Nothing
Happens
by Itself
Copyright © 2023 Karl W. Palachuk
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Greetings!
Happy Juneteenth - the newest U.S. federal holiday. Our offices are closed today.
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I got some fun news last week. My daughter, whom some of you have been reading about since she was in high school, is due to have a baby girl in September. Her master plan includes taking lots of time off for maternity leave. Then, in April 2024, she's planning to start training for a new career.
The good news is: I am tentatively scheduled to be the designated baby sitter four days a week in the late afternoons. This is a "dream come true" assignment for me. It's also a clear example of my daughter's penchant for planning ahead. The assignment begins in April 2024 when she starts taking vet tech classes. As she is well aware: Nothing happens by itself.
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On Friday, I posted a 15-minute video on The Imposter Syndrome over on my Relax Focus Succeed YouTube channel. Check it out here.
I always find it interesting that we humans feel a need to add labels to very natural patterns and then give them more attention than they deserve. The Imposter Syndrome certainly fall into that category.
Think back - all the way back. When you were born, you were not competent at anything. You literally could not roll over or feed yourself. It took you years to walk or express yourself in even the simplest way.
We all begin as "incompetent" at whatever we try. Even if we love, we're no good at it. Over time, we gain knowledge and experience. We move from incompetence to competence. And for a very few things, we become excellent.
On top of that, what we are competent at evolves over time. I was once a very good college instructor, a very good network engineer, and a very good singer. If I tried again, I think I could be better at all of those than I was before. Why? Because I have those experiences plus additional education and experience.
But I've decided to be "better" at different things. And my singing is now exclusively available inside my car on long drives.
At certain important points in our personal evolution, we are given opportunities to "step up" and see if we'll be good at new jobs and new opportunities. This is great for our personal advancement, so we generally say yes.
At that very moment, we move from a job where we are competent to a job where we are almost certainly incompetent or less competent. But we're not imposters! We get these opportunities because we've been excellent and shown that we have additional potential.
On rare occasions, we discover that we are both incompetent and unwilling to do the work to become competent. If move out of that position and move onto someplace where we can become competent, that's best for everyone.
It's only when we stay in a position where we are both incompetent and unwilling to become competent that the term "imposter" begins to have meaning.
For most of us, most of the time, imposter syndrome is just an unfortunate name we've given to a very positive set of circumstances: We want to be as good as we can, and we are constantly striving to be better. When you hear that Tom Hanks, Albert Einstein, and Maya Angelou have imposter syndrome, it helps to put it in perspective.
There's a certain humility in being great in your chosen field and yet believing that you could be better.
:-)
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Warning: Q2 will end in two weeks!
As a business owner, I sometimes think my life is measured in quarters rather than weeks. But that's okay because I like it that way. Was this a good quarter for you? Are your prepared for another good quarter?
My Q2 2023 was busier than I've been in a long time. Between some major vendor projects, our online conference, and some major changes to our course offerings, it was just a bit busier than I prefer.
And now the good news: Q3 will be busy and successful . . . and just a bit slower. That means, I'm planning for my brain to relax and help me to be productive with my writing. Stay tuned for details.
As always: Feedback and comments welcome. Please share this newsletter if you enjoy it.
Have a great week!
:-)
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Join me at . . .
- SMB Techfest - July 27-28 in Anaheim
- CompTIA ChannelCon - August 1-3 in Las Vegas
- XChange - August 20-22 in Nashville
- Beerfest - October in Perth, Australia
- SMB IT Pro Conference - October 27-28 in Melbourne, Australia
- ASCII event - December 7 in Waikiki, HI
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Sign up now. Join me live in July.
The Absolutely Unbreakable Rules of Service Delivery
Taught By: Karl W. Palachuk
Author and Community Builder
- Five Tuesdays - July 11 - August 8
- Includes the book The Absolutely Unbreakable Rules of Service Delivery in PDF format
This course covers the most important "rules" you need to follow to create a massively successful business. Based on Karl's 20+ years experience running successful businesses - and helping others do the same.
How can you guarantee that your company delivers great service, has a great culture, and still manages to stay profitable? You need to follow certain “Unbreakable Rules” for success. Best-selling business author and coach Karl W. Palachuk draws on more than thirty years of owning and running service-based businesses to present the rules his companies live by.
These rules will help you align your personal and professional goals while creating “standard operating procedures” to automate successful habits. Notice that “The customer is always right” is not on the list. Why? Because everyone knows that’s not true. Customers are frequently wrong, or would make bad decisions if we didn’t help them to make good decisions.
