How This Recruiter Went From $500 Left to Seven Figures

How do you raise your fees, rebuild your desk from rock bottom, and turn a collapsing business into a seven-figure operation within a year?
In this episode of The Resilient Recruiter, I sit down with Randee Staats, founder of S4 Search Partners, who went from losing everything — $250K in debt, $500 left, newborn on the way — to rebuilding a million-dollar recruiting firm from scratch.
Randee shares the exact systems, habits, and fee structure changes that changed everything.
If you've ever felt stuck with low fees, inconsistent billings, or clients who drain your time, this conversation will hit home.
*What You'll Learn in This Episode:*00:00 Intro
02:49 How Randee discovered recruiting after giving up his baseball dream
05:04 Launching his firm in his parents' basement and landing a billion-dollar client
09:35 The Jim Carrey check that closed a $600K account
13:15 Why early success hid the cracks in his business
14:18 The scaling mistake that cost him $250K
17:16 The turning point that changed everything
23:10 The weekly call script that filters real clients from tyre-kickers
42:00 The wake-up call: "You don't have a business"
44:14 The new rules: 20 percent minimum fees, 30-day payables
46:47 The $30K placement that rebuilt his confidence
50:21 The daily planner system
51:22 BD rhythm: 5 companies, 5 decision makers, 25 emails daily
1:03:09 The point system to stay consistent
1:07:33 How he broke seven figures the year after starting over
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