Laid Off to Agency Owner: Zach Keen’s Proven Blueprint for Launching and Growing a Winning Recruiting Firm

Benjamin Mena [00:00:00]:
Coming up on this episode of the Elite Recruiter Podcast. You started a business in the last year. You have three kids at home and a family. How have you been able to juggle all those successfully?

Zach Keen [00:00:12]:
You know, I always make a point to, to put them first. You know, the company and business, it'll never be the forefront of my life.

Benjamin Mena [00:00:20]:
Typically when you hit those funks or when you hit those places where you need to get that mojo back, like, how do you get through that?

Zach Keen [00:00:28]:
I do a lot of things outside of work. Welcome to the Elite Recruiter Podcast with your host, Benjamin Mena, where we focus on what it takes to win in the recruiting game. We cover it all from sales, marketing, mindset, money, leadership and placements.

Benjamin Mena [00:00:48]:
This episode is brought to you by remote assistance. The go to partner. For recruiters who are done wasting time on operations, sourcing or marketing. Their remote assistants are pre vetted and fully trained for an entire four months. We're talking sourcing, candidate follow up, backend, automation, marketing support, all the things that pull you away from actually growing your business. So if you're serious about scaling your agency and want to buy back your time with real plug and play talent, go to WW RemoteAssistance AI and get matched in under 48 hours. I am so excited about this episode of the Elite Recruiter Podcast. And here's the thing.

Benjamin Mena [00:01:24]:
When you get laid off, you have decisions to make. Do you go get another job? Do you go start your own firm? Do you just take a break for a while and head over to Europe and enjoy some wine? But here's the thing. Like, starting your own firm is hard as heck. It requires a lot of work, requires a lot of capital. To go from 0 to start or 0 to like 60 miles an hour, 100 miles an hour. It requires tons of effort and for many people that start actually never really gets off the ground. But what if there's a way to actually get off the ground with your. Your start the launch of your business? What if you looked at the route of getting investors? Could those investors, people that have done it before, invest in you, give you enough wiggle room to run, give you the mentorship to grow to really have a successful firm? And that's one of the things that I'm so excited to talk about today, is we're going to talk with Zach, who's been in the recruiting industry for a while, faced exactly that and then made a decision and jumped on it.

Benjamin Mena [00:02:20]:
So Zach, welcome to the podcast.

Zach Keen [00:02:22]:
Yeah, thanks for having me, Benjamin.

Benjamin Mena [00:02:24]:
Real quick, before we start doing a Deep dive and everything. Quick 30 seconds about your company right now.

Zach Keen [00:02:29]:
Yeah. So, you know, started keen search and staffing about a year ago now, a little over a year. And yeah, we've been rocking and rolling. You know, I started it and, you know, been in the industry like you said, for over 10 years and now, you know, we're really starting to get our gears going and make a stand in the market. So, yeah, things are going pretty well so far.

Benjamin Mena [00:02:49]:
That is awesome. So before we start walking into the story of like, how you got to where you are now and where you're going in the future.

Zach Keen [00:02:55]:
Right.

Benjamin Mena [00:02:56]:
How do you even end up in this wonderful world of recruiting?

Zach Keen [00:02:59]:
Yeah, sure. Well, you know, and also, first off, thanks for having me on your podcast. Listen to it quite a bit and excited to be here. So whenever I first got into recruiting, actually I'm a music major, so got out of school and taught guitar for a while, did some retail and, you know, had my first kid, so needed to make a little extra money, so went and started working in a warehouse, own gas company, moved up into inside sales and then was unfortunately laid off in 2014 and had to find another position. So I went to a recruiting agency to apply for a inside sales rep job. Ended up working for the company. Didn't even, I think, get presented to that client. And that's kind of where I started out.

Zach Keen [00:03:39]:
You know, I did light industrial staffing. So this was back in, back in probably like 2015, 2016. And I really got my feet wet, you know, selling light industrial. I would go business to business in the 100 degree heat in the summer and, you know, knock on warehouse doors and ask if they needed help with a forklift driver, things like that, you know, so it was a lot.

Benjamin Mena [00:04:03]:
So you weren't just cold calling, you were actually going literally door to door, right?

