Do it yourself, hire a consultant, or book an assessment?
Three ways to find where AI can save your business time, compared on cost, how long until you have a plan, and when each one is the right choice.
By Daniel Will · Published · 6 min read
You’ve heard AI can save a business hours a week, and you’d like to know where it would save yours. There are three ways to find out: work it out yourself, hire a consultant, or book an assessment like ours. Each is the right choice for someone. This guide compares them honestly, including when we’re not the right pick.
We sell one of the three options, so we’re not neutral. We’ve tried to be fair anyway.
The three options side by side
| Do it yourself | Hire a consultant | Sierrix assessment | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it costs | Free guides and your own time, plus the tools you try | Quoted after a sales call, usually by the hour or by the project | One flat $297 |
| Time until you have a plan | About a week of noting your tasks, then trial and error | Depends on their schedule: a sales call, then meetings, then a proposal | A 15 to 20 minute call at any hour, then a written plan within 2 business days |
| What you end up with | Your own notes and whatever you’ve tested | Their proposal, usually tied to them doing the work | A written plan with hours saved and monthly costs for each idea, yours to keep |
| Who does the building | You | Usually the consultant | You, your IT person, or us if you ask for a quote |
| Best when | You have one obvious task and time to tinker | You need someone on site, a large rollout, or strict compliance work | You want a costed plan before you commit to anything |
When to do it yourself
Doing it yourself costs the least, and it works well when you already know the task that eats your week. If you spend every evening writing estimates, you don’t need anyone to tell you that’s the place to start.
It’s a good fit if:
- you can name the one or two tasks you’d most like gone,
- you’re comfortable trying a tool, getting it wrong and adjusting, and
- you have a few hours a week to spare for it.
Start with How to find the tasks AI can take off your plate, check prices inHow much does AI automation cost a business?, and if you’re on Microsoft 365, try How to build a Copilot agent.
The risk is time. Owners who skip the first step often pick a tool before the task, use it as a better search engine for a month, and decide AI doesn’t work for them.
When to hire a consultant
A consultant makes sense when the work is bigger than a plan:
- you need someone in the building, setting up computers or training staff in person,
- you’re rolling AI out across many teams or locations at once, or
- you’re in a field with strict rules about data, like healthcare or finance, and need someone to own that work.
Most consultants start with a sales call and quote afterwards, so you often don’t know the cost until you’ve spent time with them. That’s normal for big or unusual jobs. It’s a lot of process when all you want to know is where AI would save you time.
When an assessment fits
Our assessment sits between the two. An AI interviewer calls you at a time you pick, day or night, and asks about your busiest week for 15 to 20 minutes. We turn the call into a written plan: the AI solutions we’d build for each problem, the other options we weighed, the hours each one saves, what it costs a month, and what to do first. A Microsoft-certified professional reviews every plan before it reaches you.
It’s a good fit if:
- you suspect AI could help but don’t know where to start,
- you pay for Microsoft 365 or Copilot and feel you’re not getting much from it, or
- you want the costs in writing before you commit to building anything.
It isn’t a fit if you need hands-on IT help today, or if you’d rather be interviewed by a person than an AI. See the sample plan to judge for yourself.
Questions to ask before you pay anyone
Whichever way you go, ask these before money changes hands, including to us:
- Which three tasks will this save time on, and how many hours a month each? A vague answer is a warning sign.
- What will it cost each month to run, not just to set up? Subscriptions, AI credits and licenses add up.
- Does it use what I already pay for? If you have Microsoft 365, much of the work can often be done with it.
- Who owns what gets built, and what happens if I stop paying you?
- What’s the smallest first step that proves this works before I spend more?
Common questions
Can I find AI tasks in my business without paying anyone?
Yes. Keep a one-week log of every task over ten minutes, mark the ones that are reading, writing, sorting or answering from information you already have, and try one tool on the biggest one. Our free guide “How to find the tasks AI can take off your plate” walks through it.
How is an assessment different from a consultant?
A consultant usually starts with a sales call and quotes the work afterwards, often by the hour or by the project. The Sierrix assessment is one flat $297: a 15 to 20 minute phone interview at any hour, then a written plan within 2 business days, with no obligation to buy anything else.
Can I take the plan to someone else to build?
Yes. The plan is yours. Build it yourself with our guides, hand it to your own IT person or consultant, or ask us for a quote.