Nothing
Happens
by Itself
Copyright © 2023 Karl W. Palachuk
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Greetings!
Zoom zoom zoom. It's the end of February!
How is your year, and your quarter going? I would love to know how folks are doing. From talking to my un-representative sample, a few people are tightening their belts. A few more are basically not spending because they're worried about what's next.
At the end of the day, everything will normalize. But we've certainly learned this decade that you'll never "go back" to normal. You can only go forward to the next normal. Let's focus on making the next normal better than the last normal.
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Here's a touch of my next normal:
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We are happy to welcome Asigra as a platinum sponsor for the 2023 SMB Online Conference.
Kara is working hard to build up the site. We have our speakers arranged. We just need to re-arrange the time slots a bit and hook up some back-end widgets, and we'll be ready to announce.
More information next week. But check out that fun graphic!
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Working with Fiverr
I have worked with Fiverr.com since 2010 when they were founded. Originally, the concept was, "Here's what I'll do for $5."
Creative people post up their offers to create audio, video, graphics, and more. I have used them for all of these. Many of my ads through the years have employed Fiverr creations.
Today, almost everything on the site starts above $5, but you can still get some great stuff at a low price. Here is how I try to get the most from Fiverr. I'll quickly walk through an over view. Of course, there are more details.
Search and Feedback
I started with an idea. Maybe not a great one, but an idea. Then I went on Fiverr to look for graphic styles I like. As with any search service, you have to learn their categories and keywords. Eventually, I found myself looking through graphics for social media. I was looking for people who created backgrounds and header graphics.
That's where I found Buff Art Works - https://business.fiverr.com/freelancers/buffartworks. They do lots of things in various cartoon styles, including Minecraft style. I didn't need exactly what they were offering, so I did a low-tech mockup of the kind of thing I was looking for. |
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Buff Art Works gave me an estimate of $80. I agree and paid that price. The next day, I got back this black and white image. Having worked with Fiverr folks before, I knew he was on the right track.
(Note: The fee is held in escrow until I approve the work.)
A few days later, I received the 95% complete graphic. I reviewed it with my team and suggested some changes. I also posted an early version on Facebook for feedback.
Two days later I have the final version, up above. I trimmed it a bit to present here and resized it for the Zoom registration banner. Kara is now working with the file to create the web site graphics.
Normally, artists on Fiverr will supply original art work as part of the original offering, or for a small additional fee. Work like this is normally in .eps format.
If you haven't worked with Fiverr before, I recommend that you wander through their site and check out the offerings. You can find great artwork for branding, logos, advertising, and more. It's actually quite entertaining.
Other Artwork
Most of our artwork for blogs, podcasts, etc. is from some services we subscribe to. I'm a big fan of paying for services that allow us to change, customize, integrate the graphics we download into new derivative works. My three favorites are:
Some of their graphics have a bit of a "dated" feel, but this site gives you royalty-free audio snippets, video clips, and graphics in many styles. They have some great great background images and a very good search engine. You can store graphics in "collections" for use in later projects.
Really great, high quality images here. Plus some cool categories like product mockup images, fonts, and pre-defined collections. Of course you can also create your own collections. The search engine is not as good as Storyblocks, but the images have a newer, fresher feel overall.
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I know you'll recognize this style. Same family and logon as FreePik, at a small extra cost. Millions of icon-style files in a variety of formats. I prefer the "Lineal color" but you might like the hand drawn, black-and-white, or minimalist style.
With Flaticon, I love the feature that allows me to copy the graphic from the web and paste it straight into a PPT, Word, or any program without downloading it as a file on my desktop.
And, of course, there are MANY other sites and options out there. The bottom line is that you can add good quality graphics to your projects without spending a fortune - or worrying about copyright violations.
:-)
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NSITSP - Update
The National Society of IT Service Providers has been VERY busy. We have new vendor partners, and lots of new members. We're growing at a pace of about 15 new members per month. We also have lots of folks "stepping up" to the new member program.
One of the big companies that puts on shows for IT consultants came to me this week and said that their board of directors believes this will be the year that IT begins seeing LOTS of regulation. She wanted to know whether I could help them find speakers on the topic. Um. Yes. Stay tuned.
I know some people say, "No regulation ever; No legislation ever." But that's not a choice you get to make. Your only options are:
1) Ignore the problem until it goes away.
2) Participate in the conversation and make sure someone hears your side of the story.
NSITSP is the only organization created specifically to make sure the SMB IT consultants have a seat at the table when people are talking about you.
Join today! And by join, I mean pay your $150/year to have a voice. This literally the cheapest, best investment you can make in your business. We have almost a thousand members, and will easily double that in 2023.
Thank you !!!
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I had a great time at the ASCII event in Newport Beach (adjacent) last week. Catch the podcast interviews I did over at https://www.smbcommunitypodcast.com.
Have a great week!
