Wondering how to start an HR consulting business in 2025?
Yes, there’s a lot to consider but there’s a lot to be optimistic about too.
Now that the world has moved to hybrid work, there is a global market for new start-up HR consultancies to help employers get the best out of their workforce.
In this episode of the HR business marketing podcast, A Better HR Business, Ben speaks with Cary Sparrow, Founder and CEO of WageScape, a labor market intelligence company transforming how organizations understand hiring, pay, and workforce trends through real-time AI-powered data.
A former U.S. Navy nuclear submarine officer, Cary has more than 35 years of leadership experience spanning engineering, global consulting, and HR analytics, including executive roles at Willis Towers Watson and Cargill. He is passionate about using data, technology, and high-performing teams to solve complex workforce challenges and help organizations make smarter, more confident decisions.
WageScape delivers real-time labor market and compensation intelligence through one of the largest continuously updated workforce datasets available. Its AI-powered platform helps organizations gain deeper insights into hiring demand, pay trends, and talent markets across the globe, enabling better workforce planning, business strategy, and AI-driven decision-making with reliable, high-quality data.
In this episode of the HR business marketing podcast, A Better HR Business, Ben speaks with Caroline Dowling, Executive Coach and founder of Zeal Compass.
Caroline Dowling is helping senior leaders navigate the challenges of organisational change with greater clarity and confidence. After more than 20 years at Google, where she led global teams across Dublin and Silicon Valley, she understands that the toughest leadership challenges are rarely technical—they are human.
Drawing on her experience in high-pressure technology environments, Caroline helps leaders move from reactive decision-making to grounded, intentional leadership. Her coaching creates the space for reflection, enabling clients to strengthen their self-awareness, emotional resilience, and ability to lead others through complexity.
Rather than offering prescriptive advice, Caroline works alongside leaders as a trusted thinking partner, helping them uncover their own solutions. She believes that the most effective leadership begins with understanding people, because no matter how advanced the technology, meaningful progress is always driven by humans.
In this episode of the HR business marketing podcast, A Better HR Business, Ben and his guest, John Barron, Co-Founder & CEO of GoChallenge, explore how a gamified movement platform is helping teams boost wellbeing, deepen engagement, and build stronger company cultures.
GoChallenge is a science-backed HR tech platform that uses team-based movement challenges to improve employee wellbeing, prevent burnout, and strengthen workplace culture. It helps HR and People & Culture leaders increase engagement and build more connected hybrid teams through simple daily physical activity that fits into the workday. Unlike traditional fitness apps, GoChallenge is designed specifically for organisations—requiring no gym, equipment, or extra time outside work routines.
Trusted by organisations such as DocuSign, Gartner, Red Hat, and Three Ireland, GoChallenge delivers measurable impact across wellbeing, performance, and retention. Users report reduced stress and improved productivity, while companies see stronger cross-team connections and alignment with ESG and CSR goals. The platform is easy to deploy at scale and is built on behavioural science to make workplace wellbeing both effective and engaging.
You’ll hear practical strategies for how to attract HR consulting clients, running a workplace consulting business, and business growth strategies for consultants. Whether you identify as HR, workplace, L&D, OD, recruitment, or people & culture, you’ll discover real stories and actionable advice to attract clients, win contracts, and grow sustainably.
In this episode of the HR business marketing podcast, A Better HR Business, Ben and his guests, Stephen Anderson (CEO) and Marc Harrison (Account Director) discuss how crooton is transforming recruitment marketing with hyper-targeted, data-driven strategies.
crooton is a recruitment marketing business specialising in location-based recruitment marketing powered by its proprietary, highly targeted technology. The company helps employers promote job vacancies directly to the right people in the right locations at the right time, rather than relying on candidates actively searching for roles. This approach enables organisations to reach both active and passive candidates, improving the quality of applications while often reducing cost compared with traditional recruitment agencies.
