Take on more work without hiring.
Handle the growth you've been turning away, without the cost, the wait, and the risk of another seat that may not work out.
AI help from people who've run businesses like yours.
We figure out where AI would actually help your business, then build it for you.
Wheelhouse is an AI consulting firm, not a software company.
We help owners of service firms use AI where it genuinely helps the business. There's no product to buy and no platform to log into.
In practice, that means we figure out which parts of your work AI can actually take off your team's plate, build those specific things for you, and set them up so your people own and run them. It's a real person doing the work alongside you, one practical step at a time.
It doesn't stop at building, either. We can also teach your team to get more out of AI in their everyday work, and when you want a steady hand on the whole effort over time, we can lead it for you, the way a part-time executive would.
More gets done, and your best people get their time back.
Real changes you can feel in the business, usually within weeks of the first build going live.
Give your best people their time back.
The repetitive, low-value work comes off their plate, so they spend their hours where they're actually worth the money.
Stop leaving money on the table.
The leads, the follow-ups, and the renewals that slip through the cracks get caught and handled.
Get yourself out of the weeds.
The routine decisions and busywork stop routing through you, so you can get back to running the business.
If that's the kind of room you've been looking for, let's talk it through.
Start with a conversationHow it works.
One proven step at a time. You see it working before you spend big, and you own everything we build. Climb as far as you want, stop whenever you like.
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Map it.
A short, paid discovery that ends in a clear picture of where AI would help most, what each opportunity is worth, and what it would take. No commitment to build.
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Prove it.
We build the highest-value AI workflow first and test it on your real, messy data, in front of the people who'll use it, before any bigger spend.
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Own it.
You get the documentation and the training so your team runs the system itself. It lives on your accounts, not ours. You're never dependent on us to keep going.
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Keep climbing.
We keep your AI running as the tools underneath it change, and the next workflow comes into scope when you're ready for it.
Where to start, and how far to go.
Five ways to work together, built as a ladder. Every one is us doing the work with you, not a platform you log into. Step on at the bottom and climb, or step on wherever fits.
The starting point
Discovery & AI Opportunity Map
A written map of where AI would help most, what each opportunity is worth, and what it would take, built on how your business actually runs. A flat fee, scoped before we begin.
The build
AI Implementation Sprints
Each opportunity becomes its own project, sized by the real work involved. Pick one AI workflow or stack several. Every build ships with documentation, training, a kill switch, and you owning the system.
The upkeep
AI Operations
Monitoring, updates as the tools underneath change, fixes when something breaks, and a monthly read on how your systems are performing. Unmaintained AI breaks without warning, so this comes standard at the close of every build.
The ongoing partner
Fractional Chief AI Officer
When you'd rather have someone own the AI question for you, the way a fractional CFO owns finance. Senior guidance on what to build, what to skip, and what's worth the spend. A small roster, on purpose.
Build your team's skills
AI Training & Workshops
Hands-on sessions that teach your team to use AI well on their own real work, in plain language. On its own, or built into a larger engagement.
We price by the project, not by the hour. Wheelhouse starts with a flat-fee Discovery that lays out the opportunities and what each would take. From there, each workflow we build is priced up front, based on its complexity.
What you're used to, and what to expect here.
Most of the AI help aimed at firms your size runs the same playbook. Here's that playbook on the left, and how Wheelhouse works on the right.
A software company selling you their product or platform.
A consulting firm with no product to push, focused on the right answer for your business.
Sold by people who've never made payroll or run a team.
Run by an operator who's built and run a service firm for years.
A slick demo that falls apart the moment it touches your real work.
Tested on your real, messy data before it ever goes live.
Built on their accounts, so leaving means losing everything.
Built on your accounts and documented, so you own it and can walk anytime.
Gone the moment the build is done.
We stay on to keep it working as the tools underneath it change.
A company-wide “transformation” you have to take on faith.
One workflow proven on your data before you commit to the next.
A black box that runs on its own until it does something you can't undo.
A human in charge of anything that matters, with a kill switch on every build.
Want to see what this would look like in your business?
Start with a conversation
Built by someone who's actually run a business.
James Archer has spent decades running companies and sitting in the C-suite, including more than a decade running his own service firm. He knows the parts nobody puts in the brochure: making payroll, the slow months, and the real math of how a company like this stays alive.
He was also an early, daily user of these AI tools, long before most people were paying attention. Over the past year, client after client pulled him into the same conversation, and Wheelhouse grew out of it. The result is rare in this market: someone who understands your business first and the technology second, and who will tell you the truth about both.
Is this for you?
Being straight about fit saves everyone time. Here's who Wheelhouse is built for, and who it isn't.
A fit if
- You run a service firm, maybe a marketing or creative agency, an accounting or bookkeeping practice, a law firm, an architecture or engineering shop, a recruiting business, or any company where your people's time and expertise are what you sell.
- Your team is maxed out and hiring is slow, expensive, and a gamble.
- You've tried AI, or you're wary of it, and you want a guide who'll give it to you straight.
- You want real results without gambling the business to get them.
Probably not if
- You want a company-wide AI overhaul touching every department on day one. We earn the next step by proving the last one.
- You're shopping purely on price against a $25 freelancer.
- You want AI mainly to cut your team. We can build that. We choose not to, because the whole point is making your people more valuable.
- You'd rather not talk through how the work actually happens. Getting it right takes that conversation.
Straight talk.
No. We could build AI to cut headcount. We choose not to, because it's the opposite of the point. The whole design makes your people more capable so you can take on more work, not replace the team you built. A human stays in charge of anything that matters. If letting people go is the goal, we're glad to point you elsewhere.
Because most of what gets sold as “AI for business” skips the parts that make it actually work. The demo looks great, then it meets your real data and falls apart. We test against your real mess before anything goes live, build it so you own it, and stay on to keep it running. And we prove one workflow before you spend big, so the risk on any single step stays small.
We assume it will, and we design for it. Anywhere a mistake would be costly, a human reviews the work before it goes out. Every system has a switch that lets you pause or shut it down cleanly. And we find the weird edge cases up front, on your real data. You get a system you can see into and control at every step.
We price by the project, not by the hour. We start with a flat-fee Discovery that maps the opportunities and what each would take. From there, each workflow we build is priced up front, based on how much work it is. Ongoing support and the fractional role are quoted to fit what you need.
Owners felt the same way about computers and the internet, and those just became part of how every business runs. You don't have to become a tech company to get real value from AI, and working with us won't turn you into one. If your data genuinely isn't ready, you'll hear it from us before you spend a dime, along with what to fix first.
Sometimes a tool is the right answer, and when it is, we'll say so. But off-the-shelf software is built for the average business, and it rarely fits the specific way yours works. The harder part is the learning curve. We've spent years running these tools hard and learning what holds up, and that's a stack of hours better spent running your business than becoming an AI expert yourself.
Tell us the one task eating your team's time.
We'll give you an honest read on whether AI can take it off their plate, and what it would take. A real conversation, no pitch, and you'll walk away with something useful whether or not we work together.