Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Bittle.
Amy , we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Long before I knew the words “cybersecurity” or “entrepreneurship,” I was a kid in Murfreesboro fascinated by what could be built with technology.
After my father retired from the military, our family made Murfreesboro our home. My father and mother ran a small, veteran-owned computer and Internet Service Provider business, so I had an early front-row seat to both technology and entrepreneurship. I grew up watching my father build computers while also seeing both of my parents navigate the realities of running a small business—serving customers, solving problems, and building something of their own. After school, I started learning how to build websites and experimenting with technology myself. At the time, I was simply curious. I had no idea those afternoons would become the beginning of my career.
I stayed close to home for college and earned my bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications from Middle Tennessee State University. Interestingly, one of the things that has distinguished me throughout my cybersecurity career came from that communications background: the ability to take something complicated and explain it in a way that makes sense to people who aren’t technologists.
My career eventually led me from Middle Tennessee to the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, where technology, national security, and public service came together in a completely different way. I served in the U.S. Navy as an Information Systems Technician and built my career supporting federal and military organizations, including NCIS, the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), where my work supported geospatial technology and information environments. Those experiences taught me that cybersecurity is about much more than computers and networks. Behind every system is a mission, an organization, and people depending on that information to be protected.
I later expanded my experience into industries including biotech and life sciences, where I saw another side of cybersecurity—the challenge business leaders face when trying to navigate security, risk, and compliance while still running and growing their organizations.
Over time, I realized that one of my strengths was bridging those two worlds. I could understand the technical and regulatory requirements, but I could also sit with a business leader and explain what those requirements actually meant for their organization and what they needed to do next.
That realization eventually led me to entrepreneurship.
In 2023, I founded Amy Bittle Consulting, LLC, a veteran- and woman-owned cybersecurity and compliance firm. Today, we help organizations across the country navigate cybersecurity leadership, governance, risk, compliance, security readiness, training, and process improvement.
What makes the journey especially meaningful to me is how full-circle it feels. My story started in Murfreesboro with two parents running a small technology business and showing me what entrepreneurship looked like long before I understood the word. A sibling who is a Network Engineer also inspired me. Years later, after my own military service and a career that took me from Middle Tennessee to the Washington, D.C. area, federal national-security environments, and highly regulated industries, I became an entrepreneur and built a technology company of my own.
I couldn’t have known where those afternoons learning to build websites would take me, but looking back, the beginning of Amy Bittle Consulting was being written long before the company ever had a name.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I wouldn’t call it a smooth road, but I would call it a worthwhile one.
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that being good at your profession and building a business around that profession are two very different things. I had spent years developing my expertise in cybersecurity, risk, and compliance, but entrepreneurship challenged me in completely new ways. I had to learn how to market my expertise, build relationships, develop partnerships, price my services, pursue opportunities, and become comfortable advocating for the value I bring to the table.
A defining moment came when the company I was working for was acquired. It forced me to think seriously about what I wanted the next chapter of my career to look like. I could continue following a traditional career path, or I could take everything I had learned and create something of my own. I chose the latter, and Amy Bittle Consulting was born.
Building the company has also taught me patience. When you’ve worked hard, earned credentials, and built years of experience, it’s easy to assume the opportunities will immediately follow. Entrepreneurship quickly teaches you that credibility is built over time. People have to learn who you are, understand what you do, and most importantly, trust you.
There have been opportunities that didn’t work out, doors that took longer to open than I expected, and plenty of moments when I had to adjust my approach. But some of the best opportunities have also come from unexpected conversations, relationships, and simply continuing to show up.
I’ve learned to recognize progress differently, too. Sometimes the win is a new client or contract. Other times, it’s a new partnership, a stronger relationship, a lesson that improves the business, or realizing that an opportunity isn’t the right fit and having the confidence to walk away.
Interestingly, entrepreneurship has also given me a greater appreciation for my parents. Growing up in Murfreesboro, I watched them run a small business, but I couldn’t fully understand everything that was required until I became a business owner myself.
So no, the road hasn’t always been smooth or predictable. But it has stretched me, sharpened me, and taught me to trust both my experience and my ability to evolve. Most importantly, it has allowed me to build something that reflects not only what I know, but also how I want to serve others.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
A lot of business owners know they need cybersecurity—they just don’t know where to start. A customer sends a security questionnaire they don’t know how to answer. A contract requires security policies they don’t have. An insurance company starts asking questions about their controls. Employees are using AI, but no one has established the rules. Or they simply wonder, “Are we actually protected?”
Those are the kinds of problems Amy Bittle Consulting, LLC helps solve.