Zach Keen [00:04:08]:
Yeah. And I thought that was the way to do it, you know, because I wasn't picking up the phone too much because I guess warehouse workers, they're not on the phone all the time, they're out on the warehouse floor. So a lot of times, you know, I would go to the receptionist, talk to them. But I mean, if the warehouse was back there, I would, I would just go straight to the warehouse and be like, hey, who's in charge? You know, drop off my business card and then maybe when I get back to the office in the afternoon, start making phone calls. So by that time I had my MBA because I went back to school, you know, to get more into the business field. So after a Year of that light industrial, I met a, met a guy that worked at, you know, largest staffing agency in the world and gotten more into professional services and started it's kind of doing the same thing except you're making calls to accounting managers and placing staff accountants, senior accountants, things like that. So really made a, an impact on the Houston branch here and that's kind of how I started in staffing and I enjoy it quite a bit.

Benjamin Mena [00:05:09]:
Real quick for those listening, like, you've always been on the sales side of it.

Zach Keen [00:05:13]:
Yeah, I actually never, I mean I've recruited, you know, I've made referrals and things like that to recruiters, but I've always worked a split desk, always been business development, sales. So you know, really starting my own company, I have to jump into recruiting, I have to jump into perm. When I was doing business development, I was always staffing or contract and would place contractors and then flip direct hire to full desk recruiters. But you know, nowadays I'm recruiting, I'm working the perm jobs and things like that, but always, always have been on the sales side.

Benjamin Mena [00:05:48]:
I think that's like an interesting thing. Like I've only seen it a few times in the conversations I have. So often people start as the recruiter and then they like finally work their way up to the sales side. Sales is almost a promotion. You've skipped that. Which we kind of had this conversation offline. Like you're like, you know, you've working with recruiters and hiring recruiters to do that and like many times, like you already have the strength that many recruiters probably should have, which is phenomenal.

Zach Keen [00:06:13]:
Right. I always enjoyed sales too, you know, reaching out to people and helping out their business. So yeah, I kind of wish I did do more recruiting when I started out just to understand, you know, that dynamic because it's, it's so different. Longer conversations and, and all sorts of stuff. So awesome.

Benjamin Mena [00:06:30]:
And then unfortunately you face the day where you got laid off.

Zach Keen [00:06:34]:
Right? Yeah, I mean, you know, it happens, you know, different companies do layoffs and everything and restructuring. So yeah, I found myself, you know, without a job about a year ago and you know, I can't go to Europe and have wine and lose income. You know, I got three kids now. So basically I, you know, applied for a couple jobs, talked to some, some different companies and ultimately also spoke with some investors that were interest in me starting a business and decided to go that route, you know, jumping feet first and putting my blood, sweat and tears into this company just to, you know, See what else is out there. I think it's important to take risks after a while, especially if you've been in the industry for a while.

Benjamin Mena [00:07:16]:
I mean, it is one of those things, like, you know, how to do the sales, which is probably one of the toughest things you've done, the staffing, which is hard. But let me just take a few steps back. Like, were you initially looking for investors or did, like, how did you find them?

Zach Keen [00:07:29]:
Yeah, so basically they found me through a search firm. And, you know, I was honestly pretty hesitant at first. You know, I have an mba, so I understand business plans and getting investors and things like that. But, you know, after meeting the guys and getting to know them, I felt a lot more comfortable, you know, getting that mentorship and going into having my own business. When I saw contract, I sold a lot of contract business. So that that actually takes a lot of capital up front to pay the contractor and everything. And it helps to know that, you know, bills are going to get paid and everything whenever you're starting out so you can get that Runway. I don't think I could have done it without, you know, having investors just because, you know, I got to pay the bills every month.

Benjamin Mena [00:08:10]:
Having your kids, having a house, having.

Zach Keen [00:08:12]:
Right.

Benjamin Mena [00:08:14]:
A full thing. So when you were like analyzing the different options that you had, you know, you said you've talked to a few other search firms and it sounds like on the sales side you probably could have got picked up super fast. What was one of the most enticing things about actually, like launching your own business with a team behind you?

Zach Keen [00:08:32]:
Right. Well, you know, I think. I don't want to say there's a lot of, you know, companies that don't do the right thing. I mean, I've always enjoyed, you know, finding out different way that companies do business. But I like the idea of being able to market myself and do marketing myself, sales myself, and, you know, just create something that is a little bit different. Whenever we started, we really wanted to focus, focus on, you know, authenticity and making sure we have an inclusive environment. And I think that, you know, is still the case nowadays. But I think I've always wanted to kind of take a hold of things myself and, you know, create something from.

