She Sold Her Firm to Give Her Team a Bigger Ceiling, with Charlie Saffro

Every December, Charlie Saffro caught up with a friendly competitor at Hirewell to compare notes on the recruiting market. At the end of their 2024 call, after four difficult years, she said something almost as a joke: if you know anyone looking to buy a supply chain recruiting firm, let me know. About a week later, Hirewell's owner called her.

Charlie founded CS Recruiting in 2010 and spent 15 years building a specialist logistics, supply chain and transportation firm. She had no exit plan. What changed was a prolonged downturn and two rounds of layoffs, the first in the company's history.

Charlie explains why she rejected buyers who wanted her client book without her people, and what she was looking for instead. She also talks through the part most owners never hear about: almost 12 months of confidential negotiation, running the business while both her senior leaders were on leave, and what closing day actually looked like from the 8am signature to the 3pm welcome meeting.

The second half of the conversation is about what happened next. Charlie walks through how her recruiters moved from a split desk into full desk work one account at a time, what that did for accountability and ownership, and why the best source of new business was already sitting in their database.

If you are weighing an exit, or you want your recruiters to own more of the work, Charlie's experience is worth an hour of your time.

In this episode:

Why Charlie sold to protect her team rather than to cash out

The three types of buyer she rejected and what disqualified each one

What almost 12 months of confidential negotiation actually involves

How she handled due diligence while two senior leaders were on leave

What closing day looked like, hour by hour

The advantages and disadvantages of full desk and split desk