AI Receptionist for Audio Engineers: How Beside Helps Mixing & Mentoring Protect Deep Work and Scale a Remote Business

“The magic of Beside is how invisible it already feels — anything that deepens context without adding complexity.”

About the Business

Benjamin Wentworth is an independent audio engineer and mentor based in New York City, and the founder of TechTranslator™ and Mixing & Mentoring™. He runs a remote-first, one-on-one business focused on mixing, mentoring, and career guidance for musicians learning to record themselves.

After studying music business and audio engineering at Florida State University and building his career in NYC, the pandemic pushed his work fully online. He’s now turning his solo practice into a growing brand, with plans to bring on additional engineers and mentors as demand increases.

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The Challenge

Benjamin’s work depends on deep focus. When he’s in a paid Zoom session, he can’t switch gears to answer calls from new prospects or people asking basic questions that could be answered in seconds. But the phone still rings.

Young artists often don’t leave voicemails. They call, hang up, and move on. Even when a message is left, Benjamin doesn’t want to spend his evenings listening to rambling voicemails and wondering whether it’s urgent, whether it’s a real client, or whether someone is looking for free advice. That constant uncertainty created anxiety and burnout.

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“When you miss a call mid-session, you’re just wondering if it’s an emergency or they’re just trying to book.”

And the problem wasn’t only calls. It was the broader communication stack—calls and texting—pulling him into reactive mode when he was trying to run a clean, paid, professional workflow.

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The Switch

Benjamin had been thinking about using an AI assistant for years—but didn’t feel the technology was ready. Then he tried Beside.

Instead of building yet another system that demanded his time, Beside fit into what he already wanted: an online business that feels seamless for clients and protects his attention.

He configured the assistant with his services, rates, and FAQs, and named his receptionist Zenjamin — calm, professional, and consistent by design.

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“I can trust that the answers the AI gives are comparable to what I could give.”

Now, Benjamin keeps Beside on 24/7, and he rarely answers the phone unless he expects the call.

The Transformation and Impact

With Beside, Benjamin stopped treating interruptions like emergencies. Calls are handled, questions are answered, and context is captured—without breaking his workflow.

Instead of taking random calls from strangers, he tightened the rules around access to his time. New clients don’t reach him unless they’re booked and paying. Communication between sessions becomes structured, often tied to a mentoring retainer. Basic questions about pricing, equipment, or booking no longer drain his day.

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“It’s gotta be at least a couple hours a week right now — and that’ll scale up as I scale up.”

How a day feels now

Benjamin uses the first part of his day for planning, administrative work, or his own music. Client sessions take up the rest of the day and into the evening.

Before Beside, calls could fracture that flow and leave him mentally “on call” all day. Now, he stays locked in.

When someone reaches out, Beside handles the first interaction, captures context, and keeps the experience professional. Benjamin can respond on his schedule, with clarity—not stress.

What this changed

• Focus protection – fewer interruptions during paid sessions; less context switching.
• Higher professionalism – clients take his time more seriously.
• Less anxiety – no more guessing what a missed call meant.
• FAQ deflection – pricing/equipment/booking questions get handled without draining him.
• Better continuity – the assistant helps maintain client relationships between sessions.
• More leverage from conversations – summaries become notes, actions, and follow-ups.

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“It’s leveled up my game significantly.”

Working on the business, not just in it

Benjamin’s goal isn’t to stay solo forever.

He wants a brand—one that can grow beyond his personal capacity. Ads are on the roadmap, and he plans to bring on assistant engineers or mentors to support clients he can’t personally take.

Beside protects the conditions that let the business scale: focus, structure, and professionalism.

How Benjamin Personalized Beside

Benjamin tuned Beside for calm, clarity, and trust:

• Tone – deliberately calm to match how he wants clients to feel.
• FAQs – rates, services, equipment, and booking basics pre-loaded.
• Always-on coverage – 24/7 answering without pulling him out of sessions.
• Summaries – used as the bridge from conversation.
• Invisible experience – clients get help without feeling like they’re “dealing with a bot.”

At a Glance

• Business: mixingandmentoring.com
• Clients: Primarily 18–25-year-old musicians starting out
• Before: Missed calls, anxiety, burnout, time leakage from unpaid conversations
• Setup: 24/7 AI receptionist, FAQs, summaries/transcripts
• Impact: More focus, better professionalism, hours saved weekly, stronger workflow