you convinced me.

Okay.

That's when I thought, okay, this is the right guy.

Because I was able to articulate your situation back to you. And at least you understood that I had been there before.

Yes. Okay, cool.

I got to say this, like it didn't come across that way. On the call, it's like you were like almost thinking like, I don't want this guy to know that he knows what I know. So you still seemed respectfully, I think you still seemed a bit nervous on the call. But either way, like, we made it past that point, and then you got going. Like, I remember, like, you joined the first call and you started going through the process. You know, in the first month, like, it's been like, let's just call it 3 months, yeah? Break it down, like, month 1, month 2, month 3. What was going through your head, like, from the moment that you joined? When you— once you saw everything, what did you think? All the training and what you had access to and how frequently you're going to be speaking?

Well, I didn't know what to expect, like, really, I didn't know. So I was going through the course, and, you know, I'm very chaotic. You like a very structured way in how to follow the course, like step 1, 0, set up, 1, 2, 3, 2, 9 or something. And because I'm chaotic, I went to, where's this?

Oh, it's 6.

Okay. Oh, where? Oh, it's 4. So I first, I was watching videos from 9 to 6 to 4 to—

Is that because you had like immediate problems that you saw titles for and you thought, okay, I need help with that now. And you just went, okay, cool. Makes sense.

Yes. For example, candidate closing, clients, how to get clients, how to set up this or whatever. That's why I was going back and forth.

And then when you saw that information, what happened then? Like, did you feel more confident or were you still thinking that this sounds—

Oh yes, I was getting a lot more confidence and excitement. Michelle, my girlfriend, like in 2 days she said, you seem very excited again.

I feel like she should be on this video with us as well. We'll save that separately. Okay, cool.

Of course. And I'm like, yeah, because now I have the exact blueprint of how one That's what I said to her. One motherfucker is generating millions of dollars and is at a point where I want to grow to. She's like, okay, yeah, of course then, of course you're happy then. We had our first call after I joined the group and I told you what I've done. I followed this, followed that. You said, Stijn, please go in step by step. The first month, so that first week I was very excited. Second week I became skeptical because, you know, I was setting up the tools. I was setting up everything. But you know, things take time. I'm impatient. So I was like, why no results? Why no results? So a bit skeptical again, but the training on how to close candidates was very helpful for me. And that, that even closed me my first candidate. So the candidate was generated with my old tactics with LinkedIn, with LinkedIn, but I could close him because of the training you had in your course. Because he was at a point that he was actually more excited about a different firm, but because of the training, I could convince him to go sign a contract with my firm.

So I think it's, I think it's worth touching here because, um, you know, AI and automation is like talk of the town at the moment, and I don't want to make it about that. Like, yes, it's important. There's 101 things that are important in a recruitment business. And what I would rather do is rather than saying, okay, I will help you build this function in your business. It's like you're getting a holistic approach from me. You can use AI and automation to the point that you contact millions of people on a daily basis, but you can also win no clients from the end of that as well. That's also possible. So it's like you've got to look at the steps and the conversion metrics along the way. And by the sounds of it, the first result that you got that where you can at least see that you got some value from it was understanding like the client and the candidate acquisition process and the structure for calls and so on. And once you did that, then you were able to close somebody pretty quickly, which I'm getting. Yeah, I want you to say it rather than me, but would you say without that training you think it might have slipped to the side, or you think with the training it made a big difference?

Yeah, the training made a big difference because now my calls are way more structured. Like, that's how I am. I go freestyle the shit out of it. Just go with the flow. I do whatever I think needs to happen, but not really with a strategy or tactic. And now I just have the blueprints of, of a strategy which works because you're doing it for 10 years. If I go back, if I look back at all the procedures and all the placements I've done, I think by myself, I got really lucky for real. I got really lucky. My conversion rate is, I think tripled since, since, okay. Because back then, 10 people I had a procedure, 1, maybe 2 people are signing contracts. Now it's like half. 4, 3 to 5 people.

So 50% of everyone you speak to is closing?

Yes.

Amazing. Really happy for you. Okay. You know, if you look back at some of the previous like darker years and moments and even those like really big fees that dropped out, if you had this information back then, would that have made a difference or did they drop out for things that you couldn't control?