Zach Keen [00:09:13]:
From what I've learned over the past decade in this industry. So I think ultimately that was what helped me make the decision. I've never started a business as well. I've never been the leader. So I wanted to take that risk and at least try it out, you know, and I really made a good Choice in starting the business, for sure.

Benjamin Mena [00:09:32]:
And so, you know, if you're sitting there talking with somebody that's actually kind of like running into a situation like you like, I want to start something, should I go figure everything out myself, or is it worth. To have the mentorship and the investment behind you?

Zach Keen [00:09:48]:
Yeah, I think it's definitely worth it to have the mentorship, especially if you, you know, we're just a. A salesperson or a recruiter. I think having the mentorship of someone that has done it before, has ran a business before, seen the ups and downs of what can happen. You know, there's a lot that goes to it as far as, you know, creating the business and hiring and, you know, finding the right people, looking for the right people for your business. So that, that helps immensely. And then, you know, just being able to ask questions and, you know, get feedback on some of your decisions, it really helps out a lot.

Benjamin Mena [00:10:27]:
Awesome. And so you launched the business, you got it off the ground about a year ago. How did you first get your first few clients? Like, what did you do?

Zach Keen [00:10:35]:
Yeah, so, you know, like I said, I've been in the Houston market for about 10 years, and it's just doing what I've always done, you know, making calls, seeing if people need help with their searches. I think my first couple of clients, they were job ads. You know, I saw a couple of accounting positions open and just made a call to the CFO and said, hey, do you need help with those positions? And sure enough, they had a couple of contract roles that we were able to get filled, you know, and, you know, I think we got our insurance for contract, like that week, you know, to make sure everything was set up and everything. So it happened fast and, you know, just haven't looked back.

Benjamin Mena [00:11:14]:
So in these first few clients, like you've worked for some probably the largest brands in the recruiting world. It's something like I always talk about in the govcon sector. Did you have to market yourself different?

Zach Keen [00:11:26]:
I think, you know, it was a little different. A couple of clients, you know, they know my name just from being in the industry and calling them, you know, so much for the past 10 years. I think it's about, you know, bumping your chest out and showing that you can offer kind of the same services just on a different scale. You know, some of these big brands, they usually have little sectors of like, this is interim accounting or this is an engineering group. And really it's the same size, you know, four to eight people delivering the services. So it's kind of just on a smaller scale, but I'm still doing the same sort of calling and offering the same quality that, you know, you can offer from those big brands for the listeners.

Benjamin Mena [00:12:08]:
Like, at the end of the day, do those managers really care about. About the big name or not?

Zach Keen [00:12:13]:
Yeah, I mean, as long as you get the right people in place, I don't. I don't think they really care yet.

Benjamin Mena [00:12:18]:
And so you. And we talked about this offline, like, when you launched the company, like, your game plan was almost everywhere, right? Like, focus on business everywhere, right?

Zach Keen [00:12:27]:
Yeah. Right now, I mean, we do niche do a little bit, mainly focus on accounting and finance, but like I said when I was always doing contract work, but, you know, our first couple of hires were more perm recruiters, so I kind of did get more direct hire roles just because it's a different pace and everything, so. But this year gonna go really hard on getting more contract positions and also engineering and technical roles. I think AI and automation have really kind of shrank the accounting teams of a lot of big companies. Like, I used to be able to place like four apar people at a time on contract, but a lot of accounting teams are consolidating or offshoring, so we're looking at more technical positions. But I think, you know, we cast a wide net when we started just to get business. But, you know, as we start finding different sectors that are hiring, we start niching down a little bit. So really focusing on, you know, staying in accounting and finance, but really looking at technical roles as well now.

Benjamin Mena [00:13:29]:
Okay. And are you really, like, focused on the Houston market right now?

Zach Keen [00:13:34]:
I am, yeah. I think even when we start, that's another thing. You know, having an investor, it helps to take risk and see what's out there. Last year we did a lot. We were kind of national, like, hey, we could fill any job. You know, we. We had a lot of Florida roles and all over Texas. But right now, you know, we're really focusing on the Houston market and making sure that that grows.

Zach Keen [00:13:54]:
But, you know, we'll still work in different markets across Texas.

Benjamin Mena [00:13:58]:
And what point did you realize you had to kind of like, go from national to more local?

Zach Keen [00:14:03]:
I guess. You know, whenever we started getting, I guess we didn't know the markets. You know, I think especially in the contract business, you want to have a pipeline of candidates and that just because it's so fast. So I think really focusing on the Houston market, we're able to recruit people and have them kind of on a bench, so to speak. So that Way, whenever someone does have an open opportunity, we can, you know, look at our database and find people. Whereas if you're working in different markets with such a small team, you don't really have the pipeline. So, you know, it takes longer to fill roles. And I think that's kind of a thing we tripped on.

