Consulting
Operator advisory, on your terms.
Operator-built advice for owners and leadership teams. Pick the cadence that fits - a single session, a working week, or an ongoing retainer. Every engagement starts with a free 30-minute discovery call.
Built by an operator who ships
Two ways to engage
Hourly for a decision. Retainer for a relationship.
Hourly
$599 / hour
2-hour minimum
For a single decision, a tricky hire, reviewing a deal, or unblocking a stuck workflow. Book a 2-hour session, or stack a few in a week.
Best for
- A specific decision you want a second pair of eyes on
- Reviewing an offer, contract, or DD list before responding
- Debugging a workflow or AI implementation that's not landing
- A working session with you and 1-2 of your team
For ongoing work
Monthly retainer
Scoped to you
ongoing advisory
Fixed monthly fee for a set block of hours plus async access. The right shape when you want XLev in the orbit of the business across 3-12 months - without committing to the full Readiness program.
Best for
- Quarterly planning + monthly working sessions
- Async access between sessions for fast decisions
- Light-touch oversight on an AI or systems install you're running
- Sale-window awareness without the full operator engagement
Retainer pricing is scoped to your needs. Most owners settle into a retainer after a few hourly sessions - by then the cadence is obvious. Send an enquiry below to start the conversation.
What we cover
You bring the agenda. We bring the operator scars.
AI & automation
Claude as a coworker, n8n workflows, agent design, what to build vs. what to buy, and how to roll it out without breaking your team's day.
Sale-readiness advisory
A lighter version of the Readiness program - diagnostic, valuation drivers, and what to fix first. Best when you're 18-36 months out and want a roadmap before committing.
General operator advisory
Ops, hiring, systems, decisions. Anything an operator who's run sale-bound businesses can usefully weigh in on. Client-led - you bring the agenda.
Operator-built
XLev is built by an operator who still runs the business. The same systems we install for clients are the ones running 5 campuses and 80 staff every day - built in the open, shipped every week, and battle-tested before they ever touch a client.
Tom Downie
Founder & CEO, XLev · Co-Founder & CEO, Better Tuition Academy
How it works
Four steps. The first one's free.
01
Free 30-min discovery call
Tell us what you're working through. We'll confirm whether hourly or retainer fits and what the first session should focus on.
02
First session within 7 days
Online via Microsoft Teams, or in person in Sydney. 2 hours minimum, structured around the agenda you set.
03
Notes and action items after every session
Written up, sent within 24 hours. So nothing important gets lost between sessions.
04
Async access (retainer only)
Email, scheduled call, or Microsoft Teams chat between sessions for fast decisions. Reasonable use, no chase-down required.
FAQ
Common questions.
What does an AI consultant actually do?+
A good one finds where AI saves time or makes money in your business, then installs it - the tools, the workflows, the training - and stays until your team actually uses it. The weak ones stop at a strategy deck. At XLev, consulting is the operator-advisory layer; when a decision turns into a build, an automation or a team rollout, we can deliver that too.
How much does an AI consultant cost in Australia?+
Rates run from roughly $200 to $600+/hour, depending on whether you're buying advice or hands-on implementation. XLev consulting is $599/hour with a 2-hour minimum, or a fixed monthly retainer scoped after a discovery call. Project work - a Claude rollout, a custom build, an automation - is quoted as a fixed scope rather than billed hourly.
What's the minimum engagement?+
Hourly is a 2-hour minimum (one block). Retainer is a 3-month minimum so we both have time to get value from the relationship - after that it's month-to-month.
How is hourly time billed?+
Sessions start at a 2-hour minimum at $599/hour ($1,198 minimum), payable in advance. After the first 2 hours, time is added in 30-minute increments. If a session runs short we credit the unused time forward; if it runs long we round to the nearest 30 minutes.
How does the monthly retainer work?+
After the discovery call we propose a fixed monthly fee for a set block of hours plus async access. Pricing is scoped to your needs - typically owners settle into a retainer after a few hourly sessions, once the cadence is clear.
Online or in person?+
Either. Most sessions are online via Microsoft Teams. In-person sessions are available in Sydney; outside Sydney, travel is billed at cost on top of the session fee.
Can I include my team?+
Yes. The hourly rate covers the session - you can have one person or your whole leadership team in the room. We just keep the agenda tight.
Are sessions recorded?+
Online sessions can be recorded on request. Written notes and action items are sent after every session by default.
Do you sign NDAs?+
Yes - happy to sign yours, or use a short mutual NDA if you'd prefer. Confidentiality is the default regardless.
Related reading
Operator notes a consulting session usually starts from.
The articles owners most often ask us to walk through in the first session.
Local · 8 min read
AI consulting in Sydney: how to pick a partner that actually installs the systems
What an Australian SMB owner should look for in a Sydney AI consulting partner in 2026 - the questions that separate operators from deck-and-leave consultants, plus the green and red flags.
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When NOT to adopt AI in your small business: five honest cases
Five situations where adopting AI in an Australian SMB is the wrong call - and the lower-leverage moves that produce better outcomes for less money in each.
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AI consulting on Sydney's Northern Beaches: who we are and what we install
What XLev does for Northern Beaches and North Shore Sydney SMBs in 2026 - Claude Implementation, custom AI builds, n8n automations, AI strategy workshops, all installed from our Forestville HQ.
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Book a discovery call
Tell us what you're working through.
The first 30 minutes are free. We'll confirm whether hourly or retainer is the right shape for what you need, and what the first session should focus on.