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.
Marketing an HR consulting firm or HR technology company can feel overwhelming when there are so many channels, approaches and opinions to choose from.
The most effective HR marketing strategy is never a one size fits all model. It is a tailored combination of channels that align with your strengths, resources and business goals.
This quick guide provides a clear overview of the main marketing strategies available to HR consultants and HR tech firms, along with practical advice on choosing the mix that will work best for your business.
Whether you run an HR software company or an HR-related consultancy, one thing is true every year: revenue goals only matter when you can turn them into weekly actions that bring in demos, sales calls, consulting calls and new clients.
Many HR firms start the year with impressive targets and then struggle to convert those targets into something simple and manageable.
In Episode 299 of the A Better HR Business podcast, we break down how to create a clear and practical sales plan for the year ahead without complex frameworks or confusing jargon.
In a recent episode of the HR business marketing podcast, A Better HR Business, Ben and his guest, Ben Hansen, talk about how HR companies, and the entrepreneurs who run them – can double their profitability, reclaim the dream of business ownership, and finally get control over the financial health of their organizations.
Ben Hansen, CEO & Founder of Profit Doctor, is an accomplished entrepreneur and business advisor with a long history of driving rapid, sustainable growth. Over eight years, he scaled a consulting firm to an eight-figure enterprise with a 100-person team, earning five consecutive placements on Inc. Magazine’s list of fastest-growing private companies.
Today, Ben works with companies in the $5–50M range, helping them strengthen financial performance, and build healthier, more resilient operations.
You’ll hear practical strategies for running a workplace consulting business, pricing consulting services, 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, Dr. Eugene K. Choi, talk about strategies to help executive leaders achieve and sustain peak performance in high-stress, high-stakes and high-change environments.
Dr. Eugene K. Choi, Pharm. D, is a Transformational Mindset Coach and board-certified clinical pharmacist on a mission to help talented, heart-driven leaders operate at their highest levels of performance, intelligence, and communication. He firmly believes that activating the powerful executive brain maximizes results—not just for business leaders, but for humanity as a whole.
With a background in clinical pharmacy, neuroscience, and business coaching, Dr. Choi’s unique science-backed process, combined with groundbreaking technology, helps entrepreneurs dramatically improve performance, innovate dynamic solutions, and achieve their goals. His expertise in audience growth has generated over 8 million views on his online articles and more than 23 million views on his short films, while he has worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs to optimize mindset and strategy, producing tangible results in both business and life.
You’ll hear practical strategies for how to attract consulting clients, business growth strategies for consultants, and common consulting mistakes to avoid. Whether you identify as HR, workplace, L&D, OD, recruitment, or people & culture, you’ll discover real stories and actionable advice to differentiate yourself, win contracts, and grow with purpose.
In a recent episode of the HR business marketing podcast, A Better HR Business, Ben and his guest, Geraldine Butler-Wright, talk about how HR struggles with its reputation, how to align people operations with genuine business outcomes, and what the future holds in a landscape where AI and agility are reshaping organizations.
Geraldine Butler-Wright is a strategic and hands-on People leader with over a decade of experience scaling global FinTech, HealthTech, SaaS, and AI companies from Seed to Series D. As the founder of RorCas, she helps ambitious startups get the people part right—fast—working with founders and executive teams to design organizations, embed performance and leadership systems, navigate restructures, and integrate AI into people operations without losing trust.
Geraldine brings board-level perspective and operational rigor, having delivered measurable impact including multimillion-pound OpEx savings, double-digit eNPS growth, and large-scale team expansion. She’s also the host of People and Pioneers, a top 20% global podcast heard in 21 countries, where she speaks with founders, scientists, and investors about how people shape success.
A Durham University alumna with postgraduate studies in HR Management from the University of London, Geraldine also holds certifications in Executive Coaching, Resilience, and U.S. Foreign Service HR.
RorCas is a strategic People and HR consultancy, dedicated to helping startups and scale-ups get the “people part” right so they can focus on growth, revenue, and innovation. Using a product design approach, RorCas builds adaptive, high-impact people strategies tailored to each company’s stage—from Seed to Series B and beyond.
Whether it’s shaping organizational design, scaling high-performance teams, or preparing for international expansion and M&A, RorCas delivers measurable results: freeing up founder bandwidth, driving six-figure savings, and creating lasting cultural and performance gains. Partnering with ambitious founders and investors, RorCas ensures people strategy becomes a true growth enabler—not a bottleneck.
In a recent episode of the HR business marketing podcast, A Better HR Business, Ben and his guest, Sarah Chang, talk about how effective HR support transforms small businesses – from navigating complex regulations to fostering positive cultures.
