The Big Picture Consulting

What The Big Picture Consulting does

The Big Picture Consulting, operating as My HR Guy, is a privately held U.S. HR consulting firm founded in 2019 and headquartered in Plymouth, Minnesota. The firm provides HR, payroll, and safety compliance services exclusively to trade and service contractors — primarily HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and garage door businesses — addressing the field-crew, overtime, OSHA, and performance-pay challenges generic HR firms do not handle. The core technology stack centers on the HR Vault, a secure web portal that distributes policy templates, hiring and disciplinary documents, federal and state labor law posters, and OSHA-aligned safety training materials, supplemented by proprietary compensation plan systems (internally branded Diff-Comm) that blend hourly, commission, and incentive-based pay with automatic overtime compliance calculations. A custom web application option exists for performance pay management, but the differentiated IP is primarily trade-specific compensation architecture and domain knowledge rather than a software platform per se.

The company operates a tiered retainer model with three core accounts — HR Essentials ($75/month), HR Mentor ($250/month plus a $2,500 setup fee), and HR Administration ($1,500–$2,500/month) — plus a three-phase Performance Pay Management add-on (Pay Plan Review at $1,000, Pay Plan Creation at $2,500, and Ongoing Pay Plan Processing at $500/month). Additional revenue is generated from on-site visits ($8,500 per two-day engagement), advanced live training ($300/hour), and project-based consultations. Go-to-market is consultative and direct: free 30-minute consultations booked via Calendly, toll-free phone (866-MY-HR-GUY), website contact forms, and email, with no long-term contracts required to reduce SMB buyer friction. The firm is bootstrapped, co-owned by Ian and Susan Schotanus, employs approximately nine to ten people, and serves hundreds of trade contractor clients across the United States.

Name

The Big Picture Consulting

Legal name

The Big Picture Consulting (operating as My HR Guy)

Website

https://thebigpictureconsulting.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Big Picture Consulting (operating as My HR Guy) is a U.S. HR consulting firm that provides tiered retainer-based HR, payroll, OSHA safety, and proprietary performance pay management services exclusively to trade and service contractors such as HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and garage door businesses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

HR Consulting Services for Trade Contractors

NAICS

Human Resources Consulting Services (541612), Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPACAKAI

HR Service Delivery & Employee Contact Centers (HR Helpdesk)

Business & Public Services/HR, Staffing & Recruitment Services/HR Outsourcing (HRO) & Shared Services

SECONDARYBPACAKAL

Compensation & Performance Administration Outsourcing (annual cycles, merit, reviews)

Business & Public Services/HR, Staffing & Recruitment Services/HR Outsourcing (HRO) & Shared Services

SECONDARYBPAAAHAA

Managed Payroll Services (Full-Service Payroll Outsourcing)

Business & Public Services/Administrative & Support Services (BPO, Call Centers, Back Office)/Payroll Processing & Timekeeping Administration

SECONDARYBPAHAGAG

HR Technology (HRIS/HCM) Advisory & Implementation

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Human Capital & Organizational Consulting

Keywords

• HR consulting services
• Trade contractor HR
• OSHA compliance support
• Performance pay management
• Outsourced HR administration

Headquarters

HQ city

Minnesota

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. HR Retainer Account Services: Three-tier monthly subscription model providing ongoing HR support, compliance resources, and advisory services. Tiers include HR Essentials ($75/mo), HR Mentor ($250/mo), and HR Administration ($1,500-$2,500/mo). Recurring revenue from retainer accounts with one-time setup fees for Mentor and Administration tiers.
2. Performance Pay Management Services: Three-phase compensation management system: Pay Plan Review ($1,000 one-time), Pay Plan Creation ($2,500 one-time), and Ongoing Pay Plan Processing ($500/mo). Provides recurring revenue through ongoing management phase while generating one-time fees from review and creation phases.
3. Additional HR Services: On-site visits ($8,500 for 2 days), advanced live training events ($300/hour), and project-based consultations. Available as standalone services or included at discounted rates for retainer account holders.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Big Picture Consulting (operating as My HR Guy) sells HR consulting, compliance, and payroll-related services targeted exclusively at U.S. trade contractors (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, garage door businesses). Core deliverables include tiered monthly retainer accounts (HR Essentials, HR Mentor, HR Administration), a three-phase Performance Pay Management system, on-site visits, instructor-led training, and project-based HR consulting, supported by a proprietary HR Vault document portal and proprietary Diff-Comm compensation plan models.

