The North London hiring gap
There is a specific stage most North London businesses hit at around five to fifteen people: too much admin for the founder, nowhere near enough for a full-time operations hire, and no appetite for the recruitment process it would take to find out. Studios in Hackney, agents in Barnet and practices in Haringey all describe the same problem in different vocabulary.
A retainer is designed for exactly that gap. Sixteen focused hours a month absorbs the recurring admin — inbox, invoicing, scheduling, follow-ups — without adding a salary, a desk or an HR obligation, and it scales back the month a busy quarter ends.
