What should an AI membership for small businesses include and cost?
Short answer
My proposal is two tiers. About $400 a month gets everything the team builds, a Slack or Discord for questions, two group office-hours calls a month and discounts on custom builds, nothing one-to-one. About $1,000 a month adds a monthly 90-minute call, reserved office hours and a quarterly audit. These are untested proposals.
Two tiers, roughly $400 and $1,000 a month. I sketched these while advising someone building an AI service for home service businesses. They're proposals, not prices I've sold at, so treat them as a starting point.
What's in the $400 tier?
- Everything the team builds, shipped to every member
- A Slack or Discord where questions get answered
- Two group office-hours calls a month
- Discounts on custom builds
- Nothing one-to-one
Keep this tier strictly group.
What does the $1,000 tier add?
- A 90-minute call every month
- Extra office hours reserved for that tier
- A full audit every quarter
I'm working on the top end myself: an AI concierge at roughly $1,000 a month for ongoing access to me, aimed at owners with $1 million to $40 million in revenue. I think plenty of them would pay it. The problem is they don't know who I am, which is a distribution question. See how to find AI consulting clients.
Would a small business owner really pay $400 a month?
I would, absolutely, to have a go-to team for AI and support. Most people charge $400 an hour, and they won't be experts in your industry. Compare the membership to a consultant's hourly rate, not to software. That's one heavy AI user's willingness to pay, not a sales record, but it's the frame I'd use on the sales call.
What does it look like inside one industry?
My "big bet" for independent insurance agencies, which I'm not pursuing myself because of focus: a higher-end group membership in the $500 to $1,000 range with office hours. You drop 10-minute videos, build them automations and drop them in, and jump on Thursday to walk through setup.
"A fractional chief AI officer is $3,000 a month, hiring your own is $15,000, and you're at $700."
Two pieces of that plan work in any niche:
- Owner group plus employee seats. Charge per employee, around $50 a month. The biggest risk of selling to owners is that they're too busy to deal with it. If their employees are in there, they're not going to bail.
- Partner with the niche's influencer. Offer 30% and free access for their whole team.
Why a membership instead of done-for-you builds?
More on that choice in projects vs. memberships.
Answered by TJ Larkin. From peer calls in April and June 2026 and an October 2026 working session on TJ's own AI offer. Last updated .