Charly Leetham has been building things that work for over 40 years.

Charly Leetham has been building things that work for over 40 years.

She earned her amateur radio license at 13 - the youngest person to do it at the time, and one of very few girls.

She raced dirt bikes competitively as a teenager. By 21, she had an Associate Diploma in Electronic Engineering. By 30, she'd completed an MBA in two years while working 60 - 80 hours a week and raising two young children.

She's been a field tech, team leader, salesperson, project manager, contract manager, and client relationship manager in technology. She's also been a dog obedience instructor and judge, and wrote the training manual for clicker training when it was brand new in Australia.

At 40, she bought and ran franchises - four at one point - while still raising her kids. When those businesses failed and left her $1 million in debt, she started over. That's when she founded Ask Charly Leetham.

What began as a way to pay bills and put food on the table became a sustainable, long-running digital services business.

For nearly two decades, she's provided website design and development, hosting, email services, branding, and IT support to small businesses worldwide - with clients across Australia, the United States, and throughout English-speaking nations.

Many of her clients have been with her for over 12 years - not because she's flashy, but because she listens, solves problems, and shows up.

Charly still works hands-on with systems, troubleshoots technical issues, and leads her team with clarity and accountability. She built her business without external funding, through rapid technological change, and while managing all the real-world complexities that come with running a business and a life at the same time.

She's known for breaking complex technical problems into plain language and practical solutions. Her clients stay because she gives it to them straight and gets the job done.

Charly also hosts Rise and Shine - Your Business Tech Boost with Charly Leetham, a podcast offering no-nonsense tech guidance for small business owners who need answers, not hype.

She doesn't speak about theory or trends. She speaks about what works, what doesn't, and what it actually takes to build something that lasts.