No, they will make a big difference because I had a lot of procedures which were very close, but I just mismanaged it. I just, you know, it was like, here is your offer, think about it, and then no contacts anymore. And now every time I speak to a candidate or with a client or whatever, I have a plan. I know exactly what to do. I know what to say to have the biggest chance to make this succeed.

Okay, that's good, good. Lots, lots more structure, everything heading in the right direction. So you described it where, you know, you joined, you went to the, the first few things that it's like you felt like you needed help with straight away, and that did have an impact. So I'm assuming like even in month 1, you felt like, okay, cool, this is like progressing in the right direction. We'll go into month 2 and 3 later, but was even going through that process, was there any like doubts about, you know, is this gonna work? Is this the right thing? Have I been scammed? Did any of those thoughts still come up in your head?

Not that I've been scammed.

Okay.

I saw the value, but I'm just very impatient. So I knew the tactics on how to close candidates was working. So in my head, that was also convincing enough to say it's worth it.

Okay.

But I remember very clearly, which is month 3, month 2, I had set up this campaign for a candidate to get more clients. And I was in the gym, fitnessing, and I got a message, a notification from Outlook. And it said, you need to check your CRM because someone is interested. And I still had to do like half the gym session, but I just, I just went back home and went to my computer and called the guy like, okay, so you're interested? And just followed the training.

So this is the candidate generation process, like you followed it and then somebody just pinged back?

Yes.

Okay.

One, two. And I was like, oh my God, it's working. It's working. Okay, let's go. And then the next day, two other people were interested. So I was like, oh my God, this is amazing. It finally works out. So that was the point I was totally convinced, like, okay, everything is working, everything is working.

That was in month 1, right?

Second, like February, 1 month in, let's say, because I started, I think, January 14th, somewhere in February, I think second half, those positive leads came in. Okay.

Wild ride, man. When you think about it on reflection, 6 months of zero and then the best part of $100K in the first 4 months of this year. Yeah, I can, I can see a huge difference in you and I can see a huge difference in everything that you've achieved and everything else. So, oh, have you spoken to your uncle again since you've— okay, what did he say?

He asked me, so, Stijn, did you get scammed? That's the first thing he asked me. And I was like, I said, no, no, I'm not, I'm not scammed. Oh, really? So he is giving valuable information? Yes, yes, he does. Oh, what's made the bigger difference? The biggest difference? So I told him. And so I told him, he's like, okay, I'm very glad for you. Of course, the main thing he then asked is, how much money did you generate? And this was one month ago. So back then, I think it was 60K. Yeah, 60K.

Okay. So you did the whole of last year in the first 3 months of this year.

Yeah.

And then you've done the best part of 50K in another month after that.

Yeah.

Okay.

One and a half month, actually.

If you carry on with this momentum, then I don't see why 60, 70, even 80K months are not achievable within 6 months.

That's possible. I think that's possible.

At the beginning, not right at the beginning, but you described a moment in time where you were like building out a lead list on a Saturday. And then did you work on Sundays as well? And then you would call through Monday to Friday?

No, Sundays I was not working because, you know, my girlfriend is working on Tuesday to Saturday and I was working from Monday to Saturday. So I said to her, I need every workday to generate money. And then Saturday, I'm also going to work because you're working. So I'm not going to be lazy sitting at home and do nothing. And then Sunday, we're going to enjoy each other or do whatever you want. So that's what I did. But indeed, through the week. Working, working, working. Saturday, making lead lists.

Okay, and has that work schedule changed now? Like, you still working weekends, or now you stopped, or—

No, I still work on Saturday because I think it's not fair for me to just lay down, do nothing while I'm young, growing my business while my girlfriend is working. I think that's fair. We have a goal that we want to achieve in our life, and I have a lot more time now generating more money But all the time I have left, I spend in AI. I spend in AI and automations, which is working out very well right now. And once, and I'm like, okay, I put a lot of effort in automations. If that is set up, then I can hire more people because the setup is there.

I want to look back at it. And I remember in our earlier conversation, you told me that you had hired basically freelance recruiters who, the same setup that you had with the previous company. Where they were going to generate candidates for you. And I said to you, it was a bad move. On reflection, do you understand why I said it was a bad move to hire recruiters in that state?

