Need help and advice on a new startup im doing

[telsa]

Not sure if this is gonna reach anyone, but might as well try.

So I have an online startup business I launched back in January 2023, cannot mention the name as its against the rules in this subreddit so i do not promote my business.

We’re a self service recruitment website specifically catered to the Hospitality and F&B Industries (food and beverage)

So we have two types of users who can register for free with us, employees (job seekers) & employers (companies)

Any user can sign up for free from anywhere in the world and either post a job (if your a company) or apply to jobs (if your a job seeker)

For job seekers it’s 100% free to use always, for companies we offer very affordable packages that renew every 30 days:

FREE FOOD PACKAGE: 1 job post + view 10 CV’s = FREE

READY TO COOK PACKAGE: 2 job posts + view 30 CV’s = $199

READY TO SERVE PACKAGE: 5 job posts + view 125 CV’s = $425

READY TO EAT PACKAGE: 14 job posts + view 560 CV’s = $980

We don’t take any fees when companies hire through us (I want to be affordable to everyone and have volume), this is currently the only way we make money, we’ll be adding more monetization features in the near future like Featured Job Posts and Featured Profiles, etc..)

Anyhow, the advice I need is: Currently the platform has around 3000+ job seekers registered and counting, all waiting for new job opportunities - my BIGGEST PROBLEM is getting companies onboard to post a job with us, even though we have a “FREE FOOD PACKAGE” where they can post for free with us and hire for free!

Been doing marketing for over 8 months now, sponsored ads, cold calling potential companies, used my networking BUT still nothing .. we only average like 4-5 job posts a month in total from all job posts. Currently at 30 registered companies, but they dont all post jobs with us (some just register and thats it).

And if you’re wondering, YES, companies HAVE hired through us the past 8 months.

IMPORTANT POINT TO MENTION: Companies CANNOT see the pricing unless they register with us, but were not even getting registrations .. so thats why i dont think its a pricing issue. Maybe im marketing the platform in the wrong region? (Middle East in the Arab World)

Looking for some advice on this matter, I dont know how to get more companies to sign up and post jobs with us. My vision is to have hundreds if not thousands of jobs on my platform monthly and scale this project but it seems im missing something and i cant put my finger on it ..

Anyways, i hope this post can reach someone with some golden advice as ive reached out to friends and family multiple times but no one has time to give ..

Thanks

 

[martalookingforanswers]

@telsa What makes you stand out from other companies like Indeed or Monster? It seems the pricing point is high, $199 dollars to have access to +3000 job seekers that may or may not be in my area? You need to either build up your database or offer some other differentiating factor.

 

[telsa]

@martalookingforanswers Well Indeed and Monster are huge, i cant even compare myself to them .. but i do specialize in the hospitality and f&b industries, i guess thats a USP.

Regarding pricing, i agree with you that access to these CV’s could or couldnt be in your area, but you dont have to ever pay us, you can just keep subscribing to the Free Package and post a job every month

 

[eider]

@telsa I don't have any type of industry data to make an informed judgment on this, but it seems like most businesses are probably looking to post more than just 1 job per month and look at much more than just 10 CVs unless you are targeting small businesses. Even for the free version, it might be that it's not even worth the extra legwork to post on your platform in addition to the other big names like LinkedIn, Monster, Indeed, etc. to be limited to one post with a smaller pool of candidates and limits on how many CVs you can even review.

So basically I think the free version isn't providing enough value to even hassle with it, and the paid version is too expensive for small businesses (or at least the perceived value isn't there for the customer). I assume you have done competitive research to ensure that your pricing is in-line with the industry, but if your target demo is small businesses, which I assume it primarily is, $199/mo for 2 posts is going to be a tough sell. I work in the software industry and I can tell you there are recruitment software systems with ATS (applicant tracking systems) built-in that provide a lot more functionality for reviewing applications/CVs, comparing candidates, and managing job posts on multiple major platforms all from one dashboard, and they cost $200/mo or less (for small businesses, that is). If your platform provided access to high-quality candidates for skilled specialty roles like engineering, law, or medical industries, I could see the value here, but this is for the food and beverage industry; primarily low-skill roles with notoriously high turnover.

I think you are going to need to make introductory pricing for new clients. Cut the prices in half for their first year while you build clientele and establish some credibility.

 

[telsa]

@eider Thank you for your comment, def insightful.

There is a major point i forgot to mention, which ill edit the post now and add it: Companies cannot see my pricing unless they register with us, they can only see that they can post for free with us once they register.

So my problem is getting companies to register, pricing isnt a factor as of now because no one is registering so they cant see what the pricing is

Maybe im marketing in the wrong region?

 

[martalookingforanswers]

@telsa Those are you competitors though so you need to compare and differentiate yourself. I worked with a startup that was doing something similar in the BioPharma space but with specialized positions, they were able to differentiate themselves by presenting interview ready candidates and providing a database of 200k+ candidates in the US.

The biggest issue with hospitality and f&b industry is high turn over because they are primarily entry level positions. So how does your platform solve that issue?

 

[telsa]

@martalookingforanswers Yea i agree there is high turnover in this industry .. truthfully currently i dont have the quantity of candidates (hopefully i will in the future) and i dont have like high end tech behind my platform .. its a simple platform.

