Before You Sign A Retainer
AI Agencies Charge $5,000 a Month to Run $150 Worth of Software.
The tools are pre-built. The access is public. The complexity is theater. One free 30-minute call and I will show you what is actually in the stack, what it costs, and whether you need anyone to run it.
Free. 30 minutes. No pitch.
The Secret
The 'Proprietary AI System' They Are Selling Already Existed Before They Met You.
Every agency pitch describes a system built specifically for you. What they do not say is that every component already existed, already had a sign-up page, and was already available to you before they walked in the door. Here is what one version of that stack looks like and what it actually costs:
The specific tools vary. The pattern does not.
Under $200 a month in tools. Five thousand in retainer. That margin is why your ROI never quite adds up. The value you create flows back to them. One call and I will show you the real stack and whether you need anyone to run it.
Why This Exists
I Co-Founded a Multimillion Dollar Agency. I Know Exactly How This Works.
I co-founded a sales and marketing agency and helped scale it to a multimillion dollar per year company with over 25 employees. We built offers, scaled them, maintained them, and did this rinse and repeat process dozens of times. I watched first-hand how the gap between what something costs to deliver and what a client pays for it gets manufactured and protected.
It is not unique to AI. It has always been true in consulting. But AI has done something that changes the entire equation. For the first time, the actual tools that run most of what agencies build are available to anyone. Same subscription. Same login page. Same $20 a month. The access gap that agencies have always depended on is gone. You can sign up for the exact same tools they are using before you finish reading this sentence.
I have been working with AI every single day for over three years. And I want to be clear about something: it is not hard. That is literally the point of it. AI was built to make things easier. It was built to put something powerful into the hands of people who would not otherwise have it. It only works if everyone actually gets access to it.
The reason I do this instead of running an agency is simple. I would rather spend 30 minutes showing you the tools and what they cost than charge you thousands of dollars a month to keep you in the dark about them. It makes me genuinely uncomfortable to watch people get talked into retainers for $20 software when I know exactly what is inside the box.
So I opened the box. That is this.
The Comparison
Two models. One is designed to keep you paying. The other isn't.
The Agency Model
- ✕$3,000-$10,000/month retainer
- ✕A custom build on tools you could sign up for yourself
- ✕Keep you dependent so the retainer continues
- ✕Onboarding takes 4 to 6 weeks
- ✕Complexity and jargon
The Mudd Model
- ✓Free AI Clarity Call. Paid sessions when needed.
- ✓Specific tool names, real prices, honest assessment
- ✓Give you a real answer. You come back when useful.
- ✓30 minutes. Walk away with a decision.
- ✓Clarity
Free. 30 minutes. No pitch.
The Call
Here is exactly what happens in 30 minutes.
Your operation (5 minutes)
We'll discuss what you are already doing or not doing right now. This first 5 minutes determines the rest of our call.
Where it actually fits (15 minutes)
Based on what you just told me, I find the 2-3 spots where AI or AI enabled tooling makes a real difference in your specific operation. Not every problem is worth solving. You will know which ones are.
The answer (10 minutes)
Tool names. Real prices. Whether you need help or can handle it yourself.
Keep access if you want it.
Book more sessions when something comes up. Or don't.
What You Are Probably Thinking
Who is this actually for?
Business owners who keep hearing about AI, have been pitched by at least one agency, and are not sure if the price they were quoted is real or manufactured. If you have not been pitched yet, do this before you are. If you have been pitched, bring the proposal.
What is the catch?
The catch is that I am going to tell you the truth, which is not always what people want to hear. If AI is not going to move the needle for your business right now, I will tell you that. If the tools cost $150 a month and you can run them yourself, I will tell you that too. The call has a fixed agenda and a hard stop at 30 minutes. I will explain how we can work together if it makes sense, but there is no pressure. If you never talk to me again, you still walked away with an honest answer.
Why would you give this away?
Because once you see what the tools actually cost, you do not go back. You either handle it yourself or you work with someone who was honest with you from the start. Either outcome works for me. The agencies charging $5,000 a month cannot afford to have this conversation. I can.
Can I not just Google this?
You can. It will take 10 to 20 hours of comparison sites, agency marketing, and contradictory forum threads. Most of what you find will be written by people selling the thing they are reviewing. The call takes 30 minutes and you leave with a short list, real prices, and a clear yes or no on whether you need help.
I already have an agency. Should I still do this?
Especially then. Bring your current invoice or proposal. I will go through it line by line and tell you what each component costs on its own. In three years of doing this, I have not met a single business owner who brought me their agency invoice and felt they were getting fair value. That does not mean your situation is the same. But you should know the answer before another invoice comes in.
What if I decide I do not need help after the call?
That happens frequently. If the answer is that you can run this yourself for $150 a month, I will tell you exactly how. Some people come back when a new problem comes up. Some do not. Either is fine. The call is not designed to create a dependency. It is designed to give you a real answer.
Paid Sessions
When you need more than one call.
Book Your Free AI Clarity Call.
Not a pitch. If we're not the right fit, we'll tell you. 30 minutes to find out what AI actually costs, what you need, and what you can do yourself.
Up to 30-Minute AI Clarity Call
Free. No retainer. No obligation. Just a real answer.
Real Tools. Real Results.
AI Platforms We Recommend
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