Zach Keen [00:14:41]:
We need to get more focused on one city or one niche so we can really run that market.

Benjamin Mena [00:14:47]:
You know, you initially had to grow and find a recruiter, right? Because of the growth?

Zach Keen [00:14:52]:
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, yeah, we have three recruiters now, but yeah, initially, you know, yeah, we had to find someone because, honestly, I wasn't the best recruiter. So we had to find, you know, a couple people to. To help some of my business development efforts to find candidates. Absolutely.

Benjamin Mena [00:15:07]:
How did you find your first recruiter? And like, what'd you have to go through?

Zach Keen [00:15:12]:
So, yeah, I mean, I just basically made a call to and she was available on the market and kind of just said, hey, you know, we're starting this business. I have, you know, some investors that are interested in, you know, just trying to grow. And, you know, I think it takes a. It takes a certain person to join a startup because, you know, if you're working with large companies, there's databases that already have candidates set up, you know, and clients as well that you can just go off of. But, you know, with a new company, it's all starting from scratch. You kind of have to have a little more, you know, entrepreneur spirit to join a startup because, you know, you're going to be finding people and putting them in the system and there's not much, you know, history to fall back on. You know, whenever I worked for different larger companies, I would go back and say, you know, who did we work with two years ago? And just call them up, you know. But starting from scratch, you gotta go out and find the business and create new relationships.

Benjamin Mena [00:16:10]:
Now that you've hired your third recruiter, like, how have you learned about how to set up those systems to set up those recruiters for success?

Zach Keen [00:16:18]:
Yeah. So first of all, make sure, you know, the person is willing to be an entrepreneur. And, you know, I think it takes a certain person, but, you know, set them up for success, as in, you know, set up their system and everything, but just make sure that they are ready to go, you know, because it does take a certain type of person.

Benjamin Mena [00:16:37]:
Three recruiters now, with yourself as a salesperson, the rainmaker, that's incredible growth.

Zach Keen [00:16:41]:
For like a year, we've been working, you know, pretty hard, and I think the market's really starting to turn now. Last year, you know, with the election and everything and being in oil and gas, there was a lot of people staying put and not willing to move. So a lot of times we were getting jobs but not finding the right people just because people were not wanting to move. But, you know, nowadays I think there's more movement in the market here in Houston, so.

Benjamin Mena [00:17:07]:
And I want to doubt in this. You know, you said things were a little slower prior to the auction. Things are picking up speed now, and you guys are growing. What is actually working for business development?

Zach Keen [00:17:17]:
Well, I mean, 10 years ago, you know, it was cold calling. I was told to make 50 calls a day and not leave the office unless I'm going to lunch. Then we had the pandemic and everyone was working remote. And I think. I don't think there really is a game plan anymore on what the best way is to do business development. You have to kind of be one step ahead. You know, I'm trying to do a lot of marketing on LinkedIn and still making, you know, business development calls, finding, you know, leaders of companies locally and making calls and offering our services, offering candidates that we're working with. And, you know, I think you have to be on top of email marketing as well.

Zach Keen [00:17:53]:
It's definitely different than it was. You know, building and everything moves so fast nowadays. You know, people are looking for. Our clients are looking for skill sets, and if the candidate doesn't match all the boxes, you know, they're usually not that interested. Whereas, you know, before, a lot of clients were interested in training or, you know, taking a chance on people. So you just got to be buttoned up and make sure you provide the right candidates.

Benjamin Mena [00:18:20]:
The Elite Recruit podcast has multiple summits coming up that you need to make sure that you are registered for. We have the AI Recruiting Summit 2025 coming up, and on top of that, finish the year strong. These two summits are going to help you move the needle, help you achieve your goals, help you achieve your dreams, and make 2025 the year that you started out and you wanted to. To be make sure you get registered and also stay tuned. Got something cooking for you guys. Working on another project that you guys are going to absolutely love. All right, see you guys at the summits and see you guys soon. How much, percentage wise, would you say, like, new business and closed business have you gotten from cold calling versus, like, email or LinkedIn or other places?

