Nathan Wrigley hosts the Jukebox Podcast from WP Tavern, focused on WordPress topics. In this episode he speaks with Charly Leetham, who turned a lifelong interest in technology into a nearly 20-year career supporting small businesses with WordPress and general tech. More notable here is Charly’s lifestyle: she lives and works from a camper van fitted with Starlink, traveling around Australia while providing remote tech support and website work.
Background
Charly’s interest in technology began early—amateur radio at 13, an associate diploma in electronic engineering at 16, work as a lab technician, then field service, pre-sales, sales, contract and customer service management. After buying and running a retail franchise (which failed), she pivoted to helping people with their tech in 2007 as WordPress was emerging. She learned PHP, themes, plugins and troubleshooting, and has been supporting websites and small business tech ever since.
Becoming a digital nomad
Charly always wanted more flexibility—early on she wished she could work from home to be with her children. Modern remote tools (remote desktop, video calls, reliable internet) eventually made broader mobility possible. Facing housing affordability and preferring freedom over renting or owning a fixed home, she converted a commercial van into a living and working space with electrical work by her son and a Starlink internet setup. She travels, house-sits at times, and spends weeks in locations as bases to work and explore locally.
Benefits
– Freedom to move with the seasons (e.g., migrate north in Australian winter).
– Quality time with family—Charly travels with her elderly father and can spend more time with him than would be possible with a conventional schedule.
– Flexibility to balance work with travel and local experiences, often combining house-sitting with client work.
– Ability to work from beautiful or interesting places rather than a fixed room.
Drawbacks and trade-offs
– Limited living and workspace: Charly’s van workspace is small—around a metre by a metre—and everything must be packed away after work.
– Minimal storage and possessions: you must prioritize essentials and live with fewer items. Charly follows a personal rule: don’t buy something unless you’ve needed that functionality four times.
– No bulk food shopping or excess equipment; you rely on local suppliers and adapt to what’s available.
– Social trade-offs depend on personality—Charly is comfortable with limited, occasional in-person interaction, supplementing with online contacts and local cafes/pubs when she wants social time.
How she chooses locations and social life
Charly sometimes spends a day passing through places en route, but prefers to establish a base for a couple of weeks where she can settle, work without frequent packing, and use it as a hub for local visits. She doesn’t require constant social interaction; when she wants people, she visits local venues, and she maintains online connections via chat platforms.
Technology setup
– Primary device: a capable laptop (Charly uses an MSI gaming laptop because of better cooling and processing for graphics and heavier tasks).
– Peripherals: external microphone, external monitor (a 21-inch mounted monitor in the van), external keyboard and mouse, and a webcam.
– Power: dependable power sources are essential—portable power stations, car battery setups, or van electrical systems to run the router and devices.
– Internet: Starlink satellite internet is central to her reliability in remote areas. In regional Australia, mobile/cellular coverage and the NBN can be poor; Starlink provides faster, more stable speeds in many places.
– Hardware: older Starlink units (v2) are larger and heavier; v3 is noticeably lighter. Starlink ground mounts provide easy deployment—place the dish with a clear view of the sky and it auto-aligns; no manual pointing required. A Starlink Mini exists for backpacking use with different plans and lighter design.
Work style and clients
Charly positions herself as the bridge between business owners and technology. She translates tech into plain English, focuses on business needs rather than pushing particular products, and helps manage or mediate between suppliers, plugins, hosting, and the business’s goals. Typical services include website builds, plugin troubleshooting, remote support, and technical mediation between vendors.
Key elements of her client approach:
– Async-friendly workflow: She has built a business that accommodates mobility—most communications are asynchronous or scheduled. Clients know how and when she responds and book time for deeper issues.
– Trust and expectations: She sets expectations early, clients learn response patterns, and trust is central. When urgent issues occur and she has access, she will fix quick problems on the road or advise clients on where they sit in her queue.
– Client fit matters: She’s comfortable parting ways with clients who aren’t a good fit and has also referred clients to other providers when appropriate. That pragmatic approach prevents burnout and frees capacity for better-fitting work.
– Sourcing clients: Mostly word-of-mouth, with some direct marketing and a growing online presence. She emphasizes plain English communication over salesy pitches.
Business lessons and values
– Technology alone doesn’t create profit—using tech effectively does.
– Avoid bright, shiny-object purchases unless they solve a repeatable problem.
– Build client relationships based on trust, clear expectations, and honest recommendations.
– Be willing to advise clients they need different providers or approaches when that better serves them.
Closing and contact
Charly notes gratitude for her life and the work she’s put in to reach this point. For those interested in connecting, her main online hub is askcharlyleetham.com/connect-me, which lists her networks and allows booking a free 30-minute breakthrough session. She’s active on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Rumble and Odyssey, and hosts a short podcast called Making Tech Easy for Small Business Owners.
The episode offers practical insight into how a WordPress- and tech-focused career can enable significant geographic and lifestyle freedom when combined with the right tools, client expectations, and personal priorities.