Sarah Chang is CEO of Clearwater HR Consulting, a firm dedicated to helping small businesses across the US navigate the complexities of HR.
She began her career in HR at large global corporations in aerospace, defense, and public accounting before transitioning to HR consulting. Over the past decade, Sarah has helped growing companies navigate critical inflection points – from fast-paced tech startups with multiple global acquisitions to privately held businesses that lacked HR for decades.
Sarah works closely with small business leaders to build scalable people operations, including organizational design, leadership development, competitive compensation, and team infrastructure. Her focus is on creating best-in-class work cultures, operational efficiency, and high-performing teams that drive top-line growth. At Clearwater, Sarah ensures clients receive the industry’s most experienced HR leaders to help their businesses thrive.
In a recent episode of the HR business marketing podcast, A Better HR Business, Ben and his guest, Matteo Penzo, talk about how traditional e-learning solutions are falling short, with very low completion rates and poor engagement.
Matteo Penzo is Co-Founder & CEO of Zick Learn, a leading AI-powered microlearning platform making corporate training effective, scalable, and simple for employers. Matteo brings a scientific approach to product development and sales, driving high client ROI and international growth.
But as Matteo’s emphasized, this isn’t just another tool powered by generic AI. Before writing their first line of code, Zick Learn partnered with UC Berkeley to develop a robust, research-backed learning methodology – one that dramatically improves retention and engagement.
Matteo points out that, across industries and geographies, “standard e-learning is now failing everywhere,” with completion rates between 5% and 15%.
Zick Learn’s microlearning approach, however, meets learners where they are – integrating with their daily workflows and giving back precious hours to both learners and HR leaders. “Our average ROI for clients is 10 hours per month per employee,” Matteo shares, meaning productivity gains can quickly translate into substantial organizational savings.
You’ll hear practical strategies for using AI in consulting, attracting high-value clients, and packaging learning solutions that drive business results.
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.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
Why completion rates for traditional e-learning are plummeting—and what works instead.
How Zick Learn uses AI and research-backed methodology to transform corporate learning.
Practical outbound sales, demo, and pricing strategies that convert more HR & L&D buyers.
In a recent episode of the HR business marketing podcast, A Better HR Business, Ben and his guest, Ed Brzychcy, talk about the unique challenges organizations face as they scale. They discuss the critical role of organizational structure and communication, as well as the leadership shifts necessary to guide teams through change.
Ed Brzychcy, founder of Lead From The Front, is a Boston-based consultant, executive coach, and speaker specializing in organizational design, leadership development, and scalable strategic solutions for middle market enterprises. An ex-military leader and Forbes Coaches Council member, Ed is known for helping companies navigate plateaus and build sustainable growth.
Ed also shares insights from his ongoing research and conversations with high-growth leaders, highlighting key lessons on leadership legacy and strategies for sustainable business growth through meaningful relationships and proactive networking. Additionally, Ed reflects on his experiences with the Forbes Coaches Council and offers takeaways from his recent TEDx talk.
You’ll hear practical strategies for client acquisition, 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.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
How Ed identifies and attracts leadership consulting clients in the middle market.
The stages and internal growth challenges that organizations face as they scale.
Ed’s top lessons on persistence, referrals, and growing a sustainable consulting business.
In a recent episode of the HR business marketing podcast, A Better HR Business, Ben and his guest, Dominic Le Fort, explore how to run a profitable HR consulting business with powerful new software made for HR consultants.
Dominic Le Fort is Co-Founder & CEO of Shrlock, a CRM software purpose-built for HR consultants.
Dominic is passionate about helping HR consultants scale efficiently by solving compliance, billing, and organizational pain points.
Ben and Dominic discuss the unique challenges HR consultants face, from multi-state compliance and time tracking to managing client relationships and scaling a consulting business.
You’ll hear practical strategies for running a workplace consulting business, leveraging business growth strategies for consultants, and using technology to attract more high-value HR consulting clients.
Whether you work in the generalist HR space, workplace consulting, L&D, OD, recruitment, or people & culture, you’ll discover real stories and actionable advice to attract clients, win contracts, and grow sustainably.
Special Offer: Enter this code to get 15% off an annual plan at Shrlock: GMHC15
In a recent episode of the HR business marketing podcast, A Better HR Business, Ben makes a compelling case for why launching a podcast can transform your HR consultancy or workplace-focused business.
You’ll hear practical strategies for HR consultants, workplace consultants, L&D and OD experts, recruitment firms, and HR software founders who want to attract clients, win contracts, and stand out in a competitive market.
