What Are the Top Ten Tech Mistakes Businesses Make in December? (2025/647)
December brings a rush to finish work before the holiday break, and in the chaos, critical technology tasks often get forgotten until something breaks. Every year, business owners make predictable mistakes that could easily be prevented with proper preparation. From untested backups to expired credit cards on subscriptions, these oversights can leave businesses offline, unable to process payments, or dealing with angry customers who found conflicting information about opening hours. Understanding these common pitfalls and addressing them early ensures your business runs smoothly through the holidays and into the new year.In this episode, Charly covers:✅ Why testing your backups before December is essential and how to verify they actually work📌 The critical platforms where you must update holiday hours to avoid customer confusion🔗 How expired credit cards on subscriptions can take your business offline during the break🛡️ Why documenting passwords and system access before staff leave prevents January chaos✅ The importance of clearing email storage space before the holiday rush hits📌 When to send invoices to avoid six weeks without cash flow over the December-January periodJoin the discussion in my community: https://askcharlyleetham.locals.com***Follow us:Locals: https://askcharlyleetham.locals.comRumble: https://rumble.com/askcharlyleethamOdyssey: https://odysee.com/@askcharlyleetham:4YouTube: https://youtube.com/askcharlyleethamFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/askcharlyleethamTwitter: https://twitter.com/yourbizmgrInstagram: https://instagram.com/ask_charly_leethamLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/charlyleethamLinkedIn Company: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ask-charly-leetham/Spotify: https://askcharlyleetham.com/likes/rise-and-shineApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ask-charly-leetham-online-business-manager/id1659738721iHeartRadio: 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-managerMusic and Credits to:Paradise Found is covered under Creative Commons."Paradise Found"Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/licenses/
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Why Is ChatGPT Giving Wrong Answers With High Confidence? (2025/646)
Artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT are becoming less reliable despite continued updates, with users reporting increasingly inaccurate responses delivered with complete confidence. The latest ChatGPT updates have left many users frustrated as the system provides definitively wrong answers without any indication of uncertainty or qualification. Understanding the limitations of AI tools and learning to verify their outputs is essential for anyone relying on these systems for business decisions, research, or creative work.In this episode, Charly covers:✅ Real examples of ChatGPT confidently providing incorrect information that required extensive fact-checking📌 Why AI systems don't indicate when they're uncertain about their answers🔗 The difference between using AI as a search engine versus understanding its actual capabilities🛡️ How to effectively challenge and verify AI responses to get more accurate results✅ Which AI platforms perform better for specific tasks like writing, research, and creative work📌 Why custom GPTs with specific parameters and constraints produce more reliable outputsJoin the discussion in my community: https://askcharlyleetham.locals.com***Follow us:Locals: https://askcharlyleetham.locals.comRumble: https://rumble.com/askcharlyleethamOdyssey: https://odysee.com/@askcharlyleetham:4YouTube: https://youtube.com/askcharlyleethamFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/askcharlyleethamTwitter: https://twitter.com/yourbizmgrInstagram: https://instagram.com/ask_charly_leethamLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/charlyleethamLinkedIn Company: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ask-charly-leetham/Spotify: https://askcharlyleetham.com/likes/rise-and-shineApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ask-charly-leetham-online-business-manager/id1659738721iHeartRadio: 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-managerMusic and Credits to:Paradise Found is covered under Creative Commons."Paradise Found"Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/licenses/
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How Does AI Copyright Detection Affect Royalty-Free Music? (2025/645)
Artificial intelligence is now being used to detect copyright violations in podcasts and videos, and even creators using royalty-free music are getting flagged incorrectly. Spotify and other platforms have implemented AI systems to protect artists from copyright infringement, but these systems sometimes fail to recognise when content creators have the proper licences and attributions. This creates frustrating situations where legitimate content is blocked or taken down, forcing creators to navigate complex appeals processes to restore their work.In this episode, Charly covers:✅ What royalty-free music actually means and how licensing requirements work📌 How AI copyright detection systems on platforms like Spotify can incorrectly flag legitimate content🔗 The specific attribution requirements needed for Creative Commons licences🛡️ How to properly credit royalty-free music and images to avoid copyright strikes✅ The appeals process for getting incorrectly flagged content reinstated on streaming platforms📌 Why content platforms are implementing stricter AI-powered copyright enforcement🔗 Incompetech (Kevin MacLeod): https://incompetech.com(Recommended source for high-quality royalty-free music with Creative Commons licensing)Join the discussion in my community: https://askcharlyleetham.locals.com***Follow us:Locals: https://askcharlyleetham.locals.comRumble: https://rumble.com/askcharlyleethamOdyssey: https://odysee.com/@askcharlyleetham:4YouTube: https://youtube.com/askcharlyleethamFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/askcharlyleethamTwitter: https://twitter.com/yourbizmgrInstagram: https://instagram.com/ask_charly_leethamLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/charlyleethamLinkedIn Company: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ask-charly-leetham/Spotify: https://askcharlyleetham.com/likes/rise-and-shineApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ask-charly-leetham-online-business-manager/id1659738721iHeartRadio: 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-managerMusic and Credits to:Paradise Found is covered under Creative Commons."Paradise Found"Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/licenses/
