I'm Ben.I build brands, websites, and AI systems for local businesses.
Ten years of design. A restaurant. A growing family. A front-row seat to the AI wave. All of it led here.
The long way around
I didn't start in tech. I started in kitchens. After culinary school in 2012, I spent years as a professional chef. It was intense, creative work, and I loved it.
By 2016, with a third kid on the way, I made the call to pivot into something that gave our family more stability. Marketing felt like the right fit. I'd always had the design eye, and I understood how small businesses actually operate because I'd been inside them.
I launched my first agency in 2017. Learned fast, made mistakes, figured out what worked. By 2019, I'd narrowed the focus to branding and design, which is where my real strength was. I spent the next few years building brand identities for local businesses, helping them connect with their communities and grow. Along the way, I developed a process I could repeat and refine for every client.
Then in 2020, I opened a restaurant with my wife and a couple partners in the middle of the pandemic. Everyone thought we were crazy, which we kind of were honestly. But we knew the community, we knew we had something, and despite the challenges it was very successful. It also taught me things about running a business that no amount of client work ever could. The 5 AM prep shifts. The staffing problems. The vendor negotiations. The days where you're the owner, the manager, the marketing department, and the person fixing the fryer. All while still running Sage on the side. If you run a small business, I've been exactly where you are. That's not a tagline. It's the truth.
By 2022, I made the decision to step away from the restaurant industry and go all-in on the agency. And right around that same time, something shifted. I'd been using ChatGPT since the day it launched in late 2022, and what started as curiosity turned into a complete rethinking of how I work. The tools were getting better at a pace that was hard to believe. My design process got faster. My workflows got smarter. And I started seeing a gap that nobody in the local market was filling.
Most small businesses were either ignoring AI entirely or getting burned by “automation agencies” run by people who'd never operated a business themselves. They needed someone who understood their world AND understood the technology. That's what Sage Media & Design became in 2026: design, marketing, and AI under one roof, built by someone who's been on both sides of the counter.
I built this systemfor myself first.
This is the part most agencies skip. They'll build you a system they've never actually run inside their own business.
Sage is different. The AI architecture behind every client project started as something I built for myself. I call it the Business Brain. It's a proprietary AI knowledge base that powers our daily operations: morning briefings, client management, content workflows, task tracking. It knows our business the same way the Business Brain will know yours.
Every morning, I get a briefing generated by our own system. It tells me what's on deck, what needs attention, and what happened overnight. Our client notes, project timelines, our content calendar. All of it lives in the same architecture we build for clients.
When I say the Business Brain works, it's not a pitch. I say it because I see it working inside Sage every day.
Daily briefing view
Client management dashboard
Operations overview
What working with Sage looks like
You get the owner.
When you hire Sage, you work with me. I’m the point of contact, the project lead, and the person who signs off on everything that leaves this shop. I’m on every call, I direct every design, and I know your project inside and out. That means clear & consistent communications, faster turnarounds, and a level of attention you won’t find at a bigger agency.
Design and technology in the same hands.
Most agencies do one or the other. Design shops can make things look great but can’t touch the technical side. Tech agencies build systems that work but look like they were designed in a spreadsheet. I’ve spent a decade in design and the last few years deep in AI and automation. Your brand, your website, and your AI systems all get the same level of attention because they’re all built under one roof with the same eye for detail.
Built to last, not to churn.
We don’t take on 50 clients and give each one 2% of our attention. Sage works with a small number of businesses at a time so every project gets the attention it deserves. The goal is a long-term relationship where your systems keep getting better, not a one-and-done project where we disappear after the invoice.
Pricing you can see before you call.
Every service page on this site has pricing. That’s intentional. We think hiding your prices behind a “book a call” button is disrespectful of people’s time. You deserve to know what things cost before you decide whether to reach out.
Let's talk about what we can buildfor you.
Whether you need a brand, a website, AI systems, or the whole package, it starts with a conversation. Tell us about your business, where things stand today, and where you want to go. We'll give you an honest recommendation and a clear picture of what Sage can do for you. No pressure, no pitch deck.