This class doesn’t waste your time giving lip service to worn out platitudes. Instead, we focus on building a great, successful business in the 21st Century. And since the rules are absolutely unbreakable, they will stand the test of time and the changing business environment.
In addition to the unbreakable rules, we give advice on identifying your own unbreakable rules. Branding, after all, is everything you do in your company: The way you hire, the way you greet customers, the way you document processes, the way you invoice, how you handle difficult conversations, and much more. Your business is a reflection of your beliefs and values. It should be built with intention, not something that “just happened.”
Some of these rules help you make money. Some of them keep your work standards high. Some build culture. All of them help your employees and client to understand the culture that's embedded in your brand. This book will help you identify and codify the core elements of your success. It will also help you build the definitive list of absolutely unbreakable rules that will guide your business going forward.
Top Five Take-aways:
- Define YOUR company’s rules for greater success
- Learn great “best practices” for your company
- You will take actions to improve your business before the class is over
- Improve your profit
- Improve customer service
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Here are the specifics of what you'll learn, week by week:
Week One - Why these rules?
- Define your brand, and the guidelines that create it
- Create rules that define overall behaviors of success
- Learn to prioritize everything you do
Week Two - Client Rules
- Learn to control your processes since you can’t control people
- Learn to get accurate information from clients so you don’t have to guess
- Stop being tempted by unprofitable habits
- Define your overall approach to customer service
Week Three - Employee Rules
- Assuming you have good processes, find employees who will do what you need them to do
- Create clear communications around expectations, behavior, wages, and performance
- Create a great hiring process
- Create effective employee evaluation forms
Week Four - Finance Rules
- Learn why you should be prepaid for everything, and how to implement this policy
- Establish very profitable rules around billable hours and minimums
- Know which money you should go after and which you should avoid
- Establishing new financial policies over time
Week Five - Service Delivery Rules
- Create a great definition of what’s covered under managed services, and train your clients and employees
- Manage time from every angle (time billed, time paid, time off, etc.)
- Sign service agreements with every client
- Use your ticketing system/service board effectively
- Document absolutely everything you do
Delivered by Karl W. Palachuk, blogger and author of Relax Focus Succeed (and lots of other books).
Includes five weeks of webinar classes with related handouts, assignments, and "office hours" with the instructor.
This course is intended for business owners and managers. It is particularly useful for the Owner or Operations Manager.
ITSP University Certification:
Meets Certification Requirements for:
- Management
- Service Management
This class will be recorded. Each unit is generally posted within 24 hours of the live class. These recorded units will become the On-Demand class and you’ll have lifetime access to it.
Note: * Members of the Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community attend at no additional charge. See details in the Community
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All the Resources That Are Fit to Print |
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Recent Blog Posts, Podcasts, and Videos |
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Small Biz Thoughts Blog:
Killing IT Podcast - Super Bonus Episode
SMB Community Podcast - New episodes drop every Thursday
National Society of IT Service Providers News Blog
Relax Focus Succeed:
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Selected Recent Videos and Webinars:
Our YouTube IT Consulting channel now has more than 690,000 views!
Subscribe today and don't miss a thing!
A quick guide to my Playlists:
- Total: Over 935 videos on the Small Biz Thoughts channel
- 360+ SOP videos
- 275+ Relax Focus Success videos
Plus . . .
- Training, Courses, Seminars on Managed Services
- Product Reviews
- and more
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Community News
SmallBizThoughts.org
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Join us every Thursday
9 AM Pacific / Noon Eastern
All members welcome.
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July Roundtable: Paul Green from
Paul Greens MSP Marketing
Join us Thursday, July 6th for a great Small Biz Thoughts Roundtable with Paul Green
Paul is an MSP marketing expert, based in the UK, working with 700+ MSPs all over the
world with his MSP Marketing Edge program.
Paul is a former journalist and radio presenter, and the host of the world’s most popular podcast on MSP marketing – search for “Paul Green’s MSP Marketing podcast” in your favorite podcast platform.
Remember: You can always submit questions in advance. The link is at the top of your dashboard. Join us live on July 6th - the link is always at the top of your dashboard!
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The SBT Roundtable happens on the First Thursday of every month. This is always a great members-only event.
We also have a weekly member Zoom meeting. If you haven't attended one, This Week is a great time to join us.