Zach Keen [00:18:59]:
Well, it kind of goes hand in hand because, I mean, when you're posted on LinkedIn all the time your brand is getting shown and I think that makes people more likely to answer the phone and talk to you. Whereas, you know, if you're just making calls all the time and no one knows your new brand, they probably won't answer the phone or hang up on you. So I'm trying to make sure people know that we're here, we're working, we're competent and then, you know, connecting with them however I can. But I do a lot of like LinkedIn in mails and things like that as well because everyone is different on how they want to be sold to, you know, and there's so many like scam calls nowadays, so it's difficult to get people on the phone if you.

Benjamin Mena [00:19:37]:
Want a good laugh. Scam calls. Since we've started hitting record, I've already had two hit my phone.

Zach Keen [00:19:41]:
Oh wow. Really?

Benjamin Mena [00:19:44]:
Well, and that's why I was like, you know, because you're talking about making calls and I'm like, I know, like, I mean, I also work in govcon and people work in skiff. So like I don't do as much cold calling as I probably should. But you know, if it works, it works and I want people to know that like, yeah, the phone still works. It's a secret weapon.

Zach Keen [00:19:59]:
It's just second nature to me. I guess I'm, I'm old school now even though, you know, I'm millennial. But I understand, you know, the younger Gen Z, they don't like the phone at all. But that's kind what I was trained on. So like, if I'm not making calls, I feel like I'm not working. You know, it's just kind of second nature to me now to, to pick up the phone and try, you know, leave voicemails and things like that.

Benjamin Mena [00:20:20]:
Well, talking about work, like, you know, what kind of KPIs do you hold yourself to since you've like had success kind of coming out of the gate?

Zach Keen [00:20:28]:
Right. I still try to make at least, you know, 20, 30 calls a day, whether that's, you know, to candidates, prepping them, things like that and doing business development. But you know, as far as job orders, I'll still, you know, try to get two to three a week to whether it's contract or direct hire. And you know, we have. But you know, I'm also not a big fan of KPIs. You know, I want to, I want to hire people that are willing to work and you know, however they do. I have some people that will find candidates through email or and then start texting them. But then, you know, they may have like one phone call with them or have a zoom meeting to, you know, have a quick interview.

Zach Keen [00:21:08]:
But you know, I'm not going to be someone that micromanages and makes sure, I mean, we're all professionals. And you know, I have a hybrid schedule. People will come in two or three times a week and then, you know, I just trust that they're doing their job. And you know, I'm, I'm only trying to hire, you know, seasoned recruiters that understand the market and everything. I mean, I want to give someone a chance, but I just don't think we're there yet to hire like an entry level person. And I think that's, you know, with a startup that's kind of what you have to do because you can't. We gotta make money before we can, you know, really hire just a ton of people.

Benjamin Mena [00:21:42]:
When hiring your recruiters, you're typically looking for people that like know about recruiting the ins and outs.

Zach Keen [00:21:47]:
Right.

Benjamin Mena [00:21:48]:
You're not looking at the college train em up model of some of these other places.

Zach Keen [00:21:52]:
Exactly. Yeah.

Benjamin Mena [00:21:53]:
Did you even like think about that at all or was it just like I'm hiring people that know what they're doing right out of the gate?

Zach Keen [00:21:59]:
Yeah, I mean that's kind of what, what I thought of because they understand the market, they understand the ebbs and flows. Especially right now, I think it's still kind of a difficult market to break into. And, and I think someone that understands how the staffing world was, you know, before the pandemic and then now they're going to have a much better idea of what needs to be done to make business happen, you know, so that's.

Benjamin Mena [00:22:23]:
Awesome and fun, but at the same time I'm always just like, I know some of those like college shops, they just burn through people so fast just to get right.

Zach Keen [00:22:31]:
Don't get me wrong, I would, I would hire the right person, but it takes a lot of capital too to, to burn through all those college kids, you know, that are straight out of college. Because I've seen it, I've seen it. Yeah.

Benjamin Mena [00:22:42]:
Now that you get your first year done, you've kind of like figured out that you want to focus more locally. And then in Texas compared to the national focus that you had your first year, the focus is staffing. You've got a team of three recruiters now. What does the future look like?

Zach Keen [00:22:57]:
Yeah, so I think, you know, after we really get the Houston market, probably go into Dallas and you know, I Think there's a good market there. I just. I don't know that market as well as Houston, and I found that out. You know, there's different cultures and just different way of doing work out there. So I think the future is, you know, getting more. More people and, you know, filling up. Right now we're in a shared office space. There's a couple more offices here.

