⚡ TL;DR · 30-second answerCompliance consulting across San Diego County, honest pricing: SideGuy is an operator-honest, hourly compliance consultant based in Solana Beach — SOC 2, HIPAA, CCPA, PCI readiness in every NCSD town (Encinitas, Carlsbad, Del Mar, Solana Beach, Cardiff, La Jolla, Oceanside) + the biotech corridors (Sorrento Valley, Carmel Valley) + metro SD.
$100/hr, no retainer — most SMB engagements land $3K–$12K because evidence collection and policy drafting are AI-automated (boutiques quote $15K–$60K, Big-4 $75K+).
Text PJ at 858-461-8054 — scoped in 15 min.
Compliance Consulting Across San Diego County — by City & Framework
Operator-honest SOC 2, HIPAA, CCPA & PCI help in every San Diego County town — $100/hr, no retainer, no Big-4 markup. Built by a Solana Beach operator who automates the boring parts. Find your city below.
Find compliance help in your city
Got a compliance fire drill?
Text a photo of the questionnaire or auditor email. I'll tell you what it'll cost and how long it'll take — no sales call.
Text 858-461-8054Call PJWhy hourly beats a flat-fee compliance retainer
Flat-fee firms pad quotes because they can't predict how messy your environment is; retainer firms keep the meter running whether you need them or not. Hourly means you pay for what you use — and because evidence collection, policy generation, and vendor questionnaires are AI-automated, the hours compound in your favor. Most San Diego County clients finish HIPAA or SOC 2 readiness for 60–80% less than a traditional quote.
Which compliance framework do you actually need?
Most businesses need one framework, not the whole alphabet. Here's the operator-honest map — don't let a consultant sell you all of them:
- SOC 2 — you sell software B2B and customers' security reviews ask for it. The default for most SaaS.
- HIPAA — you touch PHI (patient/health data). Providers, health-tech, anyone handling medical info.
- PCI-DSS — you handle card data directly. If you use Stripe/Square, you're mostly out of scope already.
- CCPA/CPRA — you have California consumers and hit the revenue/data thresholds.
- ISO 27001 — international or enterprise customers who prefer ISO over SOC 2.
- FedRAMP — only if you're selling to the federal government.
- HITRUST — healthcare, and a partner specifically requires it (stricter than HIPAA).
Not sure which applies? That's a 10-minute text, not a $5K discovery engagement.