By combining AI-driven insights with human expertise (“AI + HI”), crooton uses data to inform targeting while its recruitment specialists refine campaigns for maximum effectiveness. The team—made up of recruiters, data experts, developers, and digital marketers—designs and delivers tailored campaigns that improve ROI, strengthen employer brand visibility, and attract candidates who are more likely to stay longer and perform well.
Founded in 2019 by Stephen Anderson, crooton was created to challenge traditional recruitment models and deliver better outcomes for employers in terms of cost and candidate quality. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the business supported large-scale NHS recruitment campaigns, which helped establish its reputation for high-impact, location-based hiring solutions across healthcare and other high-volume sectors.
Today, crooton works with SMEs, global brands, and non-profit organisations to deliver strategic recruitment and digital marketing campaigns worldwide. Its technology and approach have also expanded into broader marketing services, enabling clients to run highly targeted, location-driven campaigns that connect them with the right audiences at scale.
You’ll hear practical strategies for finding consulting clients, marketing for HR & workplace consultants, and using AI in consulting. Whether you identify as HR, workplace, L&D, OD, recruitment, or people & culture, you’ll discover real stories and actionable advice to attract clients, win contracts, and grow sustainably.
In this episode of the HR business marketing podcast, A Better HR Business, Ben and his guest, Mike Minett, Founder of PORTABL, an innovative platform reimagining financial, health, and wellbeing services for today’s independent workforce, to discuss how freelancers and gig workers can finally access the support once reserved for full-time employees.
Mike Minett is the Founder and Chief Growth Officer at PORTABL, a platform helping businesses manage and support the global independent workforce. He is focused on enabling organisations that rely on freelancers, contractors, and contingent workers to better retain, engage, and protect their flexible talent through modern benefits and workforce infrastructure.
Alongside PORTABL, Mike is a growth advisor to a range of businesses and passion projects. He also works on building access to global AI, software, and tech talent, including developing pathways for distributed freelance talent in emerging markets such as Ghana, aligned to global time zones for remote delivery.
PORTABL is a SaaS platform and orchestration layer for the flexible workforce, designed to close the gap between traditional employees and independent workers. While permanent employees typically receive structured benefits such as health cover, pensions, and wellbeing support, freelancers and contractors often do not. PORTABL addresses this by providing access to health, insurance, financial wellbeing, and savings products, alongside tools that help businesses improve retention, engagement, and compliance across their contingent workforce.
Recognised by organisations including Zurich Innovation, the MetLife Techstars Digital Accelerator, and Plug and Play, PORTABL is building a new category in the future of work. It is founded by a team with deep experience across freelancing, insurance, employee benefits, fintech, and B2B platforms, and is built by independent workers for independent workers to help them connect, stay protected, and thrive.
You’ll hear practical strategies for starting an HR consulting business, finding consulting clients, and business growth strategies for consultants. Whether you identify as HR, workplace, L&D, OD, recruitment, or people & culture, you’ll discover real stories and actionable advice to attract clients, win contracts, and grow sustainably.
In this episode of the HR business marketing podcast, A Better HR Business, Ben and his guest, Joelle Vail, talk about how holistic financial wellness solutions are driving major changes for employers and employees alike. As HR and business leaders look for ways to support their teams in today’s challenging environment, companies like BrightPlan are setting a new standard for financial wellbeing in the workplace.
Joelle Vail is Chief Revenue Officer at BrightPlan, where she oversees direct sales, partnerships, and client success. She has extensive experience scaling organizations from startup through enterprise growth, helping early-stage companies surpass $100 million in revenue and larger enterprises grow from $100 million to more than $2 billion. Prior to BrightPlan, Joelle served as Chief Operating Officer at Capital Factory and held senior leadership roles at Paychex and Ascentis.