Also another main thing i forgot to mention was companies cant see the pricing till they register .. but im having trouble onboarding companies. So i dont think its a price issue, as they dont even see the pricing - they just know they can post for free - but even with that theyre not signing up

 

[definedbytruth]

@telsa I would create a survey for current customers and ask them insightful questions and use that data to modify your pricing plan or marketing strategy or both.

 

[telsa]

@definedbytruth Okay thank you, thats an interesting one. I’ve already gotten feedback from the companies saying our UX/UI is very good and simple to use and our pricing is def affordable. But my problem is getting companies onboard, like you cant see the pricing unless you register - so why arent companies registering?

 

[jacke71]

@telsa get your job seekers numbers up first... then use that number as a bait for the companies.

3k people just ain't enough to catch the eye of a business

maybe only target one geographic area first like chicago or new york.. some big city and run a campaign to get more job seekers on the platform and collect email addresses.

Then cold email HR/recruiters in "city" with your 100K job seekers in "city"

 

[telsa]

@jacke71 Yea i agree 3K is nothing, and will continue to push but for me to reach 100K i gotta spend much more on marketing, so theres the financial limitation too.

But i like your idea of focusing on a specific area and building from there, seems very logical - regarding the email to HR/recruiters, you mean email them saying like “Hello, were this company and have this much talent willing to be recruited” type of email?

 

[jacke71]

@telsa watch some videos on youtube for the term "cold email"

 

[telsa]

@jacke71 Will do

 

[definedbytruth]

@telsa Focus and build your customer “journey”

 

[buckeye_momof4]

@telsa Although I worked on Hospitality/F&B many years ago, I know some restaurant owners ( a couple of pizza places & breakfast & lunch place) and know a little bit about the industry.

1)F&B, and to a lesser extent Hospitality, are "old school".
Waiters, bussers, kitchen staff etc. can walk into any restaurant off the street, ask if they're hiring and fill out a resume on the spot. Based on a labor shortage, they may even get an interview on the spot.

2) I think your price model, though well-intentioned, doesn't work. As a former biz owner, I paid for nothing up front.
In fact, when I started billing clients on the last day of the month for the next month's service, many complained initially about paying before they received service. Fortunately we got through it b/c it helped our receivables.

3) Marketing
First, don't have a "Free Service" category. You can't give away service and at the same time you're devaluing your service.
You better off to do a "try before you buy" trial of one or 2 months. If they hire, they'll renew.

I would also cut the monthly price drastically (50%+) in exchange for your client signing a 1 or 2 year contract.

Turnover never ends in F & B.
If you're looking longer term of 1 to 2 years, you're setting your self up as a "partner" a "problem solver" etc. Right now you like one-month trial.

Get referrals from businesses who have benefitted.

Get referrals from job seekers who have gotten jobs.

Advertise your service in F&B Industry magazines. I'm amazed the industry still subscribed to and reads mags.

You can look to partner with regional / national food distribution co's or at the very least, their sales people. In many cases, they are dealing with the same person who you want to sell your service to.

Best of luck.

 

[truthbeliever7]

@buckeye_momof4 Excellent advice.

I too worked in hospitality and F&B. Management had limited time to eff around on the computer. They could barely keep up as it is working 60 plus hours or more per week.

As cool as a service as OP has created, it puts more monkeys on the backs of low level managers. Maybe try on-boarding them yourself. Actually going into their place of biz and creating the account and setting up the profile, all free of charge. No limit to jobs posted. And your staff maintains and updates job profiles. Then charge the job seekers. You have 3,000 potential customers already. Maybe OP's plan is upside down?

 

[telsa]

@truthbeliever7 So wait, just so i understand .. are you saying charge the job seeker a monthly or yearly rate and keep the companies free of charge and post unlimited jobs?

If thats the case, why would job seekers pay and how would they pay? Most of them dont have Credit Cards as they are low income workers (we only accept Credit Cards on the platform as it allows us to be in all countries instantly)

 

[truthbeliever7]

@telsa Not a monthly or yearly, but a per job fee. Collect their cc info up-front (you could get creative w/btc or some other crypto payment option to cross borders) Once they're hired you collect the fee. No out of pocket for them. You said you have 3,000. Once you've established yourself as the goto you could double that number.

The only reason I mention this is bc the higher rate of turnover. The job seekers come and go like the wind. The job providers love you now bc you've taken the work load and cost off them. Kinda like micro head hunting.

Just a thought. I really like your idea bty.

 

[telsa]

@truthbeliever7 I have to admit i like your idea, but this will require recoding on the block chain - and not sure my coders have experience with blockchain .. though its def an idea that can be done down the line

 

[buckeye_momof4]

@truthbeliever7 Thx. I like where you're going with this.

Maybe the solution is
Stay "local" and provide a "turnkey" service to F&B to source employees, pre-screen them, then turn them over to client for final interview & hiring. You can also add-on the onboarding new hire paper work. F&B Client pays a nominal monthly admin fee + a per hire fee. Payable 50% upon hire and the balance after 90 or 180 days depending how long you want to "guarantee" your candidate.

This is more or less how recruiters used to work before the online job boards squashed them.