Episode 304: Growing An HR Consultancy for Small Businesses & Startups - with Val Esway

About this episode

Ben and Val Esway discuss the challenges and strategies for growing an HR consultancy focused on small businesses and startups.

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…

People in this episode

Host: Ben

Guest: Val Esway

Topics covered

• HR consultancy
• small businesses
• employee management
• hiring strategy
• compliance
• people operations

Keywords

• HR consultancy
• small businesses
• hiring
• compliance
• employee management
• people operations
• scaling businesses

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Work with Val

Places: US, Canada

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