Zach Keen [00:23:24]:
You know, just make sure we get the right. I think that's really key in a startup is to get the right people in place and then just kind of grow it. I think hopefully by the end of the year, we'll be, you know, maybe seven plus internal employees. And I think, you know, keeping the culture is very important as well. Making sure that we stick to our values and kind of go from there. And then, you know, after five years, I'm hoping we're really rocking and rolling.

Benjamin Mena [00:23:50]:
Okay, before we jump over the quick fire questions, you're looking at seven employees internal by the end of year two, and you're looking at five years rocking and rolling. If you did not actually, like, take the route of investor money, but you still thought about, like, starting your own business, do you think you'd be anywhere close to where you're at right now?

Zach Keen [00:24:11]:
I don't think so, no. Because I would probably be like one of those sole recruiters, you know, because it's a risk to hire more people because that's the highest cost to running a business is wages, you know. So I definitely don't think so because you gotta, you know, have that capital to help hire and keep it going. Absolutely.

Benjamin Mena [00:24:35]:
How many years would you think it would have taken you to get to where you are now without the investment?

Zach Keen [00:24:40]:
I mean, I don't know. I don't know. Probably over 10 years, but I mean, who knows? Because, you know, the market changes all the time. I don't even know if I would be able to.

Benjamin Mena [00:24:52]:
You know, I have not met very many people that have gone the route, but I. It's one of the things that I have seen for people that have gone that route with the right mentorship and the right investors, is it's worked well and they've grown and then sold.

Zach Keen [00:25:05]:
Right? Yeah. I definitely think, you know, if things get down the line where, if we sell, you know, I'll probably start another business, you know, and do it again. Because I like helping clients and going from there.

Benjamin Mena [00:25:18]:
So your fun is helping clients. I just absolutely love that. Before you jump over to the quick fire questions, is there anything that you also want to share when it comes to like launching and starting your business and everything that you've done within your first year.

Zach Keen [00:25:30]:
I mean, I think you have to have a self discipline, you know, to. Cause you don't have a manager sitting next to you that will talk to you about KPIs. You kind of have to create your own KPIs and just keep a good head on your shoulders and make sure you're doing the right thing. I think having integrity and good ethics is kind of required to starting a staffing business because, you know, there's a lot of red tape that can happen too. You know, you gotta have your LLC and good insurance and everything. We use a PEO to help make sure we're compliant with everything. So I think if you want to start your own business, you have to really understand it's gonna be a grind, you know, the first couple of years for sure.

Benjamin Mena [00:26:09]:
I love that. Well, jumping over to the quick fire questions and they don't need to be quick answers.

Zach Keen [00:26:14]:
Okay.

Benjamin Mena [00:26:15]:
If you have a brand new recruiter or you know, somebody that's jumping into the industry this year in 2025 and they come up to you and they're like, hey, what kind of advice would you give me to have a successful career? What would you tell them?

Zach Keen [00:26:28]:
I would tell them, don't do it. No, I'm just joking. I would tell them that there's, you know, a lot of highs and lows in recruiting. You get a placement, you feel like you're on top of the world, but then if the next couple, couple of weeks you don't make a placement, you're going to be, you know, pretty down. So I would, you know, say you got to be, you know, tenacious and tough, take a lot of no's and you know, just keep grinding. If you're on the recruiting side, you gotta, you know, start building relationships and not be afraid, you know, to pick up the phone and get to know people. It's a fast paced environment as well. I think a lot of people that get into recruiting, they're used to being in roles where it's not so fast paced.

Zach Keen [00:27:11]:
And you know, to be competitive in this industry, you have to make a lot of placements and have volume. And that requires, you know, critical thinking and, and making sure you're staying on top of things. So that's kind of the advice I would give.

Benjamin Mena [00:27:25]:
Same question. But for somebody that's been around the block a decade, two decades, what advice would you give that person?

Zach Keen [00:27:32]:
Someone who's been around for a couple decades. Yeah. I would say learn. Learn from your mistakes. You're going to, you know, make mistakes in this business. Whether it's, you know, sending a candidate that doesn't really make sense for a role or, you know, sending something wrong. And, you know, you just gotta learn from your mistakes and keep going. And, you know, you don't know what the future holds.

Zach Keen [00:27:53]:
And there's so many outside forces that affect our industry as well. So you gotta be adaptable. How things were five years ago are probably different now, and, you know, keep chasing the right jobs that will help, you know, make money.