BrightPlan is a financial wellness platform designed to help employers improve employee financial outcomes while increasing the effectiveness of their benefits programs. The platform combines AI-driven financial planning tools with access to experienced financial advisors, delivering personalized guidance across budgeting, debt management, investing, retirement, and wealth planning. By integrating directly with employer benefits, BrightPlan helps employees make more informed financial decisions and encourages greater benefits utilization.
For employers, BrightPlan provides a centralized dashboard with actionable insights into workforce financial health, enabling more strategic benefits planning, stronger employee engagement, and improved retention. The company is also certified for fiduciary excellence, ensuring guidance is objective and aligned with employees’ best interests.
You’ll hear practical strategies for finding consulting clients, running a workplace consulting business, and business growth strategies for consultants. Whether you identify as HR, workplace, L&D, OD, recruitment, or people & culture, you’ll discover real stories and actionable advice to attract clients, win contracts, and grow sustainably.
In this episode of the HR business marketing podcast, A Better HR Business, Ben and his guest, Scott Trumpolt, a Certified Global Remuneration Professional (G.R.P.) with over 30 years of experience, talk about Scott’s journey from HR leader to independent consultant, the evolving landscape of pay transparency, and how compensation strategies are changing to drive better employee engagement.
With more than 13 years leading his own consulting firm, Scott specializes in Compensation Management, Total Rewards Strategies, and Sales Compensation. Under his leadership, Trumpolt Compensation Design Solutions (TCDS) has earned an A+ accreditation from the Better Business Bureau of Southeast Florida and the Caribbean, reflecting a strong commitment to quality and client service.
Scott’s career includes 18 years in corporate HR roles across the United States and Germany, followed by extensive consulting work spanning North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. He has partnered with organizations in industries such as Aviation, Healthcare, and Technology, designing tailored compensation structures, incentive programs, and career frameworks that align with diverse business goals and cultures.
Through TCDS, Scott helps organizations of all sizes—from emerging companies to large enterprises—develop effective total rewards strategies that attract, retain, and motivate talent.
He is also the author of The Defragmented Consultant: A Practical Guide to Building a High-Impact Independent Practice, a disciplined, experience-driven guide for professionals transitioning from corporate leadership to independent consulting.
Drawing on decades of global experience, the book outlines a structured roadmap for refining expertise into clear, market-ready value. It introduces the concept of “defragmentation”—organizing and sharpening accumulated professional experience to increase precision, speed, and impact.
Through both his consulting work and writing, Scott helps professionals and organizations move beyond experience alone, focusing instead on strategic clarity, effective positioning, and long-term value creation.
You’ll hear practical strategies for pricing consulting services, packaging consulting offers, and winning corporate contracts. Whether you identify as HR, workplace, L&D, OD, recruitment, or people & culture, you’ll discover real stories and actionable advice to attract clients, win contracts, and grow sustainably.
In a recent episode of the HR business marketing podcast, A Better HR Business, Ben and his guest, Si Beales, Founder/Learning Director at Sidedoor Studio talk about how to attract HR clients with visual storytelling and habit-based learning.
Si Beales is a trainer, speaker, and academic at Leeds School of Art & Design and Leeds Beckett University. He’s also the founder of Sidedoor Studio.
He works with businesses, students, and creative teams to build practical human skills—like thinking, collaboration, and curiosity—and turn them into habits that actually stick.
Through Sidedoor Studio, he creates learning experiences using video, workshops, and events, helping organisations make their training more engaging and useful.
His focus is simple: make learning clearer, more relevant, and easier to apply in the real world. Si has worked with organisations including Nike, Carlsberg, Boots, E.ON, and Central Saint Martins. With a background across industry and academia, he brings a practical, straightforward approach—focused on ideas people can actually use.
You’ll hear practical strategies for marketing for HR consultants, using storytelling to stand out as a consultant, and shaping learning experiences that stick. Whether you identify as HR, workplace, L&D, OD, recruitment, or people & culture, you’ll discover real stories and actionable advice to attract clients, win contracts, and grow sustainably.