Whether you run a consulting practice or a tech platform, podcasting can help you build authority, connect with decision makers, and create a consistent stream of new opportunities.
FYI – For us, the Human Resources industry includes Generalist HR, Recruitment, Learning & Development, Employment Law, Compensation & Benefits, Diversity & Inclusion, Employee Engagement, etc.
Why podcasting helps you attract consulting and HR software clients faster than traditional marketing
How a podcast builds authority and trust in your niche (HR, workplace, or software)
10 practical, proven reasons podcasting is a powerful growth tool for your business
Scroll down for the video version, audio version, summary notes and transcript.
In a recent episode of the HR business marketing podcast, A Better HR Business, Ben spoke with Mickie Kennedy, Founder of eReleases, about one of the most underutilized tools in business PR: the press release.
eReleases is a leader in affordable press release writing and distribution services. Founded by Mickie Kennedy in 1998, the company was built on the belief that publicity shouldn’t be limited to big businesses. Mickie launched eReleases after recognizing that small businesses desperately needed an affordable way to reach the media, especially after hearing firsthand about high minimum fees at traditional PR firms. Since then, eReleases has helped more than 10,000 companies gain valuable media exposure.
Mickie Kennedy
Unlike many competitors, eReleases distributes press releases through a dedicated newswire feed that reaches newsrooms nationwide. Simply posting releases on websites or using RSS feeds doesn’t qualify as true PR – eReleases ensures your news gets in front of the right journalists and outlets with a personal touch and exceptional value.
In a wide-ranging discussion, Mickie and Ben talked about:
Getting paid on time and in full is one of the biggest challenges many consultants face. Whether you’re an HR consultant, a workplace strategist, or a specialist in another professional services field, inconsistent cash flow can quickly derail your business.
After helping hundreds of HR and workplace consultants around the world, we’ve seen this issue come up again and again.
In this short presentation, we’ll walk through practical strategies to help you set clear payment terms, avoid late invoices, and confidently collect what you’re owed, without damaging client relationships.
You’ve got expertise. You’ve got ambition. But when it comes to turning your HR knowledge into a business? That’s where things get messy.
Picture this: you’ve finally decided to start your consultancy. But instead of excitement, your nights are filled with Googling ‘how to write a sales proposal’ and cobbling together service agreements from old employment contracts. It’s stressful. Not exactly the dream you had in mind.
You ask peers for help. You try a few online templates. Maybe even take a stab at a Canva graphic or two. But nothing looks right. It’s taking way too long – and every day you’re stuck, you’re pushing your launch further down the road.
You try free templates from generic websites – but they aren’t made for HR services, and they sound off.
You spend hours crafting LinkedIn posts but get no responses or engagement.
You second-guess your services, pricing, and how to actually position what you offer.
Every attempt feels like a shot in the dark. You’re building from scratch while simultaneously trying to present yourself as a pro. That’s a ridiculous juggling act – even for experienced consultants.
The truth? You’re not failing. The system is. Everyone praises ‘just start your own thing’ – but no one gives HR consultants like you the actual tools. The guides out there are too broad. The templates are too general. The strategies are made for marketers, not service-based pros like you.
We’ve been there.
In our own HR consulting business, we launched after struggling with the same headaches.
Dozens of meetings. Zero traction. Until we cracked the formula that HR consultants need – and turned it into a plug-and-play toolkit.
There’s a simple shift that can change everything – and you’ll see what it is soon below.
In a recent episode of the HR business marketing podcast, A Better HR Business, Ben spoke with Meghan Grace, consultant, researcher, and author specializing in generational dynamics in the workplace.
Meghan is the co-author of Generations in the World of Work, a guide for employees, managers, and organizational leaders on how to maximize productivity, relationships, well-being, and engagement across generational differences – ultimately creating thriving workplaces that value and leverage each person’s strengths.
She is a generational researcher, consultant, speaker, and podcast host dedicated to helping individuals and organizations learn, grow, and thrive. With academic roots at Chapman University, the University of Arizona, and Vanderbilt University, Meghan’s career has focused on advancing learning and development through research, strategy, and education.
Meghan Grace
Meghan is also Co-Founder of the Institute for Generational Research and Education (IGRE), where she transforms data and lived experience into actionable resources for intergenerational collaboration. Through her work, Meghan supports clients in improving individual practices and developing organizational strategies by leveraging her expertise in organizational development, research, data strategy, strategic planning, curriculum design, and program management.
Meghan brings fresh insight to the evolving workplace, helping teams navigate generational differences and unlock the strengths of Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z.
In a wide-ranging discussion, Meghan and Ben talked about:
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