# Soxoa

> Soxoa is an AI consulting firm led by founder John Arndt (john@soxoa.com), Soxoa LLC, Sacramento, CA. John maps an organization's real work, marks what should be automated, what should keep a human reviewer, and what should stay manual, builds working systems live with the people who do the work, and can stay on as the organization's accountable AI lead. Soxoa serves commercial organizations and public-sector teams, with a local practice in Sacramento and Northern California.

## Engagements (the offer ladder)

Each engagement stands alone; none is a prerequisite for the next.

1. [AI Readiness Assessment](https://soxoa.com/ai-readiness-assessment): free, self-scored, fifteen questions across five dimensions (ownership, workflows, data and tools, people, governance). Runs in the browser; answers are not stored. Returns a readiness stage, the weakest dimension with a first move, and a recommended next step, including "buy nothing yet".
2. [Live Build Workshop](https://soxoa.com/live-build-workshop): one day. John and the team build one working automation on approved examples of the team's own work, and leave with the build, operating notes, a marked-up workflow map, and a ranked list of what to build next.
3. [AI Build Sprint](https://soxoa.com/ai-build-sprint): a fixed-scope sprint that takes one to three workflows from mapped to operating in the client's environment, with evaluation on real examples, a defined human review path, documentation, and handoff. An honest stop decision is a valid outcome.
4. [Fractional Chief AI Officer](https://soxoa.com/fractional-chief-ai-officer): a monthly engagement in which John acts as the organization's accountable outside AI lead: priorities and portfolio, tool and vendor decisions, policy and governance, delivery oversight, team enablement, and a monthly scorecard. John is an outside advisor, not an officer or employee of the client.

Overview: [Engagements](https://soxoa.com/packages). About the firm: [About Soxoa](https://soxoa.com/about) (what Soxoa does, how it differs, who it serves, how engagements run, key facts, FAQ). About the founder: [John Arndt](https://soxoa.com/john-arndt). Operating positions: [Point of view](https://soxoa.com/point-of-view).

## Pricing

Soxoa does not publish prices for its own services. Every engagement starts with a strategy call, and scope and price are agreed before work begins. The AI Readiness Assessment is free. Soxoa can also prepare a free written brief from public information about a business (request it at https://soxoa.com/ai-implementation#assessment).

## Supporting capabilities

- [Agentic AI consulting and implementation](https://soxoa.com/agentic-ai): compare fixed automation, model-guided workflows and bounded AI agents; define permitted actions, human approval, evaluation, failure handling and ownership. Scope and price are agreed before work begins.
- [Agentic AI vs workflow automation](https://soxoa.com/blog/agentic-ai-vs-workflow-automation): a practical decision guide with illustrative cases, permission boundaries, retry limits and pilot acceptance criteria.
- AI implementation: document intake and data extraction, inbox triage and response drafting, proposal and quote generation, handoffs between CRM, email, spreadsheets, and accounting tools
- AI training: role-specific, hands-on programs for leaders and teams
- Government and public sector: a distinct practice scoped around agency authority, procurement, and public accountability

## Private, local, and open-source AI

Soxoa can evaluate local, self-hosted, and hosted options for a defined business workflow. Data flows, licensing, access, retention, maintenance, and approved test cases guide the choice. Running a model locally does not by itself make the whole workflow private.

- [Private & local AI](https://soxoa.com/private-ai): define the data boundary and compare deployment options before selecting tools
- [Local AI vs cloud AI for business](https://soxoa.com/blog/local-ai-vs-cloud-ai-for-business): choose where a workflow runs using data boundaries, quality, cost, and operating ownership
- [Private AI for business: data checklist](https://soxoa.com/blog/private-ai-for-business-data-checklist): map what leaves the environment, who can access it, and what is retained
- [Open-source AI for business](https://soxoa.com/blog/open-source-ai-for-business): check model and software licenses, test the workflow, and plan maintenance

## Service area

Sacramento, Roseville, Folsom, Elk Grove, Rancho Cordova, Davis, Woodland, Stockton, Modesto, and the wider Northern California region, including San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, and Walnut Creek. Remote work and on-site days are agreed during scoping.