In a recent episode of the HR business marketing podcast, A Better HR Business, Ben and his guest, Conor Lynch, digital innovator, educator, and author of “Learn Earn Own”, talk about how individuals and HR professionals can future-proof their careers and businesses as technology accelerates the pace of change and automation looms.
Conor Lynch is a digital innovator and educator who grew his personal brand, Connector, from a side hustle into a seven-figure business. With over 25 years of experience across marketing, technology, and communications, he has worked with global brands including Guinness and Coca-Cola.
He began his career in traditional marketing after graduating from Smurfit College, Ireland’s leading business school, before moving into online and social media as the internet reshaped the industry. Today, he focuses on helping individuals and organisations build long-term digital assets, embracing AI and automation as the next major shift in work and business.
Learn Earn Own challenges the century-old idea of the career ladder—study hard, get a job, and climb the ranks—and argues it no longer reflects the reality of modern work. In today’s economy, relying on a single income stream is increasingly risky, and careers are shifting from linear paths to dynamic portfolios of assets.
Rather than encouraging people to quit their jobs, the book focuses on building alongside employment: learning new skills, creating additional income streams, and owning digital and intellectual assets that compound over time.
It introduces a practical framework for anyone—regardless of background—to become an “experimenter” by building career assets such as personal brands, digital products, content, networks, and expertise.
Packed with tools, templates, AI prompts, and real-world strategies, Learn Earn Own is a hands-on guide to designing a more independent, resilient, and opportunity-rich career in the age of AI.
You’ll hear practical strategies for using AI in consulting, business growth strategies for consultants, and how to stand out as a consultant amid rapid industry change. Whether you identify as HR, workplace, L&D, OD, recruitment, or people & culture, you’ll discover real stories and actionable advice to attract clients, win contracts, and grow sustainably.
In a recent episode of the HR business marketing podcast, A Better HR Business, Ben and his guest, Yevhen Onatsko, Country Manager USA at Jooble, talked about the rapidly evolving world of recruitment technology.
Jooble is an international job aggregator and job search engine founded in 2006. It operates in 66 countries, aggregates vacancies from 140,000+ sources daily, and employs 330+ people. The company drives targeted traffic to client job postings while keeping its platform free for job seekers. Jooble has launched mobile apps on iOS and Android, acquired the job aggregator Hotwork in 2020, and partnered with LinkedIn and Google. It also invests in startups, such as Indonesia’s JayJay, and has launched initiatives like Give a Job for UA to support Ukrainian refugees.
You’ll hear practical strategies for how to find consulting clients, marketing for HR consultants, and using AI in consulting. Whether you identify as HR, workplace, L&D, OD, recruitment, or people & culture, you’ll discover real stories and actionable advice to attract clients, win contracts, and grow sustainably.
In a recent episode of the HR business marketing podcast, A Better HR Business, Ben and his guest, Val Esway, founder of Work with Val, talk about the challenges of hiring, compliance, and employee management for small and growing businesses across the US and Canada.
Val Esway partners with founders and leadership teams to build the recruiting and HR foundations necessary for sustainable growth. With a background spanning early-stage startups, e-commerce brands, and agencies, she has served as a People & Talent Manager, Director of Operations, and Chief of Staff. This unique trajectory allows her to bridge the gap between human-centric HR and the gritty operational realities founders face daily.
Val has completed over 150 projects focused on hiring strategy, HR infrastructure, and people operations. She specializes in helping scaling businesses move away from “firefighting” toward practical, hands-on systems that support first hires and beyond. Val brings a grounded, collaborative approach to every engagement, ensuring leaders can make confident people decisions as their teams evolve.
Val loves sharing her expertise via talks and training sessions. Popular topics include compliance basics, choosing the right HR tools, and navigating the complexities of pay structures (e.g., W-2 vs. 1099). She’s happy to tailor discussions to what founders and business owners need most.
