left my 95k agency job to recruit independently, here's month 18

I was a technical recruiter at a mid-size agency for 4 years. Good at my job, consistently hit quota, but watching the company take 85% of my placements was killing me. I was generating maybe 400k in fees annually and taking home 60k plus a 35k bonus.

Decided to go independent in late 2023. Scary as hell because i didn't have established clients and wasn't trying to start a whole agency with overhead and employees.

Found a marketplace model where i could access companies that were already looking for recruiters. Started taking roles in my specialty (devops and platform engineering), and focused on actually placing people instead of doing business development.

Month 1-3 was slow. Made maybe 4k total because i was still learning how to work independently and building reputation on the platform.

Month 4-8 started clicking. Placed 2-3 people per month, income jumped to 15-20k monthly.

Month 9-18 has been consistent. Averaging 18k per month, placed 31 people total. Some months are 25k, some are 12k, but it averages out.

What's different: i work 30 hours a week instead of 50. I only take roles i actually want to work on. No more weekly team meetings or having to hit arbitrary quotas. I pick my own schedule.

Downsides: no benefits, have to figure out my own health insurance and retirement. Income can swing month to month. Some months i don't place anyone.

Would i go back? Absolutely not. Even with the uncertainty, making 3x what i made before and controlling my time is worth it.