# 397 Built and Sold with Mike Ames

Mike Ames built and sold two IT recruitment businesses, one for £24M, one for £15M. In this episode, Terry sits down with Mike to find out what serious buyers actually look for, what kills value before a deal even starts, and what most recruitment business owners are getting wrong right now.They get into the 360-degree model, yo-yo revenue, client estate management, strategic BD, delivery obsession, and the mindset shift that separates recruiters who own a desk from those who own a real business. Mike also shares how he went from £5M to £40M in five years, and what specifically changed to make that happen.Whether you ever plan to sell or not, this episode is about building something that doesn't depend entirely on you.