You’ll hear practical strategies for client acquisition, running a workplace consulting business, and packaging consulting offers. Whether you identify as HR, workplace, L&D, OD, recruitment, or people & culture, you’ll discover real stories and actionable advice to attract clients, win contracts, and grow sustainably.
In a recent episode of the HR business marketing podcast, A Better HR Business, Ben and his guest, Stéphane Rivard, talk about the long-standing HR challenges – eliminating bias, replacing traditional interviews, and leveraging realistic, skill-based assessments for high-volume hiring.
Stéphane is the CEO & Co-founder of HiringBranch, an innovative Montreal-based company using AI-powered job simulations to revolutionize the recruitment process.
HiringBranch was founded in 2022, building on more than a decade of innovation that began in 2014 under its original name, LearningBranch. Initially focused on language and soft skills training, the company accumulated years of proprietary data tied directly to real-world performance. This foundation led to the development of one of the first proprietary Soft Skills AI technologies, capable of measuring human skills with up to 99% accuracy. In 2020, the company was awarded funding from the National Research Council of Canada’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) to develop and commercialize its AI-driven soft skills evaluation platform. Today, HiringBranch assesses candidates worldwide, tailoring its algorithms by role, industry, and, in some cases, by benchmarking top performers.
Over time, HiringBranch’s Soft Skills AI has consistently demonstrated that evaluating soft skills delivers far more predictive results than language assessments alone or traditional multiple-choice and behavioral tests. People cannot be accurately measured in boxes. By focusing on real skills rather than CVs, interviews, degrees, or years of experience, HiringBranch provides a fair and unbiased approach to hiring. Organizations using the platform consistently see stronger on-the-job performance from candidates selected through skills-based assessments, proving that better hiring decisions start with better evidence.
You’ll hear practical strategies for using AI in consulting, attracting HR clients, and business growth strategies for consultants. Whether you identify as HR, workplace, L&D, OD, recruitment, or people & culture, you’ll discover real stories and actionable advice to attract clients, win contracts, and grow sustainably.
In a recent episode of the HR business marketing podcast, A Better HR Business, Ben and his guest, Isidora (Izi) Mayer, talk about how to run a remote-focused talent vetting firm that wins tech clients.
FlatWorld helps companies find high-quality, interview-ready talent fast—without the usual noise, delays, or agency headaches.
Using a global network of vetted recruiters and their own hiring platforms, FlatWorld delivers shortlists of real, human candidates who are a strong technical and cultural fit. From cross-border developers to long-term remote roles, everything is designed with engineering managers in mind: less time screening, better matches, and faster hires.
You’ll hear practical strategies for attracting HR consulting clients, using AI in consulting, and standing out as a talent solutions provider in the crowded recruitment space. Whether you identify as HR, workplace, L&D, OD, recruitment, or people & culture, you’ll discover real stories and actionable advice to attract clients, win contracts, and grow sustainably.
In a recent episode of the HR business marketing podcast, A Better HR Business, Ben and his guest, Jordan Peace, CEO & Co-Founder of Fringe, talk about how to grow an employee lifestyle benefits platform and win more HR clients.
Fringe is an employee experience platform that brings together rewards and recognition, lifestyle and wellbeing benefits, life-event support and gifting, swag management, learning and development, and more—all within one seamless solution. By powering the systems behind exceptional workplace culture, Fringe enables organizations to support their people in meaningful ways, both at work and beyond.
You’ll hear practical strategies for client acquisition, standing out as an HR consultant, and using employee experience to attract and retain corporate customers. Whether you identify as HR, workplace, L&D, OD, recruitment, or people & culture, you’ll discover real stories and actionable advice to find clients, package your consulting offers, and grow your business sustainably.
Hourly Rates, Monthly Retainers, Project Fees, and Tiered Packages in the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand
If you’re trying to understand what HR consultants typically charge (and how they package services), you’ll quickly discover there isn’t one universal “price list”.
Instead, HR consulting is usually priced in four main ways:
