Why do some recruiters build million-dollar businesses while others stay stuck at six figures despite working just as hard? My guest Randee Staats learned the answer the hard way. After hitting seven figures in Year 1, he lost everything. Debt. Depression. $500 left to his name.

Randee is the founder of S4 Search Partners, a recruiting firm specializing in outside sales and engineering placements. He started in his parents’ basement with no recruiting pedigree. Six months later, he landed a billion-dollar client offering flat-rate recruiting services at a 12% fee. He billed $600K his first year working solo.

Then it all collapsed.

A bad partnership. Wrong hires. Overhead spiraling. By late 2022, Randee was $ 250,000 in debt with a newborn son and a mortgage he couldn’t afford. Most people would’ve quit. Randee rebuilt from scratch. Within 12 months, he surpassed the million-dollar mark, achieving better margins, improved systems, and zero regrets.

In this episode, Randee breaks down exactly how he did it. You’ll hear why he fired his biggest client, how a daily point system keeps him focused, why he only works 20%+ fees now, and the mindset shift that turned desperation into momentum. If you’ve ever wondered what it really takes to come back stronger after failure, this is your blueprint.

Episode Outline and Highlights

• [01:42] How Randee’s father’s charisma shaped his recruiting career from childhood
• [04:28] The naive confidence that led Randee to start his business with zero recruiting experience
• [06:03] Landing a billion-dollar client six months in using an old sales connection
• [09:29] The Jim Carrey million-dollar check that closed the biggest deal of his life
• [13:15] Why billing $600K on 12% flat fees became a trap instead of a win
• [14:17] The partnership that drained $300K in 12 months with five people producing less than Randee did solo
• [17:16] $500 left. $250K in debt. Depression so deep that Randee could barely get out of bed
• [18:42] “You built it once. You can build it again,” the grandmother’s words that changed everything
• [23:10] The biweekly recruiting call script that proves clients are serious about hiring
• [28:30] Why Randee walked away from his biggest account and never looked back
• [42:09] The wake-up call that forced Randee to rebuild his entire business model
• [44:30] The new standard: 20%+ fees, 30-day payables, 90-day free replacement guarantees
• [46:59] Landing a $30K placement that proved higher fees work better than high volume
• [50:53] The daily planner system that keeps Randee focused when chaos hits
• [51:38] The 50-email-per-day BD process: 5 companies, 5 decision makers, zero excuses
• [56:37] Why Randee emails clients but phones candidates (and the one exception that closed a deal)
• [1:03:09] The 40-point-per-week system that fills the funnel when placements dry up

The $100K Hire That Cost Him Everything

Randee didn’t grow up dreaming of running a recruiting firm. He fell into the industry by accident and built S4 Search Partners from a basement with nothing more than a desk, a laptop, and a willingness to work harder than anyone else.

Within six months, he’d landed a billion-dollar client. He was billing $40K to $60K per month. At one point, he was making seventy-five fills a year on flat fees.

It felt like he’d cracked the code.

But success has a way of hiding the cracks.

That’s when he tried to scale. He launched a second division. Hired five people. Paid for every tool he could find. And brought on a “thirty-year veteran” who insisted on a $100K salary, funded entirely through a PayPal loan.

Ninety days later? Zero fills.

Five people, a year of effort, and roughly $300K in revenue. Which was less than Randee had billed alone.

The office was silent. He was the only one on the phone. And the business was slipping away.

By December 2022, everything caught up with him. $250K in debt. $500 in his account. A baby on the way. Vendors are calling nonstop.

He called his parents and said, “It’s all gone.”

And then his wife’s grandmother said something he never forgot: “Honey, you built it once. You can build it again.”

That sentence became the starting line of the rebuild.

Walking Away From $600K to Charge What He’s Worth

Every recruiter has a moment where they realize the client they think they need is actually the client holding them back.

For Randee, it was the truth he didn’t want to hear: his business model depended entirely on him. He had revenue. He had clients. But he didn’t have a real business.

That’s when he rebuilt with a handful of uncomfortable rules:

• 20% minimum fees
• 30-day payables
• 90-day free replacement
• No refunds
• Daily business development
• No exceptions

Following those rules meant walking away from the $600K account that had built his entire career.

It was Christmas. He had $500 left. Every part of him said, “Don’t do it.”

But he did it anyway.

And within weeks, he landed a structural engineering placement at 25% with 30-day payables. A $30K fee.

“You know how many fills I had to do with that giant company to get $30K?”

That single placement reframed everything. It wasn’t a big win. It was proof he’d been undercharging for years.

Randee’s advice for recruiters stuck on the hamster wheel? Stop working for your biggest client. Fire them if you have to. Charge what you’re worth. Build systems that fill the funnel daily.

Because low fees don’t earn trust. They earn dependency.

The Daily Planner That Rebuilt a Million-Dollar Business

Randee didn’t rebuild because he felt inspired. He rebuilt because he created a system that forced progress, even on the days he didn’t want to work.

Every night at 10pm, he plans the next day. By hand. Top three priorities. BD targets. Follow-ups. Candidate calls. Everything.

When he wakes up, the day is already decided. There’s no guessing. No reacting. Just execution.

His BD rhythm is simple:

• 5 companies a day
• 5 decision makers each
• 25 new emails
• 25 follow-ups
• 50 total touches, every day

When someone replies, he shuts down the back-and-forth: “Real quick, you know nothing about us and I know nothing about you. Let’s hop on a five-minute Zoom. Does 3pm Eastern work today?”

One sentence. Meeting booked.

He also tracks points:

• 2 points per submission
• 3 points per interview
• 5 points per new contract
• 40 points per week minimum

“If you go three months without a fill, you get depressed. This keeps you in line.”

That system pulled him out of survival mode. And within a year, it pushed him past seven figures.

Randee doesn’t cold-call clients. He emails. But he phones 25 candidates daily.

“Candidates are more receptive. Clients expect calls and have gatekeepers. I’m doing so much volume that emails are my gatekeeper. Once they respond, I get them on the phone.”

There’s one exception. If a client sends a nasty reply, Randee picks up the phone. That’s how he turned a rejection into a sale.

“She emailed: ‘Please don’t contact the owner.’ So I called her. I apologized. Then I said, ‘By the way, do you guys even use recruiters?’ She opened up. We started talking. I asked about her guarantee. She said the other guy doesn’t give one. I closed her.”

Randee’s story is proof that early success can be misleading. He thought volume was the answer. It wasn’t. Higher fees. Better clients. Systems that scale. That’s what works.

Most importantly, Randee learned this: when your back’s against the wall, you find out what you’re made of.

“Looking back, losing everything was the best thing that ever happened to me. Because when my back’s against the wall, I’m dangerous. I’ve got nothing to lose.”

The lesson? Motivation is emotional. Discipline is structural. Your daily system is the difference between chaos and control.