When I started my career, I had nothing on my CV. No degree. No connections. No portfolio. Just an apprenticeship offer from a production company run by a BAFTA award-winning director who was willing to give a kid a shot.
Peter Georgi taught me everything from scratch. Camera. Editing. Transcription. Client management. How to show up on time. How to ask good questions. How to care about the details.
I started Sixty Seconds at 21. Since then the company has taken four shapes: video production, a software platform, a managed sales agency and now 60, personal sales video done for you. Every phase of that journey used something from the apprenticeship.
Started Sixty Seconds at 214 shapes
Now I'm on the other side. I hire apprentices.
Not as a charity. As a genuine business decision. Here's why:
Why Apprentices Are a Better Hire Than You Think
Apprentices don't have bad habits.They haven't been taught the "right" way to do things by a company that does things the wrong way. They're blank canvases. They learn your systems, your standards, your way of working. That alignment from day one is worth more than experience that needs to be unlearned.
They work harder than people expect.An apprentice who's been given a genuine opportunity (not a "make the tea" role, a real one) has something to prove. That energy is infectious. It raises the bar for everyone around them.
The return compounds.The apprentice you train today is the team member who understands your business better than any hire you could make in two years. They've grown with the company. They know why decisions were made, not just what decisions were made.
It keeps you honest.When you're explaining how something works to someone learning from scratch, you discover the gaps in your own thinking. Teaching forces clarity. If you can't explain your sales process to an apprentice, your sales process isn't clear enough.
The Return on Time
The best investment I made early on was time. Peter invested his time in me. I'm investing mine in the apprentices who join Sixty Seconds. The financial cost is modest. The return, measured in loyalty, capability, and culture, is enormous.
Someone gave me a shot when I had nothing on my CV. Now I do the same.
Before the first one
What the article says a genuine apprenticeship needs.
If you're a small company thinking about hiring your first apprentice: do it. Not when you're "ready." Now. You'll figure out the structure as you go. The apprentice will grow faster than you expect. And in 2-3 years, you'll have someone who knows your business inside out and chose to build their career with you.
Is your business a good place to start one?
Four questions, built from the article’s own reasoning.
Do it.
If you’re a small company thinking about hiring your first apprentice: do it. Not when you’re “ready.” Now.
You’ll figure out the structure as you go.
The apprentice will grow faster than you expect. The time you invest is the part that counts.
Start by getting clear.
If you can’t explain your sales process to an apprentice, your sales process isn’t clear enough.
Quiz options and results are built from phrases in this article. It is a prompt to think, not a test.
That's worth more than any senior hire.
Someone gave me a shot when I had nothing on my CV. Now I do the same.