## Key pages

- [Homepage](https://soxoa.com): the four engagements, the founder, and how Soxoa works
- [About Soxoa](https://soxoa.com/about): the firm in one page, with a key-facts table and FAQ
- [AI Automation Consultant in Sacramento](https://soxoa.com/ai-automation-consultant-sacramento): the main Sacramento service page — what Soxoa builds, service area, and contact details
- [AI Consulting in the Bay Area](https://soxoa.com/ai-consulting-bay-area): remote-first consulting and scoped on-site working days for Bay Area teams
- [AI Consulting Cost in Sacramento](https://soxoa.com/blog/ai-automation-consultant-cost-sacramento): scope and cost drivers, without Soxoa service prices
- [Engagements](https://soxoa.com/packages): the four engagements, where to start, and how they connect
- [Industries & business teams](https://soxoa.com/industries): construction, CPA/accounting, legal, logistics, healthcare, insurance, field service, property management, manufacturing, retail, nonprofits, sales, marketing, and customer support. Each application has distinct AI workflows, technology, hardware, human review, and pilot measures.
- [How We Work](https://soxoa.com/how-we-work): the research-first engagement process
- [Illustrative Automation Models](https://soxoa.com/results): fictional planning models that demonstrate the scope, assumptions, and success gates; not client results
- [Why Soxoa](https://soxoa.com/compare): honest comparisons vs hiring, DIY tools, and offshore development
- [ROI Calculator](https://soxoa.com/roi-calculator): estimate hours and cost reclaimed by automation
- [Operations Problems](https://soxoa.com/problems): ten pages answering an operational symptom directly (retyping PDFs, slow lead response, late invoices, dispatch by text message), each with a usable worksheet, triage table, or before/after comparison and cited public sources
- [Field notes](https://soxoa.com/blog): John Arndt on choosing, building, reviewing, and owning AI inside an existing organization

## Field notes (most recent)

- [What actually happens in a one-day live build](https://soxoa.com/blog/what-happens-in-a-one-day-live-build): the hour-by-hour shape of the Live Build Workshop, from approved real examples to a named owner
- [How to pick the first workflow (and the three you should not start with)](https://soxoa.com/blog/how-to-pick-the-first-workflow): countable volume, a named owner, shareable examples, a catchable mistake, a measurable result
- [Leave it manual: the most useful note on the drawing](https://soxoa.com/blog/leave-it-manual): what should stay human, and why marking it makes the automated part trustworthy
- [The first ninety days of a fractional Chief AI Officer](https://soxoa.com/blog/first-ninety-days-fractional-chief-ai-officer): inventory and decisions, one build through a gate, then a policy people follow and a first scorecard
- [The stop decision](https://soxoa.com/blog/the-stop-decision): why a build sprint is allowed to end with nothing installed, and what a written stop recommendation contains
- [Your AI readiness is mostly an ownership question](https://soxoa.com/blog/ai-readiness-is-mostly-ownership): the five readiness dimensions, and when the honest result is to buy nothing yet
- [How to audit your business for AI opportunities](https://soxoa.com/blog/how-to-audit-your-business-for-ai): inventory the recurring work, score the candidates, fix a few, verify
- [The real monthly cost of running AI](https://soxoa.com/blog/real-monthly-cost-of-running-ai): auditing per-seat, metered, and vendor-rider AI spend

## Real-estate marketing automation guides

- [Real-Estate Marketing Automation](https://soxoa.com/solutions/real-estate-marketing-automation): review-first operating model for turning approved listing facts and assets into channel-ready drafts
- [Listing Launch Workflow](https://soxoa.com/solutions/real-estate-marketing-automation/listing-launch-workflow): source, draft, licensed review, publish, and change-control procedure with acceptance tests
- [Automation Brief Template](https://soxoa.com/solutions/real-estate-marketing-automation/automation-brief): copy-ready scoping prompts for inputs, outputs, owners, policy controls, exceptions, integrations, and evidence

These guides are operational references, not legal advice or customer case studies. They make no performance, accuracy, conversion, or payback claim. A responsible broker, local MLS rules, brokerage policy, counsel, and channel terms control each real implementation.

## Facts

- Legal name: Soxoa LLC (California LLC, principal office Sacramento, CA)
- Founded: 2024
- Business type: service-area business — no walk-in office; work happens on-site at client locations and remotely
- Location: Sacramento, CA (serving Northern California)
- Contact: (916) 857-9148, john@soxoa.com (sales), hello@soxoa.com (support), book at https://cal.com/soxoa/30min
- Founder: John Arndt, based in Sacramento, CA (LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnrarndt ; personal site: https://johnarndt.net/). More than a decade across AI, cybersecurity, fraud and risk, privacy, payments, and enterprise software. Previously employed at PayPal, Cloudflare, and Inscribe (employment history, not Soxoa clients)
- Model: test on real work first, fixed scope agreed before work begins, a named human review path, documented handoff; clients work directly with John
- Soxoa publishes no client names, testimonials, or outcome figures; illustrative examples on the site are labeled as illustrative