Benjamin Mena [00:28:10]:
Has there been a book that's had a huge impact on your personal career and success?

Zach Keen [00:28:15]:
Yeah, there has. I can't think of the name, but it's this book. It's about mojo. Like, find your mojo. That kind of helped me out quite a bit because basically you can get down yourself. And I think it's called finding your mojo or who stole my mojo, get it back and live or something. So, like, especially in sales. Cause I've been in sales and may close a lot of deals and stuff, and then you could be down for a little bit.

Zach Keen [00:28:42]:
And that book helped me, you know, realize how to get my mojo back and, you know, get back to where I'm, you know, in that sales mindset where you're kind of, you know, just being successful and helping people out. Because if you're not practicing, you know, having your mojo, you could be down for a while and keep hitting losses, which you want to get out of pretty quick.

Benjamin Mena [00:29:05]:
Typically, when you hit those funks or when you hit those places where you need to get that mojo back. Like, how do you get through that?

Zach Keen [00:29:13]:
I do a lot of things outside of work. Like, I inline skate, like 30 miles a week with a group here. So that helps me. Getting away from the computer and not looking at my phone for a couple hours while I'm skating, I play guitar. And I think just getting away from everything, from all work, helps me just kind of take a breath and. And realize, you know, the funk you're in at work isn't your whole life, you know, so I like doing that and then just coming back and being refreshed and. And getting back to what I do.

Benjamin Mena [00:29:45]:
Best, you know, you started a business in the last year. You have three kids at home and a family. How few been able to juggle all those successfully?

Zach Keen [00:29:56]:
Yeah. So I mean, my office is, you know, fairly close to the house. When I get home, two of them are in school already. So I'll come home and after work have dinner and everything and spend time with them. Sometimes I'll, you know, do my prep, like for the next day after they go to bed. You know, I always make a point to. To put them first. You know, the company and business, it'll never be the forefront of my life.

Zach Keen [00:30:21]:
You know, I'm always putting family first, and that's kind of the priority. And, you know, hanging out with my kids and, you know, going to T ball practice or gymnastics, that refreshes me also. And, you know, making sure my kids are happy and everything that gets me going. There's been no neglect for sure. And it's been nice, you know, to be able to.

Benjamin Mena [00:30:39]:
It sounds like it's even like revitalizing you too.

Zach Keen [00:30:42]:
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, whenever I started in this business, you know, going, like I mentioned, 100 degree heat. I mean, it's to feed my kids, you know, that motivates me. I'd always have a picture of my family and, you know, I'd look at them and if I didn't want to do that because I'm an introverted person and making calls all day is. It's difficult, especially at first. But, you know, you got to do what you got to do.

Benjamin Mena [00:31:06]:
You just said that you're introverted, but. But you decided to hop on a podcast with me. Is this. Is this outside of your comfort zone?

Zach Keen [00:31:13]:
I mean, a little bit, yeah. But I think you could train yourself to, even if you're introverted, to do things outside of your comfort zone. Absolutely. So used to it now.

Benjamin Mena [00:31:22]:
And that's one of the things I wanted to ask is, like, I've seen some major billers that are just like the most introverted people, right? Like, big, like both on the staffing, both on the search side. Just absolutely crushing. I think, like one I met is, like, had a $3 million a year recently. How did you get over in such a business where we have to literally talk all the time?

Zach Keen [00:31:44]:
Right.

Benjamin Mena [00:31:45]:
How did you, like, teach yourself and get over some of the things that you had to learn to have this success in recruiting?

Zach Keen [00:31:52]:
Yeah, I think it's just practice, you know, and honestly, I think introverted personalities, they come across as not salesy. So I think it actually makes clients let their guard down a little bit more than an extroverted salesperson. And I think it's just practice, you know, because at first I think I had a Persona where, you know, you have this business. It's almost like, like acting. I started acting a lot recently, but, you know, I think when I first got into the Industry. I had this like Wolf of Wall street Persona or something. You know, I just be like, hey, how's it going? You know, it wasn't me, but over the years I've gotten more authentic with myself. And I think just over the years I kind of just came out of my shell a little bit and, you know, I'm able to, to talk to clients and, you know, be myself.

Benjamin Mena [00:32:39]:
Wolf of Wall Street.

Zach Keen [00:32:42]:
That's when it came out, you know, and that's how it was too. Back in those days, there was a bullpen, you know, at all the agencies. And I mean, there probably still is, but you know, that's just how it was, you know, 10 years ago. It was almost like a bullpen, Wolf of Wall street type mentality in agencies.