Oh yes, of course I do. Because there was no structure.

They didn't come with any experience, right?

Yeah. They had sales experience, but no recruitment experience.

I will explain this like from a really high level. Because you're the most experienced recruiter in your company, anybody who you hire, provided they have less experience than you, they can only ever reach to the same level as you.

Yeah.

So if you were struggling and somehow you managed to convince somebody else to join the struggle, they were only going to become as good as you and you were already struggling. We had to like level up the game a little bit. And it sounds like it wasn't just, there's a mixture of AI, there's automation, but there was probably some like base level skills in recruiting, which needed a little bit of refining. And it's only when you put those two together, and I said this to somebody else on a call not too long ago as well, where like you can use AI and automation to generate more clients and candidates than any other recruiter in the world and still make no money. Yeah, because you're not that good at recruitment.

I agree.

I say it and I'll say it again, like AI and automation, it is like, it's very impressive. It is very impressive. But there's, there's some base level skills that you need to have, which is like, how do you convert them? And if there's no way to convert them, you can have loads of leads, you're just not going to get anything. I always pay attention more on the conversion process than I do on the AI automation process. Because if you can convert your close rate, you're saying now 50%. If your close rate is above 50%, then yeah, bring on the leads. But if your close rate is at 5% or at 1%, then bringing on more leads, it's like you just create more problems for yourself because you still have to take the calls and the meetings. Anyway, side note. What's the target for this year now? 240.

I said it was on 200K first.

Okay.

But I think like in April, I will get above 200. My uncle said to me, Stijn, 300K, you can do it. And I'm like, Yes. Or maybe I can just set the target on 300K.

Yeah, I think you should. For the same reasons that you said, you know, I don't want to take Saturdays off because I'm young and ambitious and, you know, I've got grand goals, then that should correlate into your target as well. Like, there's no point having a low target and a high work ethic. They need to match. I don't work weekends. I say that sometimes I might check in because, you know, being entrepreneurs day to day is like you're addicted to things. But besides that, it's like I don't necessarily make plans to do work on the weekends. When I started my business, my recruitment business, I had a baby on the way. So for me, it was, I felt like a level of time constraint. Now, obviously, I'm married, I've got 2 kids, like one of them has special needs. And there's a couple of other time constraints that I have, where working, I'm going to say even full-time hours is not necessarily an option for me. It's really hard for me to work full-time hours. For me, it's significantly reduced. That doesn't mean I don't go through periods of intensity, but they are reduced. I think it should be mirrored, meaning that if you have a high work ethic, then you should have high goals as well. There's no point having the same goals with a higher work ethic compared to somebody else. So I don't see why you, you can't do 300K because you've already done it in the best part of, well, less than 4 months, less than 4 months of this year. Why not go higher than that? I personally, and I'm without overcooking it, like, why not just aim for 350?

350?

You hit 320, you'll still be happy.

Yes, that's true.

But basically you want to have a target, one that aligns with your work ethic, and then you want to have a slightly higher bracket as well, which is, you know, if I do that, I'll give myself an extra treat. I used to do that and, you know, say to myself like, you know, I'll have this target. This is what I have to do as a bare minimum. I'll be disappointed if I'm less than that. This one I'll be really happy with. And if I do this one, then I'm going to buy something really nice for myself. And that's how I'm sure you would have seen from YouTube that I don't necessarily flaunt a lifestyle or anything like that or share too much about. Cards or holidays or anything like that. But there are a couple of irresponsible purchases that I've made, but they've been in moments where it marked a milestone in business or some kind of achievement. So everything that I have bought, it has a memory attached to it as well. It's like, okay, this was the day where I achieved X. Okay. That's what I do. You don't necessarily have to, but at the end of the day, like, I'm going to encourage you to do more than whatever you think you're capable of.

Yeah, it's true. Okay.

So, so when's the wedding then?

And the wedding's not planned. Okay. I'm going to marry her, of course, one day. But right now, I don't know.

Cool.

I know. I'll invite you, of course, when, when it's happening.

I would love to attend. I would love to attend.

Sure.

And I'd be honored to get an invite as well. Of course. Has there been any part of like us working together that has like really, really stood out for you? Where it's like, okay, I wasn't expecting that. Or, you know, I didn't think that was going to happen.

