• About Anno Torr • Working solo since 2011

I've been in business online long enough to remember when “digital” was still a selling point.

— 01

How this started

Since 2011, I've been running an online business as a solopreneur. Started with a South African digital wildlife-friendly garden magazine and plant library (that I'm currently building an app for), wandered into the online course and coaching space in 2020, and taught myself most of what I know along the way - photography, website design, digital magazine layout, writing, marketing, and a little coding.

Which means I arrive at AI work with a lot of context about how real businesses actually run, and very little patience for advice that only makes sense in a demo.

When ChatGPT arrived properly on the scene, I did what any curious, slightly obsessive solopreneur would do. I started experimenting. I did my fair share of reading think-pieces about it and watching far too many YouTube videos. Shiney object syndrome was R.E.A.L.

But made sure I balanced it with actually using it, breaking things, learning what worked, noticing what didn't, and gradually building a clearer picture of where AI is genuinely useful and where it just produces a more sophisticated kind of mess.

I grew a healthy level of AI scepticism (seriously eye-rolling scepticism), and dislike for all the hype, I spot repetitive patterns and wording copied around this space, and strip it from my work. You're welcome to call me out on overused AI-industry vocab; it's honestly hard to keep up with it. :)

Smart, capable business owners who are perfectly competent in their field simply want to know how to use these tools without rebuilding their entire way of working.

They don't have time to sit through tutorials that too often skip the bits they need, or be scared into thinking they've somehow already fallen behind. I am so tired of reading that!

Smart, capable business owners who are perfectly competent in their field simply want to know how to use these tools without rebuilding their entire way of working.

They don't have time to sit through tutorials that too often skip the bits they need, or be scared into thinking they've somehow already fallen behind. I am so tired of reading that!

— 02

What I noticed
fairly quickly

A lot of the AI content I kept coming across skipped the middle. Not the complete beginner stuff, and not the deeply technical stuff, but the actual detail that sits between the two.

The kind of thing where a tutorial says "download Claude for Desktop, here's the link" and then jumps straight to the exciting bit, leaving Windows users quietly battling an installation issue with no idea why. This was exactly my experience, so I now cover this in my workshops. And the relief in the room when someone finally explains the bit that got skipped is fairly telling.

That's the gap I work in.

I help business owners use AI in a way that fits their actual business - with a particular fondness for 50+, given that I'm 64.

Not the shiny demo "you'll be transformed by Friday" version. The version that works in real life, with real workflows, real time constraints, and a realistic amount of patience for yet another tool that was supposed to make things simpler.

— 03

How I think about this

AI should fit the business. The business should not be rebuilt around AI.

That sounds obvious. And yet a lot of AI advice leads with tools and novelty, pushing you toward the newest release before anyone has looked at whether your current workflow is actually ready for it.

Yes, to make the most of AI in your business, some things do need to be improved or changed. (Quick side-glance at busy business owners with messy to no structures and processes). Files need to be organised. Workflows need to make sense. Processes need to be clear enough for AI to have something sensible to work with.

But that's a different kind of change from "try this tool to set up a new business in 3 days." Get the foundations right first, and AI becomes genuinely useful.

Skip that part, and you won't know your a$$ from your 💪.

I'm not here to sell you on the newest tool or convince you that a workflow I saw in someone's carousel will sort your business out. I'm here to help you think more clearly about where AI fits, and then either help you put that into practice or point you in a sensible direction.

— 04

A few things that might help you decide if I'm the

right fit

I've been self-taught and self-employed for a long time, which means I have a fairly low tolerance for advice that sounds impressive in theory and quietly falls apart the moment you try to apply it to an actual business. I care more about whether something is genuinely useful than whether it's new, exciting, or currently trending.

I work with people who are sceptical (again, a must in this AI environment), capable, and a bit tired of being sold something when the seller doesn't have a clue about them or their business. They don't want to be talked down to.

They don't want hype. They want a clear explanation, a sensible plan, and some confidence that what they're building actually makes sense for their business.

If that's you, I'd love to meet you.

If you're looking for someone to get enthusiastic about the latest AI release and tell you it's going to change everything, that's not me. There are plenty of those around, and they post very frequently.

— 05

The Short Version

I've been in the online business since 2011. I've been learning and using AI since 2020.

I work solo, I think clearly, and I help people use AI in a way that fits the business they're actually running, not the one someone else decided they should have.

If you'd like to see what that looks like in practice, the 'Work With Me' page is a good next step.

Work with me

— 06

One More Thing

I keep a deliberately small client load. That's not a scarcity tactic, it's just how I do good work.

When I'm helping someone work out where AI fits their business, I need to actually think about their business, not run the same process on everyone and call it personalised.

If the timing isn't right, getting on my Workshop list is the easiest way to stay in the loop.

Work with me

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