2. CK Recruitment

Revenue: $9.0 million
Growth: 933.7%
Founders: Kylie Hayes, 35, and Cassie Greenland, 38
Head office: Sydney, NSW
Year founded: 2014
Employees: 9
Industry: Human resources and recruitment
Website: www.ckrecruitment.com.au

CK recruitment founders Kylie Hayes and Cassie Greenland were a force to be reckoned with when they worked together in the recruiting world, but when working for other companies, they felt their success was sometimes undervalued.

In 2014, the opportunity presented itself for the duo to strike out alone, and they spent time developing a recruitment agency that delivered a personal service.

“We pride ourselves on our business ethics; we are honest, approachable, dedicated and friendly,” Hayes told SmartCompany.

“We value the clients and employees equally and focus on their satisfaction rather than the bottom line.”

It wasn’t all smooth sailing, however: a non-compete clause from the pair’s previous employer left them to start completely from scratch.

The task ahead was to build an entirely new client base for a business that did not yet have a reputation, and through this process Greenland and Hayes discovered it’s critical to remain confident in your company’s premise, even if the chips are stacked against you.

“We learnt that doubt will inevitably restrict your results, [and] stress to perform was taking away our down-to-earth approach,” Hayes says.

“Therefore we just had to back one another and be confident we could do it, it would just take time.”

Fast forward three years and CK Recruitment has seen 933% revenue growth, booking $9 million in income in the most recent financial year.

The pair say the path to growth has come about because of one simple approach they’ve always taken: “Work together”.

“Being a business owner has many perks and if your business is doing well, it’s extremely satisfying,” they say.

“However, you need to enjoy all of it. The times when things are hard or not going to plan will happen more often than not.”

Hayes and Greenland are looking to grow their client base even further in coming months, and their approach to finding new customers is also all about being straightforward.

“Cass and I are big on keeping it simple and to be honest, growth comes from picking up the phone,” Hayes says.