About me

I am passionate about the value of small businesses in our economy and communities. I get a kick out of helping people to make their businesses the best that they can be and I really enjoy solving problems.

I’ve been supporting small business owners since 2003 when I chose to use my wealth of transferrable skills in a business which worked well with parenthood. My first clients appreciated my initiative, flexibility, problem solving abilities and talents with software. I worked with some of them while their businesses grew to the point where they needed premises and full-time staff, helping them to compose job descriptions for my replacement and business procedures for their new staff members.

Since those early days the shape of my business has changed with different long-term clients, in different industries, some sole directors others with teams of partners. I have many more short-term work clients now, engaging me for a particular project, or returning periodically when a repeating project comes around again.

My work life before self-employment had been varied, broken by periods of travel and studying for an environmental management degree in my 30s. Fields included: banking; social work; travel consultant; ecotourism advisor – all interspersed with lots and lots of secretarial temping. You can see where the flexibility and ability to adapt to different businesses came from.

Anne Barret is standing side on with her arms folded, smiling warmly at the camera.

You’ll gather from the environmental management degree that I care about our world, and the systems geek in me wants to help it function better. I see small businesses and empowering the individuals who run them as an important part of that local and global system.

When you work with me you get years of experience, a wealth of tech and systems knowledge and a friendly and efficient service. If you want support with your newsletters, bookkeeping or the general running of your small business, get in touch. We can have a chat and see if we’re a good fit.