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How Does Google Gemini Use Your Gmail Data? (2025/644)
Google is rolling out Gemini AI across Gmail and Google Workspace, and many users are concerned about how their email data is being used to train artificial intelligence. There are concerns about privacy, data protection, and whether Google is using your personal information without adequate transparency. Understanding what Google is actually doing with your data and how you can protect your privacy is essential for anyone using Gmail or Google Workspace.In this episode, Charly covers:✅ What Google's recent terms and conditions updates actually mean for your data privacy📌 The difference between free Gmail accounts and paid Google Workspace accounts regarding data usage🔗 How to disable smart features and AI functionality in Gmail to protect your privacy🛡️ Which Gmail features you'll lose when you turn off Gemini integration✅ How to verify what Google is actually doing with your Workspace data📌 Whether the concerns about Google training AI on your emails are justified or just hypeJoin the discussion in my community: https://askcharlyleetham.locals.com***Follow us:Locals: https://askcharlyleetham.locals.comRumble: https://rumble.com/askcharlyleethamOdyssey: https://odysee.com/@askcharlyleetham:4YouTube: https://youtube.com/askcharlyleethamFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/askcharlyleethamTwitter: https://twitter.com/yourbizmgrInstagram: https://instagram.com/ask_charly_leethamLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/charlyleethamLinkedIn Company: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ask-charly-leetham/Spotify: https://askcharlyleetham.com/likes/rise-and-shineApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ask-charly-leetham-online-business-manager/id1659738721iHeartRadio: 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-managerMusic and Credits to:Paradise Found is covered under Creative Commons."Paradise Found"Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/licenses/
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How Do You Handle Staff Time Off Without Breaking Systems? (2025/643)
When staff members take holiday leave, critical business systems can become inaccessible if proper planning is not in place. A missing login credential, an unchecked inbox, or an unavailable team member on Christmas Eve can stall operations entirely. The solution involves safely sharing access credentials, documenting processes, and building systems that function regardless of who is available at any given moment.In this episode, Charly covers:✅ Using password managers to securely share access amongst team members📌 Setting temporary access that can be revoked after the holiday period🔗 Avoiding shared logins that destroy accountability and complicate auditing✅ Scheduling January tasks now so returning staff know their priorities immediately📌 Automating recurring items like reports, backups, and social media posts🛡️ Running a five-minute test to identify what breaks if someone disappears suddenlyThe most common system failure during holiday periods occurs when only one person knows how to access a critical account or perform an essential task. That person leaves for their break, and suddenly nobody can retrieve the two-factor authentication code from the accounts inbox, access the payment processing dashboard, or approve time-sensitive requests. Password managers like Zoho Vault or RoboForm solve this problem by allowing controlled sharing of credentials without emailing passwords or maintaining insecure shared spreadsheets. The episode also covers using shared inboxes or ticketing systems to ensure client communications continue seamlessly regardless of individual availability. The key insight is building systems that are resilient to absences rather than relying on specific individuals to always be available.LinksJoin the discussion in my community: https://askcharlyleetham.locals.com***Follow us:Locals: https://askcharlyleetham.locals.comRumble: https://rumble.com/askcharlyleethamOdyssey: https://odysee.com/@askcharlyleetham:4YouTube: https://youtube.com/askcharlyleethamFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/askcharlyleethamTwitter: https://twitter.com/yourbizmgrInstagram: https://instagram.com/ask_charly_leethamLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/charlyleethamLinkedIn Company: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ask-charly-leetham/Spotify: https://askcharlyleetham.com/likes/rise-and-shineApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ask-charly-leetham-online-business-manager/id1659738721iHeartRadio: 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-managerMusic and Credits to:Paradise Found is covered under Creative Commons."Paradise Found"Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/licenses/
About Rise and Shine: Your Daily Dose Of Business Tech Inspiration
Where small business tech meets plain English.
Charly Leetham brings decades of hands-on experience helping business owners harness technology - without drowning in jargon or wasting time on fluff. Whether you're a DIY'er trying to make sense of your website, emails, or software, or you just want to know if your IT team is talking sense, this podcast is for you. Each episode is packed with practical advice, real-world tips, and insights from the trenches.
If you've ever thought, "There’s gotta be a better way to do this tech stuff" - you’re right. Charly is here to show you how.
Listen to Rise and Shine: Your Daily Dose Of Business Tech Inspiration, The Big Tech Show and many other podcasts from around the world with the radio.net app