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Here's the last Community News video: |
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"Lost Vegas." You have to respect the dedication to a humorous quip that is so strong, you spend money to memorialize it in signage.
I enjoyed the Neon Graveyard in Vegas. Next time, I'll go after sundown.
:-)
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What's Here?
This calendar lists two kinds of things: LIVE in-person events from any organization that focuses on the SMB consulting community; and MY events, whether live, webinar, etc.
If you have live events on your calendar that may be useful to others in the SMB Community, please let us know. We'd be happy to list them.
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June
Nerdio Training Camp
June 20-21
New York, NY
Infosecurity Europe
June 20-22, 2023
London, England
ASCII Edge 2023
June 21 & 22
Tampa, FL
James Kernan's Millionaire Mastermind Quarterly
June 29-30
Denver, CO
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July
IDM (Identity Management) Dach
July 6
Frankfurt, Germany
XChange Security 2023
July 10-12
Dallas , TX
ASCII Edge 2023
July 12 & 13
Columbus, OH
CyberSecurity Expo
July 13, 2023
Manchester, UK
Nerdio Training Camp
July 19
Calgary, Cananada
SMB TechFest Q3
July 27
Anaheim, CA
MSPRescue
July 27th
Princeton
:-)
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August
CompTIA ChannelCon
August 1-2-3
Las Vegas, NV
Visit me in Booth 101
Join me Live!
Nerdio Training Camp
August 1
Toronto, Canada
ChannelPro Summit
Aug. 9-10
Newark, NJ (Northeast)
IT Nation Evolve Business Leaders
August 7-11, 2023
Denver, Colorado
XChange - Nashville
August 20-22
Nashville, TN
Join me Live!
Inclusive Leadership Network Workshop 2023
August 23
Nashville, TN
CMIT Connect Live!
August 29th
Austin, TX
ASCII Edge 2023
August 30 & 31
Toronto, Canada
:-)
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September
ChannelPro Summit
Sept. 6-7
Boston (New England)
Nerdio Training Camp
Sept 12
Atlanta, GA
Midsize Enterprise Summit Fall 2023
September 17-19
Houston, TX
ASCII Edge 2023
September 20 & 21
Chicago, IL
CanIT Con
Sept 24-26
Banff, Alberta, Canada
James Kernan's Millionaire Mastermind Quarterly
Sept 28-29
Omaha, NE
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October
dattoCon 2023
Oct. 2-4, 2023
Miami, FL
Nerdio Training Camp
Oct 3
San Antonio, TX
Best of Breed Conference 2023
October 9-10
Atlanta, GA
ChannelPro Summit
Oct. 10-11
Atlanta (Southeast)
NexGen 2023
October 15-18
Houston , TX
Acronis #Cyberfit Summit 2023
Oct. 16-18
Miami, FL
Nerdio Training Camp
Oct 17
Dallas, TX
NexGen Security Workshop 2023
October 18
Orlando, FL
SMB TechFest Q4
October 19
Anaheim, CA
ASCII Edge 2023
October 18 & 19
Washington, D.C.
Beerfest with Karl
- October 2023
- Perth, Australia
More Info: Details to be announced !!!
Join me Live in Perth!
SMB IT Professionals National Conference
October 27-28
Melbourne, Australia
Join me Live!!
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November
ChannelPro CyberSecurity Strategies
Nov 1-2
Los Angeles
IT Nation Evolve Business Leaders
November 6-8, 2023
Orlando, FL
Nerdio Training Camp
Nov 14-15
Austin, TX
IT Nation Sales and Service Leaders
November 28 - December 1, 2023
Nashville, TN
:-)
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December
Growcon
Dec 3-6
Clearwater, FL
Women of the Channel Leadership Summit East 2023
December 4-5
New York, NY
ASCII Navigate in Hawaii !!!
Dec. 7th
Waikiki, HI
Join Me Live in Hawaii!
James Kernan's Millionaire Mastermind Quarterly
Dec 7-8
Phoenix, AZ
Nerdio Training Camp
Dec 12-13
Los Angeles, CA
:-)
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January 2024
Send us your updates
February 2024
Send us your updates
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March
Midsize Enterprise Summit IT Security 2024
March 18-19, 2024
Indianapolis, IN
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Note: If you know of any in-person event for SMB Consultants, please send info to karlp@greatlittlebook.com. |
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Small Biz Thoughts is a subsidiary of Great Little Book Publishing Co., Inc. |
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