Hi, I'm Charlie

Industrial designer, business owner and hands-on systems improver.

For over a decade I was an industrial designer and hands-on project manager in a fast-paced design and manufacturing firm. Tight deadlines, tight budgets, and nothing was allowed to stop.

In 3D modelling you learn to look for patterns. If two parts are nearly the same, you don't build a new one, you copy it and adjust it. Then you work out how every part connects, so the whole product works on screen the way it will in real life.

That's exactly how I look at a business.

I've bought two businesses, Ionza and [MISSING: confirm the second], and set up the systems in both. Today I'm barely involved in either, and that's the point. I come in, build it, and step back out.

In my 40s I realised this is the work I love. I've always wanted to help and support people, and I've finally found the way I like to do it.

I think in pictures. If I can't draw it, it's too complicated. AI has been a game changer for me, because it helps turn what's in my head into the words, guides and tools your team actually uses.

I’m the person you work with from start to finish. Behind me there’s a small support team for design and admin, so things keep moving between our sessions.

Based in Golden Bay, working with businesses across New Zealand and Australia.

WHY BETADAYS?

Beta means two things to me.

Beta in technology

Beta is where things get tested and improved. Systems are never finished, because tools and teams keep changing.

Beta in rock climbing

Beta is the knowledge that helps you up a route. I've climbed a lot of similar routes already, so I can make yours a lot easier.

THE IONZA STORY

Better performance without sales growth.

Across the three financial years compared, Ionza moved from operating at a loss to generating a profit, even though sales decreased by 3%.

18%

lower running costs, excluding depreciation

22%

lower software subscription costs

45% → 61%

gross margin

−7% → +8%

net profit margin

These results came from changes across cost management, team structure, reporting, technology and processes. This was one business with its own circumstances, and results are not a guarantee for any other business.

ALWAYS LEARNING

“How can I make this better?”

That's the question I ask about everything. I love business and I love solving problems, so I never really switch off from learning.

Most days there's a business podcast or audiobook in my ears while I work out. I've also completed the full set of Tony Robbins business courses, The E-commerce Equation, Profit Mastery, Dale Carnegie and Influence Ecology to name a few.

Everything I learn ends up in the toolkit I bring to your business.