About Us
Proper support should create less work for you.
If you still have to notice every need, decide every solution, map every step and supervise every detail, the task may have moved – but the responsibility hasn’t.
Smart Cookie Studio is here to share both. We get to know how your business works, take responsibility for agreed areas and keep the work moving without sending every decision straight back to you.
Because the goal isn’t to give you a better-managed to-do list.
It’s to make the business easier for you to run.
The Smart Cookie Difference
You can bring us the half-formed version
A polished brief is welcome, but you don’t need to have every step mapped out before we can help. Bring us the goal, the rough idea or the thing that isn’t working. We’ll ask questions, work out what makes sense and turn it into practical action.
Experience comes with an opinion
If there’s a stronger, simpler or more sustainable way to do something, we’ll tell you. You make the calls that matter; we bring useful recommendations and the follow-through to put them into practice.
We think ahead
Good support shouldn’t wait patiently for the next instruction. We keep an eye on what’s coming, notice what needs attention and raise useful ideas before they become urgent ones.
We’ll tell you what we really think
We’re not here to tell you everything is fine when it isn’t. If something isn’t working, we’ll say so – and bring a solution with it – while staying firmly in your corner.
The work is serious. We don’t have to be.
Expect clear communication, dependable follow-through and a working relationship that feels human. We’ll get an enormous amount done, but we can still have a laugh while we’re doing it.
“I’ve worked with a lot of VAs and Hannah is in a completely different league. She thinks ahead, works independently and brings ideas I hadn’t even considered. She just gets what the business needs – often before I do. Working with her is genuinely enjoyable; she brings great energy to everything she does.”
— K. Welsh, JumpUp
Proudly Neurodivergent Friendly
Many of the founders we work with identify as neurodivergent.
Instead of expecting founders to adapt to rigid productivity systems, Smart Cookie Studio focuses on designing operational support that works with the way the founder actually thinks and works.
That can include things like:
- No long onboarding forms – we gather the information we need through conversation instead of lengthy forms that nobody likes to fill out
- A “no homework” approach – feedback and approvals happen live on calls wherever possible (no more apologising for not getting to that email!)
- Automation and delegation wherever possible so fewer things rely on memory or mental energy
- Built-in accountability points so important work doesn’t quietly drift off the radar
- Creating a ‘founder sick day’ strategy – where the business keeps moving even if you step away unexpectedly
And if you’re not neurodivergent, we believe these same practices will work for you too. Why? Most business owners benefit from systems that don’t rely on perfect focus, perfect memory, or perfect energy every day.
At the end of the day, the goal is simple: a business that supports the founder, not the other way around.
Meet Hannah
The human Swiss Army knife behind Smart Cookie Studio
For more than twenty years, Hannah has been the person who says, “I can do that,” then works out how and gets on with it.
Her experience spans operations, project management, executive support, marketing and events across start-ups, social impact organisations, boutique businesses and global firms. She’s built online courses and websites, run tech hackathons, coordinated award ceremonies, supported senior leaders, delivered email campaigns, managed complex projects and wrangled more than a few overflowing inboxes.
Her real skill is range. She can zoom out far enough to see what the business needs, then zoom all the way in and do the work that gets it there. That’s why clients bring her ambitious plans, half-formed ideas and problems they haven’t quite found the words for yet.
As founder and operational lead for Smart Cookie Studio, Hannah is personally involved with every client. She brings the experience, clear thinking and practical execution – usually fuelled by a cold glass of Diet Coke.
Outside of work, she’s a champagne drinker, pun lover and an enthusiastic but terrible karaoke singer. You can always spot her in a crowd by her ridiculous glasses and bright red lipstick.
And yes, she will absolutely want to see a picture of your dog.
Think this might be your kinda vibe?
Let’s talk about what’s happening behind the scenes in your business and what would make it easier (and more fun) to run.