Oh, I don't know really, actually. No.

Do you want me to give you context on why I asked that question?

Yes, please.

Because when we were talking right at the beginning, the conversation, like there was a couple of comments made about let's talk about AI and automation. And we spoke about AI and automation. And you said to me in your words, like, I'm already using these tools, not necessarily the exact same tools, but from a functionality perspective, like, I'm using these tools, I'm still doing this, but you still crossed the line. And you still went forward. And now you're glad that you did. I'm trying to understand, like, what was the jumping moment? I know you mentioned earlier that me repeating your situation back to you made, made it make sense. There was you seeing the structure for calls for both clients and candidates that made a big impact on you. Was there anything else?

In our call, I saw that you are at the stage in which I want to grow into. So going to a stage in which I want to grow into, I need to copy or follow the strategy that person is doing. Like, if I want to become the best footballer in the world, then I go to either Ronaldo or Messi and ask him, how are you playing football? How are you thinking? How are you kicking the ball? And if he says I do X, then if I want to achieve close to him, I need to do X, not Y. So that's why I crossed the line.

Okay.

So at the beginning I was like, really? And later it became like a no-brainer. Like, I just need to follow this. He has convinced me. I've convinced myself. I've convinced my girlfriend. And now I just need to go all in because I have nothing to lose because I lost a bit. I can only gain more.

Strong will. Strong will. So I'm glad that you stood the test of it as well, not just like through us talking and taking that step, but also like you had 2 years to basically, nearly 3 years to basically give up on this business or even recruitment altogether because you had a lot of challenging moments. And I think, you know, when you look at people going into business or even starting, like, I'm sure you've probably heard it from some of like colleagues and friends that I'm going to do this for 6 months or I'm going to do it for 12 months or whatever. It's like, you're there like 3 and a half years in and it's like, now it clicked. Like you could have given up at any moment in time. So credit to you first. Thank you. So well done for sticking to it. And I'm glad that we spoke. I'm glad that my social media content stalked you. And I'm glad that your uncle said that you should consider it. And I'm glad that your girlfriend gave you a Royal Roller King. And then sometimes on reflection, it's like certain things need to happen, which might from the outside look to us like as if they're not a good thing. And those things need to happen to make you who you are today. And I'm sure you have a completely different trajectory and outlook on business and life as well from here on.

Yes, totally different, like way different The start of 2026.

Brilliant. I'm glad you feel that way. So how would you describe the ROI?

Well, you know, my costs are higher, of course, because first I only had one, maybe two subscriptions. Now I have way more.

Okay.

My girlfriend saw the invoices. She was like, Stein, you are paying a lot more than you used to. I'm like, yeah, but I'm also earning a lot more.

All tools that I've recommended?

Yes. Yes. You recommend and I've tried a few more, but usually what you recommend. For example, the CRM, I was using a free CRM. Now I pay like €150 a month per license for CRM. Worth it? Yes. Okay.

What was the CRM you were using before, by the way?

Uh, HubSpot.

Okay.

That's what I was using before. Now I use a different one and this CRM kills it. It just makes my life so much easier. It is from free to €150. It's a big step, but you know, it's worth it.

I mean, in the grand scheme, you're talking about €150 is a big step. But, you know, in the grand scheme of things for where you are right now, it's like, it's minuscule, but I'm sure you can see like how much of an impact it's going to have on your client and candidate generation, relationship management, and even maintenance of those accounts.

Yeah. You know, there are other tools for candidates and client generation, which I first paid nothing on. And now I pay also like $100 and $150 per license for tools. So my monthly cost has gone up, but my revenue, it's just a no-brainer. You just need these tools.

Okay. I appreciate you sharing that. And I think the tools are important. I think what you do after the tool has done everything that you want it to do is, I'm going to break the rules of the English language and just say important-er. They, yes. Yeah. They all, they all come together because you can stack it the other way as well. Meaning that you could be a really, really good recruiter and use no AI and automation and you'll still make money. But if you use AI and automation and you don't have the base level skills of recruitment, you're not making anything.

The combination. It's gold.

Yes, you struck it. Okay, brilliant. I'm going to slowly start bringing this to a close. We've been talking for a little while now. If you consider somebody else, similar situation to you, similar circumstances, and on the edge, like maybe they're another person who's been watching my videos for a year and they're thinking, you know what, should I do this? Should I not? What would you say to that person?