Benjamin Mena [00:33:03]:
And you said you like really leaned into your own personal authenticity. And has that really helped on the sales side?

Zach Keen [00:33:11]:
I think so, yeah. You know, I like to ask clients, you know, about their families and what they like to do for fun. You know, whenever I first started in the business, I would talk 95%, you know, business and 5%, you know, personal. But now it might be even 50, 50, you know, depending on the person. Just because, you know, like I said, work life isn't at the forefront of everything. Especially, you know, after the pandemic. I think a lot of people realized, you know, there's so much more to life than work. So, yeah, I definitely open up to a lot of my, my clients and talk about, you know, personal things as opposed to just business.

Benjamin Mena [00:33:45]:
Well, and I want to kind of, you know, wrap it up with this. But like, I want to take you back with everything that, you know, now with your own company, the years in staffing and recruiting. If you got a chance to go sit down with, with little Zach, who just started in the recruiting world and had a conversation with yourself. What kind of advice would you give yourself at the very beginning of your recruiting career?

Zach Keen [00:34:05]:
I think it would be to ask open ended questions for sure. I think whenever I first start, I'd be like, you know, I'd ask yes, no questions. But I think not letting things get to you so much because when I first started, got hung up on things like that, people told me I'm not competent. And I think I was just, I just had my training wheels on. But I would tell myself, you know, to keep going and don't take the lows so low and don't take the highs so high. I mean, you just gotta keep grinding and you'll find the right people to do business with.

Benjamin Mena [00:34:40]:
Well, same question, but let's go back a year. Like you. You just launched your company, you've put a game plan, you've started, like, making calls at that point in time, like maybe your first month in with everything that, you know. Now, what would you go back and tell Zach?

Zach Keen [00:34:54]:
I think I would tell myself, you know, one step at a time. Get one client and, you know, fill that and move on to the next and kind of be more niche. I think, you know, a year ago, I had a lot of grand plans, you know, and it takes time and. Yeah, and I also make sure, you know, hire the right people, get the right marketing scheme going and everything. But, yeah, that's probably what I would say.

Benjamin Mena [00:35:15]:
Awesome. Well, Zach, if anybody wants to follow you, how do they go about doing that?

Zach Keen [00:35:20]:
You know, my LinkedIn Zach, Keen Z A C H K E N. You could search for me. Our website is keenstaffing.com so it has our number and email on there. So feel free to reach out through that.

Benjamin Mena [00:35:34]:
And before I let you go, is there anything else that you want to share with the listeners?

Zach Keen [00:35:39]:
Not right now. I mean, if you're, you know, interested in the industry or want to talk about, you know, having investors start your company, just reach out. But, you know, I think rising tides lifts all boats, so I appreciate what you're doing, you know, talking to different recruiters and everything, and I think we're in a great industry and a great time, and, yeah, I look forward to what the next five years have in store.

Benjamin Mena [00:36:01]:
You know what? I can't wait till we connect again and maybe do another episode and. Five years and you've taken over, like, half of Texas.

Zach Keen [00:36:09]:
Yeah, let's hope so. We'll see.

Benjamin Mena [00:36:11]:
Let's do it. Well, Zach, I just want to say thank you so much. You know, I know every single person's path is different when it comes to the recruiting game, and that's one of the things that I absolutely love about this podcast is, you know, you got some people that are just out of the gate. Start a company. You have other people that, you know. You know what? I want a backing of a team. I want a backing of investors, I want a backing of mentors that can really help me get out of the gate properly start a company that can actually grow. So thank you for coming on, sharing your story, and, you know, because there are, like, I have talked to recruiters that have actually looked for investors, and I'm like.

Benjamin Mena [00:36:46]:
I have been like, I don't know. So this is just another story in the recruiting industry that's here to help. And I want you to absolutely crush 2025. Put in the goals, put in the work, put in, put in, like Zach said, the self discipline for you to chase your dreams. So go crush it guys. This episode is brought to you by Remote Assistants. The Go to partner for recruiters who are done wasting time on operations, sourcing or marketing. Their Remote assistants are pre vetted and fully trained for an entire four months.

Benjamin Mena [00:37:16]:
We're talking sourcing, candidate, follow up, backend, automation, marketing support. All the things that pull you away from actually growing your business. So if you're serious about scaling your agency and want to buy back your time with real plug and play talent, go to www.remoteassistance.AI and get matched in under 48.