We are a cybersecurity, risk, and compliance firm that helps businesses understand what they need to protect, what could put the organization at risk, what requirements apply to them, and what they should do next. You don’t need a large cybersecurity department to work with us, and you don’t need to understand all of the technical terminology before calling us. That’s our job.
For a small or growing business, that might mean reviewing the security practices you already have and identifying the gaps before a customer or auditor finds them. It could mean developing the policies and processes you need to pursue a contract, helping your team prepare for a compliance assessment, training employees to recognize security threats, establishing guidelines for using AI responsibly, or providing experienced cybersecurity leadership without the expense of hiring a full-time Chief Information Security Officer.
For larger and more regulated organizations, we provide vCISO advisory services, governance and risk management, cybersecurity and compliance readiness, policy and process development, security program support, and strategic guidance.
What sets us apart is our ability to bridge the gap between cybersecurity and the business.
I’ve spent my career working in complex security and compliance environments, but my background is also in communications. That combination shapes how we work. I don’t believe a business owner should walk away from a cybersecurity conversation with more questions than they had when they arrived. We translate technical and regulatory requirements into plain language, clear priorities, and practical steps a business can actually implement.
We also recognize that cybersecurity doesn’t exist in isolation. Through strategic partnerships with organizations such as AI CERTs, Infosec IQ, and WinPure, we can help clients address areas including artificial intelligence readiness, security awareness and human risk, and data quality as part of their broader security and business strategy.
One of the things I’m most proud of about the Amy Bittle Consulting brand is that we’ve remained people-centered. Behind every framework, policy, risk assessment, and security control is a business owner or leadership team trying to protect what they’ve worked hard to build.
Education is an important part of that mission as well. Through The Insight Vault, I translate cybersecurity, compliance, risk, and emerging technology topics into practical information that business leaders can understand and use.
If there is one thing I want readers to remember about Amy Bittle Consulting, it’s this: you don’t have to know exactly what cybersecurity service you need before you call us. You just need to know there’s a problem you want help solving.
We’ll help you figure out the rest.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
You don’t have to be a Fortune 500 company to have something worth protecting.
A dental practice has patient information. A medspa has client records, payment information, scheduling systems, and employees accessing technology every day. An auto dealership handles sensitive customer and financial information. A small business may depend on email, cloud applications, vendors, online payments, and a handful of employees to keep everything running. Non-profit organization who need help managing customer data.
That means cybersecurity is a business issue—not just an IT issue.
Amy Bittle Consulting works with business owners who want to protect what they’ve built but may not know where to begin. You might call us because you’re concerned about protecting customer or patient information, your cyber insurance company is asking questions you’re unsure how to answer, a client wants proof of your security practices, you need policies or procedures, your employees are using AI without clear guidelines, or your business has simply grown beyond the informal security practices that worked when you were smaller.
You don’t need to diagnose the problem before you contact us.
We can help you understand what information and systems need protection, identify gaps in your current security practices, determine which compliance or contractual requirements may apply, prioritize what actually needs attention, and create a realistic plan for addressing it. The goal isn’t to overwhelm a small business with enterprise-level cybersecurity—it’s to help you put the right protections in place for the business you actually operate.
We work with small and growing businesses, including dental and healthcare practices, medspas and wellness businesses, auto dealerships, professional service firms, construction companies, government contractors, technology companies, and other organizations that depend on sensitive information and technology.
We also collaborate with IT providers, managed service providers, technology companies, consultants, government contractors, and other professional service firms. An IT company may be excellent at managing technology but need a cybersecurity and compliance partner for risk assessments, policies, governance, client requirements, or security strategy. That’s where we can complement one another.
Referrals are equally valuable. If you hear a business owner say, “I know we need better cybersecurity, but I don’t even know what we need,” introduce us. That is exactly where we can help.
Although Amy Bittle Consulting serves organizations across the country, Middle Tennessee will always be home for me. I would especially love to build new relationships with businesses, entrepreneurs, and organizations throughout Murfreesboro, Nashville, and the surrounding communities.
You don’t have to wait until there’s a breach, failed assessment, lost contract, or urgent problem to start thinking about cybersecurity.
Sometimes the best first step is simply asking:
Are we protecting this business as well as we think we are?”
Amy Bittle Consulting can help you answer that question—and build a practical plan for whatever comes next.
Pricing:
- Cybersecurity Consultations – Customized based on business needs
- Cybersecurity & Compliance Assessments – Custom project pricing
- vCISO & Security Advisory – Monthly and project-based options available
- Security Awareness & AI Training – Pricing based on team size and training needs
- Small Business Cybersecurity Solutions – Scaled to your organization, risk and budget
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.amybittleconsulting.com
- Instagram: @amybittleconsulting
- Facebook: https://Facebook.com/amybittleconsulting.com
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/amybittleconsulting