Product overview

The Big Picture Consulting (now operating as My HR Guy) offers a tiered HR services platform designed specifically for trade contractors (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, garage doors). The core offering consists of three retainer-based service accounts: HR Essentials Account ($75/month) provides foundational HR templates and compliance materials through the HR Vault; HR Mentor Account ($250/month + setup) adds virtual HR inspections, risk assessments, custom handbooks, and unlimited on-call consulting; and HR Administration Account ($1,500-$2,500/month) provides full outsourced HR processing including recruiting, onboarding, and payroll support. Performance Pay Management is available as a three-phase add-on: Pay Plan Review ($1,000), Pay Plan Creation ($2,500), and Ongoing Pay Plan Processing ($500/month). Additional à la carte services include On-Site Visits, Advanced Live Training Events, and project-based Consultations. All services are designed for service businesses with field crews, overtime challenges, and fast-moving schedules.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Hundreds of companies helped prevent or minimize financial damage from employee lawsuits, OSHA investigations, and wage and hour audits
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Gusto: Gusto is a leading SMB payroll, benefits, and HR platform with a self-service SaaS model. It competes with MyHRGuy's payroll processing and HR compliance offerings at lower price points, representing the platform-disintermediation threat.
• Rippling: Rippling is a unified HR, IT, payroll, and workforce management platform that increasingly targets SMBs and mid-market. It represents a scalable, integrated platform alternative to MyHRGuy's human-delivered HR services model.
• TriNet: TriNet is a major PEO serving SMBs with HR outsourcing, payroll, benefits, and compliance. It is a broad incumbent in the same HR outsourcing category as MyHRGuy, with significantly larger scale and broader industry coverage.
• Insperity: Insperity is a large, established PEO providing comprehensive HR, payroll, benefits, and workforce management. It competes with MyHRGuy's full-service HR Administration offering but at much larger enterprise scale across all industries.

Direct peers

• VensureHR: VensureHR is a PEO/HR outsourcing provider serving SMBs with payroll, benefits, HR compliance, and risk management. It is comparable as a full-service HR outsourcing peer targeting similar small business customers with bundled HR/payroll solutions.
• Justworks: Justworks provides PEO/HR outsourcing, payroll, benefits, and compliance services to SMBs via a subscription platform. It competes directly with MyHRGuy's HR Administration tier offering payroll processing and benefits support, though it is a tech-platform rather than human-consulting model.
• Bambee: Bambee is a direct competitor offering HR outsourcing and dedicated HR managers to SMBs via monthly subscriptions. It targets businesses that lack in-house HR, similar to My HR Guy's core customer segment, though Bambee is not trade-specialized.
• FrankCrum: FrankCrum is a PEO providing HR outsourcing, payroll, benefits, and workers' comp to SMBs. It is a direct peer in the HR outsourcing and payroll processing space, comparable in size and customer segment to MyHRGuy.

Emerging players

• ServiceTitan: ServiceTitan is a vertical SaaS platform for trades (HVAC, plumbing, electrical) and has added HR/payroll-adjacent features. It is comparable because it targets the same trade contractor customer base with both operational software and growing HR-adjacent capabilities.
• Housecall Pro: Housecall Pro is a vertical SaaS platform for home service businesses (HVAC, plumbing, cleaning, etc.) with scheduling, dispatch, and invoicing. It is an emerging platform serving the same trade contractor verticals and could expand into HR services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@AskMyHRGuy
• Facebookfacebook.com/askmyhrguy
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-big-picture-consulting
• Instagraminstagram.com/askmyhrguy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Big Picture Consulting