Just go and just take the chance. If you have nothing to lose, then you only have so much to gain.

Yeah, well, if you only need to make one placement to ROI on this.

Really, one placement and then there, then you're break-even.

I always say to people on calls as well, I think I said it to you as well. I would say that, look, if you don't believe I can help you make one placement, there's no point us having conversation. There's no point us talking. Like, just carry on watching the content, check out the YouTube videos, like, make it all make sense to you. If you believe I can help you in anything, then it's worth it. If you don't believe it, then it's okay. It's cool. I'll be fine.

Yeah, I've made 7 placements this year.

7x on the cash ROI then, yeah?

Yeah.

Yeah, cool. Is there anything that you would say to, like, there's going to be people who I'm also working with in the group setting and even one-to-one, there's going to be some people that might have achieved a bit less than you, maybe even struggling a little bit, and there's going to be some people that are ahead of you. What advice would you give to your peers in the group as well?

Don't stop believing. Believe in yourself.

We're going to start singing all of a sudden then.

That's the first thing that came up in my mind. Don't stop believing. Just, just go, just, just take a chance, take calculated risks. Otherwise it's gambling and execution without plan is nothing.

And is there, is there anything that you would tell them not to bother with? Like don't waste your time on that?

Calling without plan. Don't do things without a plan because I did it because I'm like, let's just dive into it. Let's just do it and we'll see how it happens. But sometimes it's okay to just take a step back, think about it, make a strategy. And then execute.

Makes a lot of sense. So what's next for you in the business? Like, you've got this target now. Are you going to be hiring people? Are you going to like— what's the new grand vision and goal for the business?

Staying consistently, that's the main thing, of course. More clients, more candidates, which I can generate. So I'm looking for someone who want to join my firm as freelancer, of course, because that's what I like, commission-based. Okay. And I want to teach him and learn everything Tell them everything I know. Yeah, yeah, basically everything.

I'm excited for you. Look forward to hearing the journey.

Thank you.

So are there any other final comments before we wrap up, Stijn?

Yeah, I'm curious how AI and automation can level up recruitment. I think that's the next step.

Let's do this then. Let's commit to having another conversation at a later moment, later time, and where we speak about exactly that, which is how AI and automation has impacted our business because it's evolving very quickly. I'm going to ask for whoever's watching or listening, wherever they might be, to comment the word AI. If they can comment the word AI, we know who's interested in this topic as well. If we get enough comments, then we'll do that production.

Right, let's do it.

I think we're months, maybe even weeks away from having that conversation because the development of AI and the speed of implementation, both of them simultaneously are getting quicker and faster. There's a, I think there's a mixture of feelings leading into it, but there's a lot of opportunity coming from it as well.

Lots of opportunity. Yes.

I joked about it on the call. I'm like, I'm waiting for a software to come out to say, we will manage a $1 million a month business for you for this $99 a month subscription. Oh yeah, we'll do it for you. So I'll take 10 of them, but I feel like it's heading in that kind of direction. But it is, we're going to see.

It is, it is. Yeah, it goes so fast that what I am building now for me was not available 2 months ago, like 1 month ago, because I didn't have the technical knowledge. It was possible, but you had to be technical engineering or whatever. But now for a simple recruiter who is not technical, but just let's say hustling, it's possible to make automations. I agree.

It's becoming less and less complex, a lot easier to put together. But like we said in the videos, they go hand in hand with your skill as a recruiter as well. So, okay, let's get back to work then. And for everyone watching, listening, we'll see you in the next video. Thank you for joining me again, Stijn. Again, I mean this from the bottom of my heart, I'm really, really happy for you. I could see things working for you well when we first spoke and I said it to you, and that's why I really pushed you on a high target. And I can remember when I said it and you said, okay, let's see how this goes. And that was your response. And obviously you've achieved a lot more than that. So I'm looking forward to the next few months with you and even the next few years as well, because it sounds like we've got a long growth trajectory for both of our businesses going forward as well.

So excited to be working with each I feel the same and I'd love to open this call and I hope people get inspired.

Yes. Appreciate you, Stijn. I'm sure you will inspire many.