Rise and Shine: Your Dose Of Business Tech Inspiration

Got a shiny new phone, tablet or laptop over the holidays? The way you set up your device in that first hour can save you hours of frustration or create them. Rushing through the setup is how bad habits get baked in from day one.

In this episode, Charly covers:

✅ Why updating your operating system first is absolutely non-negotiable

📌 What those boring setup screens are actually deciding for you

🛡️ How to set a proper passcode and what biometrics really mean for your privacy

✅ Getting your password manager and authenticator apps transferred correctly

📌 Managing automatic updates and Find My Device settings

🔗 How to properly wipe and dispose of your old device responsibly

Book a Free 30minute Breakthrough Session: https://askcharlyleetham.com/book-me

(1 per person only)

***

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Music and Credits to:

Paradise Found is covered under Creative Commons.

"Paradise Found"

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/licenses/

Running a small business through 2025 meant navigating constant tech changes, from AI becoming mainstream to evolving security threats. If you kept showing up, kept learning, and kept making decisions despite the noise, you have built something valuable. In this episode, Charly covers:

✅ Why filtering out shiny new tools and asking better questions shows real business maturity

📌 How small habits like weekly backup checks and monthly password reviews compound into major protection

🛡️ The difference between chasing perfection and building resilient systems that recover when things go wrong

📌 What is coming for Rise and Shine in 2026, including the new Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule with themed episodes

Book a Free 30minute Breakthrough Session: https://askcharlyleetham.com/book-me

(1 per person only)

***

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Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ask-charly-leetham-online-business-manager/id1659738721

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Music and Credits to:

Paradise Found is covered under Creative Commons.

"Paradise Found"

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/licenses/

The end of the year creates a natural pause, but your digital systems keep running regardless. Tools, automations, subscriptions and workflows continue by default, even when the circumstances that created them have shifted entirely. In this episode, Charly covers:

✅ Why temporary tech solutions often become permanent by accident

📌 How unfinished decisions create background fatigue and overwhelm

🛡️ The difference between ongoing maintenance and finite closure work

✅ Why fewer inherited systems make January decisions simpler

📌 How to identify one thing that served its purpose and end it cleanly

Book a Free 30minute Breakthrough Session: https://askcharlyleetham.com/book-me

(1 per person only)

***

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LinkedIn Company: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ask-charly-leetham/

Spotify: https://askcharlyleetham.com/likes/rise-and-shine

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ask-charly-leetham-online-business-manager/id1659738721

iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-ask-charly-leetham-online-105944212/

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/662f1e44-115d-4094-862b-efe9307e0df4/ask-charly-leetham-online-business-manager

Music and Credits to:

Paradise Found is covered under Creative Commons.

"Paradise Found"

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/licenses/

Have you ever received a notification that looked like your tech was hurling abuse at you? A friend of a friend sent Charly a screenshot of their Apple Fitness notification displaying what appeared to be profanity, and the mystery needed solving. In this lighthearted Boxing Day episode, Charly explains what personalisation tokens are, why they sometimes fail spectacularly, and how to avoid embarrassing automation mishaps in your own business communications.

In this episode, Charly covers:

✅ What the mysterious %@ symbol actually means in app notifications

📌 Why personalisation tokens break and display placeholder text instead of names

🛡️ The importance of testing automations with varied name formats including hyphenated, accented, and long names

✅ A classic QA testing joke that every tech person will appreciate

---

Book a Free 30minute Breakthrough Session: https://askcharlyleetham.com/book-me

(1 per person only)

***

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Spotify: https://askcharlyleetham.com/likes/rise-and-shine

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ask-charly-leetham-online-business-manager/id1659738721

iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-ask-charly-leetham-online-105944212/

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/662f1e44-115d-4094-862b-efe9307e0df4/ask-charly-leetham-online-business-manager

Music and Credits to:

Paradise Found is covered under Creative Commons.

"Paradise Found"

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/licenses/

It's Christmas Eve, so Charly is taking a break from the usual tech tips to bring you something special. If you've ever wondered what would happen if the classic Christmas poem met the world of IT, wonder no more. In this festive episode, Charly performs a tech-themed retelling of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, complete with firewalls, backups, SSL certificates, and a very special visit from Saint Nick the sysadmin.

In this episode, Charly covers:

✅ A fun, festive tech parody perfect for sharing with your team

📌 Why even Santa needs strong passwords and two-factor authentication

🛡️ A lighthearted reminder that your backups and firewalls should be sorted before the holidays

✅ Season's greetings from the Ask Charly Leetham team

Merry Christmas from Charly and the team!

---

Book a Free 30minute Breakthrough Session: https://askcharlyleetham.com/book-me

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Music and Credits to:

Paradise Found is covered under Creative Commons.

"Paradise Found"

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/licenses

Credits:

Music by Sound Music from Pixabay - for Christmas Eve Whispers

Sound Music: https://pixabay.com/users/lp-studio-music-44167907/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=439856

Pixabay: https:// pixabay.com

Many small business owners spent 2025 chasing the latest tech trends while the boring fundamentals quietly kept their businesses running. In this year-end review, Charly reflects on what tech actually delivered results, what disappointed, and the valuable lessons learned along the way.

