About
Backyard Bougie is a family-run creative studio in the Sierra Foothills of California — pairing strategy, design, custom apparel, and AI automation for businesses that want to grow without losing what makes them them.
The Founders
Strategy + Operations
Co-Founder
Mike runs the strategic and operational side of Backyard Bougie — business systems, technology, finance, and the long-range planning that keeps the work sustainable.
He is the reason your retainer has a real plan behind it and your CRM is wired the way it should be. If a client conversation needs a hard answer, it usually comes from Mike.
Creative Direction
Co-Founder
Kristie leads brand identity, visual direction, and the relational side of the business — the part that actually keeps clients close.
She has the eye that makes the work feel like it belongs to your brand instead of ours, and the instinct that turns a first conversation into a years-long partnership.
What We Believe
We would rather make something honest than something perfect. Polished is easy to copy. Real is not.
We optimize for relationships that last decades, not weeks. The best marketing decisions look slow until they compound.
We work with a small number of brands at a time so the work stays personal. We will refer you out before we overextend.
We build systems, content, and brands from scratch — not from templates. Reusable, never recycled.
Where We Work
We live and work on a few acres in Placerville, California — chickens, sheep, a donkey, and a Great Dane who doubles as a working farm dog and, occasionally, a project manager.
It is not a backdrop. It is the actual asset behind Backyard Bougie — the place where we test what real, lived-in storytelling looks like before we ask any client to do the same.
The Ecosystem
The Path Here
It starts as a favor. Mike and Kristie help restaurant friends rebuild their marketing through the post-COVID recovery. Word spreads.
A small woodshop B2B business opens — early apparel and print roots, learning the craft of making things people actually want to wear.
The Backyard Bougie Podcast launches. The brand crystallizes around farm, family, and small business storytelling.
Bougie Print spins up as a formal service line — custom apparel, team stores, and fundraiser merch for local sports and nonprofits.
Word of mouth turns into a real roster. Marketing and website work for small businesses become the core engagement model.
Incorporated as Backyard Bougie, Inc. Bougie Marketing formalizes as the retainer arm. AI receptionist and ADA web services launch. Astro becomes the standard build platform for every client site.
Let's Meet
A 30-minute call is the fastest way to find out. No deck. No script. Just a real conversation.
Book a Strategy Call