Most people use a fraction of what their Mac, iPhone, or iPad can actually do — and the rest feels like someone else’s homework. I fix that by sitting next to you (or sharing your screen), watching how you work, and teaching the bits that will genuinely make your day easier.
No rigid curriculum. No course pack. But always grounded in the fundamentals — because without those, everything else is just memorised tricks.
How the sessions work
I call it loosely structured. Not unstructured — I always teach the fundamentals first: how macOS is organised (Macintosh HD, the Applications folder, your Home folder), how Finder actually works, where your files genuinely live, how iCloud fits in around all of it. Those are the scaffolding everything else hangs on. Once they’re in place, we flex around what you need.
A typical first session:
- You tell me what’s frustrating you. The thing that takes you twenty minutes when it should take two. The feature you keep meaning to learn. The settings menu you’ve been avoiding.
- We cover the foundations you’re missing. Usually it’s a few things about Finder, iCloud, or where files actually go. A focused session on the right fundamentals saves hours of future confusion.
- We work on your actual machine, with your actual files. Not a demo laptop. Not a generic example. The email you’re stuck on, the photo library you can’t find, the Keynote you’re presenting on Thursday.
- You drive, I guide. Whenever possible, you do it — I watch and correct. You’ll remember it tomorrow because your hands did it today.
- You end the session with a short note of what we covered, so you can find it again next week.
Who this is for
Small businesses and sole traders
I’ll get you and your team fluent in macOS, Apple Mail, iCloud Drive, Notes, Reminders, Shortcuts, Preview, and the handful of utilities that genuinely save time — plus the platforms you run the business on, Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. If you’ve moved from Windows and something feels harder on Mac, it’s usually because you’re doing it the Windows way. I’ll show you the Mac way.
Individuals who feel they’re not getting the most out of their equipment
It’s something I’ve heard people say many times. You feel you’re only using a fraction of your computer’s capabilities. We’ll work through what you actually need to do day-to-day — email, photos, documents, backups, subscriptions, your iPhone — and get each part working the way it should. Not the latest glossy feature Apple is promoting, but the bits you genuinely need.
People switching from Windows
Once you understand the three or four core differences — how the menu bar works, how Finder organises your world, where your files actually live, how iCloud fits in, how windows and apps are different concepts — the rest clicks. A few hours of direct tuition saves weeks of frustration.
Seniors, or anyone less confident with technology
This is an area I’ve done a lot of, and enjoy. No rushing, no eye-rolling, no jargon. We’ll cover whatever you want — email, photos, video calls with grandchildren, online banking, reading the news, staying safe online — at whatever pace suits you. Sessions are calm, unhurried, and in plain English.
Creative professionals and students
If you’re learning Apple’s creative apps — Logic Pro, Final Cut, Motion, GarageBand, Keynote, Pages, Photos, Preview’s surprising range — I can teach the parts of them that people actually use, and point you to where to go deeper. Same goes for Adobe Creative Cloud — Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere, Acrobat. Over the years I’ve accumulated wide-ranging experience through customer projects, my own creative work, and running a business on this kit. I’ll share what I’ve picked up along the way.
Things we commonly cover
- The fundamentals — Macintosh HD, the Applications folder, your Home folder, how Finder actually works, where your files really live
- Getting proper value out of Apple Mail, Messages, Calendar, Contacts, and Reminders
- Photos library — organising, searching, editing, sharing, and finally understanding iCloud Photos
- iCloud Drive, iCloud settings, storage, and what’s actually backed up
- Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 on Mac — Gmail, Drive, Docs, or Outlook, OneDrive, Word — the way they’re meant to work alongside macOS
- Time Machine and proper backup strategy
- Passwords — the built-in Passwords app, passkeys, and what to stop doing
- Keynote, Pages, Numbers — the basics, and the bits that feel like magic once you know
- iPhone and iPad — the overlap with your Mac, Handoff, Continuity, AirDrop
- Apple Watch, AirPods, and how they fit in
- Safety and security: scam emails, dodgy links, two-factor, what to click and what never to click
- Shortcuts (the app) — tiny automations that save minutes every day
- Apple Intelligence — what’s worth using, what’s hype, and how to set it up
Pricing
Training sessions use the same rates as everything else:
- Remote (screen share): £40 minimum, then £60/hour billed in 30-minute blocks. Most first sessions run an hour or ninety minutes.
- In-person (London): £40 call-out, then £60/hour billed by the hour. In-person is often best for the first session if you’re new to a Mac — seeing where your hands go on the keyboard matters.
No packages, no pre-paid blocks, no minimum commitment. We book sessions when you need one.
A word on Apple Intelligence and AI
If you’re wondering whether Apple’s AI features (or the wider AI wave) have a place in how you use your Mac — that’s a sensible question, and I cover it honestly. For most small businesses, the short answer is yes, in specific places, but not everywhere it’s being advertised. I can show you which bits are genuinely useful today, which are promising but not ready, and which are probably a waste of your time.
Personally I prefer Claude (from Anthropic) to Apple’s own AI — it’s genuinely excellent for writing, thinking, research, and coding. I’m happy to show you how to get real value out of it. If you want to go deeper on AI as a business question, see AI & Digital Guidance.