In this episode, Charly covers:

✅ Why properly configured backups, DNS, and regular updates remained the unsung heroes of business tech throughout 2025

✅ Tools that delivered on their promises, including password managers and email authentication systems like SPF and DKIM

📌 The disappointments of the year, from AI overpromises to platforms prioritising their interests over users

🛡️ Why building your business on rented land remains a significant risk and what preventable failures taught us

📌 The key insight that consistency beats perfection, and why systems and processes matter more than perfect technology

Book a Free 30minute Breakthrough Session: https://askcharlyleetham.com/book-me

(1 per person only)

***

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Spotify: https://askcharlyleetham.com/likes/rise-and-shine

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ask-charly-leetham-online-business-manager/id1659738721

iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-ask-charly-leetham-online-105944212/

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/662f1e44-115d-4094-862b-efe9307e0df4/ask-charly-leetham-online-business-manager

Music and Credits to:

Paradise Found is covered under Creative Commons.

"Paradise Found"

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/licenses/

Many business owners start the new year with great intentions, only to fall back into the same tech chaos by February. Instead of making resolutions you will abandon, consider building tech traditions that become recurring practices throughout the year.

In this episode, Charly covers:

✅ Annual reviews that actually save money, including subscription audits, password checks, backup testing, and domain renewal verification

📌 Quarterly and monthly maintenance tasks like website health checks, broken link testing, backup verification, and data cleanup routines

🛡️ Weekly habits for email management and software updates that prevent overwhelming backlogs

✅ How to build systems that stick by using calendar blocks, attaching new habits to existing routines, and documenting your processes

Book a Free 30minute Breakthrough Session: https://askcharlyleetham.com/book-me

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***

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Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ask-charly-leetham-online-business-manager/id1659738721

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Music and Credits to:

Paradise Found is covered under Creative Commons.

"Paradise Found"

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/licenses/

Are you worried that artificial intelligence is about to take over the world and replace your job? Before you panic about the robot uprising, you might want to see what happens when you ask AI to play chess against itself.

In this episode, Charly covers:

✅ Why purpose-built chess computers like Deep Blue and AlphaZero mastered chess decades ago, yet large language models struggle with basic rules

📌 How ChatGPT moved a pawn backwards, which breaks the fundamental rules of chess and demonstrates AI's pattern-matching limitations

🛡️ The hilarious moment Google Bard hallucinated a chess piece into existence and confidently claimed checkmate with a knight that never existed

✅ Why AI is brilliant for drafts, summaries, content generation and repetitive tasks, but should never be trusted to make decisions or reason through problems

📌 How Charly uses AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude to save hours every week on social media posts, whilst still quality assuring every output

🛡️ The practical approach to AI adoption that focuses on genuine productivity gains rather than believing the hype about world domination

---

LINKS:

Book a Free 30minute Breakthrough Session: https://askcharlyleetham.com/book-me

(1 per person only)

Google vs ChatGPT: Insane Chess: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FojyYKU58cw&t=668s

***

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Music and Credits to:

Paradise Found is covered under Creative Commons.

"Paradise Found"

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/licenses/

With the Australian under-16 social media ban now in effect, many users are concerned about losing access to their accounts and all the content stored within them. Whether you are worried about new regulations or simply want to protect your business data, knowing how to export your Facebook information is essential for every business owner.

In this episode, Charly covers:

✅ How to access Facebook's export settings through Account Center

📌 Step-by-step process for downloading your personal profile data

🛡️ Backing up your Facebook business page separately

📌 Choosing the right format (HTML vs JSON) and media quality settings

✅ Managing large download files and storage requirements

🔗 Why regular backups every few months protect your business

---

LINKS:

Book Your Free 30 Minute Breakthrough Session: https://askcharlyleetham.com/book-me

(Only 1 per person!)

***

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Spotify: https://askcharlyleetham.com/likes/rise-and-shine

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ask-charly-leetham-online-business-manager/id1659738721

iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-ask-charly-leetham-online-105944212/

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/662f1e44-115d-4094-862b-efe9307e0df4/ask-charly-leetham-online-business-manager

Music and Credits to:

Paradise Found is covered under Creative Commons.

"Paradise Found"

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/licenses

Small businesses face cyber security challenges that extend far beyond installing antivirus software. Many business owners believe cyber security is solely an IT problem, but data breaches, social engineering attacks, and compliance requirements create serious legal and financial risks that can destroy a business overnight.

In this episode, Charly covers:

✅ Why cyber security must be treated as a business priority, not just an IT concern

📌 Understanding data governance and protecting your business information supply chain

🔗 The rising threat of data poisoning, deep fakes, and social engineering targeting executives

🛡️ Practical steps for validating the information your business relies on for decisions

✅ How to implement incident response planning before a crisis hits your business

📌 Why compliance requirements are creating new legal risks for small businesses across all industries

Steven Wright brings over 30 years of technical expertise, 50+ patents, and recognition in the NC State ECE Hall of Fame. As a practising cyber security attorney in the United States, he helps businesses understand that cyber security encompasses technology, legal compliance, and business continuity planning.

Links

Stevens Books: https://amzn.to/3LXm9Ql

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drstevenawright/

Join the discussion in my community: https://askcharlyleetham.locals.com

Stevens Books: https://amzn.to/3LXm9Ql

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drstevenawright/

***

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Spotify: https://askcharlyleetham.com/likes/rise-and-shine

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ask-charly-leetham-online-business-manager/id1659738721

iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-ask-charly-leetham-online-105944212/

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/662f1e44-115d-4094-862b-efe9307e0df4/ask-charly-leetham-online-business-manager

Music and Credits to:

Paradise Found is covered under Creative Commons.

"Paradise Found"

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/licenses/