Small business owners face a unique HR challenge. Small businesses often have the same depth and breadth of HR needs as much larger companies, but they must solve them with fewer resources, less flexibility, and far less room for error.

Hiring HR for a small business can be challenging, too. Because a full time or executive level HR hire usually isn’t the right answer operationally or financially, most owners take one of three routes:

• Hire someone in-house. You either get a team member who isn’t qualified to run an HR function alone, or someone who is and costs more than the role can justify at your size.

• Outsource to a PEO, payroll platform, or larger consulting firm. These solutions provide real value, but they often rely on standardized, risk-averse guidance. That leaves less room for guidance built for your specific business.

• Managing it themselves. This exposes the business to compliance risk and owners often burn themselves out in the process.