Business Transformation & Operations Consultant

Most business problems that look like people problems are actually systems problems. That reframe is where my work begins.

I'm Zara Bartels - Founder of What Is, Must Is (Wi,Mi), a business transformation and operations consultancy based in Trinidad & Tobago. I work with SMEs and entrepreneurs who know something in their business isn't working, but can't yet see exactly where the breakdown is or how to fix it without it breaking something else.

My route into this work is unconventional, and it's worth sharing. So you understand how my perspective and style has developed.

I trained at The Ailey School and Fordham University in New York - part of the inaugural class of the Ailey/Fordham BFA, one of the most prestigious and selective performing arts programmes in the United States. I went on to spend a decade as the Dance Captain for Disney's The Lion King, based in London and becoming one of the longest-serving Dance Captain globally in the production's history.

That career taught me more about operational complexity than any MBA case study. Coordinating a cast of 50+ across eight shows a week, across cultural and linguistic differences, in a production where failure is visible and immediate - that's systems thinking under pressure. It's also where I learned that most performance problems aren't attitude problems. They're design problems.

The transition into formal consulting came through roles in operational and business improvement, when I retired from the stage - and worked in senior roles in Music Tech, Health Tech and Law.

I returned to Trinidad and Tobago in 2024, and founded Wi,Mi to bring that same rigour to the SME landscape here and beyond.

What Is, Must Is is named after the framework at the heart of everything I do: audit the current state honestly, define the non-negotiable future state, and close the gap between them. No fluff or fancy buzzwords (though some of those were once valid). Just the work that helps SMEs bridge that gap — through operational design, people strategy, and leadership infrastructure that means a business is no longer dependent on any single person. Based on the tried and tested theoretical frameworks, but brought to life through practical solutions that fit the reality of how your organisation operates. We help leaders create clarity, build stronger teams, improve processes and establish the structures that allow growth to happen sustainably.

Based in Trinidad & Tobago, I work globally with organisations committed to doing meaningful work differently.

I work with a small number of clients at a time - by design. If you're an SME owner who knows your business has outgrown its original structure, I'd like to hear from you.