:-)
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All New Course from James Kernan! |
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You only missed one week. Sign up now, catch up, and join us tomorrow!
Leadership and
Management Principles
for MSPs
Learn the industry’s best practices on managing, leading, and growing your business. These sessions will be focused on leading people and teams while connecting them to your vision and goals.
Taught By: Coach James Kernan
All New Course
- Five Tuesdays: February 14 March 14, 2023
The Leadership and Management Training Program will include five live training sessions delivered in 60-minute classes. Designed for technology business owners, executives, directors, and managers, this training program covers industry best practices for managing and leading your teams.
Award winning business coach and trainer, James Kernan is back to educate you on the industry’s best practices on managing, leading, and growing your business. These sessions will be focused on leading people and teams while connecting them to your visions and goals. We will review foundational leadership skills, management tips, recruiting, onboarding, and training new employees and how to connect every single employee to the company’s goals. This class is ideal for any owner, executive, manager, or key employee you are grooming into leadership.
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You will learn:
- What does leadership look like in the workplace?
- How to lead and motivate your team
- How to hold your team accountable
- What is the difference between a BOSS and a LEADER?
- Learn key skills and fundamentals that will help you gain trust with your entire team.
- Basic leadership fundamentals and skills
- How to lead though challenging situations
- Motivating and management of employees
- How to overcome and deal with conflict
- Create a recruiting process
- Create a recruiting presentation
- Fine tune your onboarding/training plan for new employees
- How to screen candidates based on your core values
- Create your Culture Plan and Core Values
- Positive vs Negative Leadership styles
- Why recruiting specific staff is important
- Communication/Meeting Schedule
- TEAM – Trust, Encouragement, Accountability and Mentoring
- Creating a PURPOSE for each employee
- How to create goals/kpi’s for all staff members
- How transparency can motivate performance
- Rewarding and Recognition of employees
- Creating your Management Scorecard/Dashboard
... And More!
Includes five weeks of webinar classes with related handouts, assignments, and “office hours” with the instructor.
ITSP University Certification:
Meets Certification Requirements for:
- Management
- Service Manager
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.
Class Content
Unit 1 How to connect your entire team to your vision, mission, and goals
Unit 2 How to deal with conflict and overcome gossip in the workplace
Unit 3 How to motivate your employees so they want to come to work everyday
Unit 4 How to hold employees accountable while making work fun
Unit 5 How to attract A-Player recruits, while making sure you have the Right Employees in the Right Seats
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:
SMB Community Podcast - New episodes drop every Thursday
The Killing IT Podcast - New episodes drop every Tuesday
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 645,000 views!
Subscribe today and don't miss a thing!
A quick guide to my Playlists:
- Total: Over 900 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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Coming Soon: The SMB Online Conference! |
ALL SBT Technology Community Members will have free access to the SMB Online Conference in May.
Stay tuned. As we get ready to launch the site promotion, please remember that you will have free access - so don't sign up unless you just want to give me more money. (And I'm okay with that.)
Our model is to continually keep giving you more content and more value. The online conference is worth much more than the $399 sticker. But you get it free if you're a community member.
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Join us this "First Thursday" 9:00 AM Pacific. Rich Freeman (formerly of ChannelPro magazine) will be our featured guest.
New attendees always welcome!
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March Roundtable . . .
A rare opportunity to meet the most prolific writer in the SMB IT Community - Rich Freeman. You've certainly read MANY articles by Rich as he was the Executive Editor and principle author at ChannelPro.
Rich is still the most prolific writer in SMB IT, but he is now the former executive editor for the ChannelPro Network.
Now you can meet him and ask questions about the state of the industry and more.
No reservations necessary! Just log into the Community and you'll find the link on your Dashboard.
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Here's the February Community News video, in case you haven't see it yet.
Look for the March news this week!
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I think these yucca type plants are approximately the ugliest plants on earth. And then, BOOM - they bloom.
This one looks like a plant imitating a bird. Maybe even Big Bird. But at least it's not ugly for a while.
:-)
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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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February
MWC Barcelona 2023
Feb 27-March 2, 2023
Barcelona, Spain
NerdioCon
Feb 27-Mar 2
Cancun, Mexico
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March
XChange March 2023
March 5-7, 2023
Orlando, FL
ChannelPro Summit
Mar. 8-9
Dulles, VA (Mid-Atlantic)
CloudExpo Europe
March 8-9, 2023
London, UK
CompTIA CCF
Chicago, IL
March 13-15
Gartner CIO Leadership Forum
March 14-15, 2023
London, UK
Adobe Summit
Las Vegas, NV
March 19-20
IoT CA
March 19-21
San Diego, CA
IT Nation 2023
March 20-22, 2023
London, England
Cloudfest
March 21-23, 2023
Europa-Park, Germany
ASCII Edge 2023
March 22 & 23
Atlanta, GA
IWCE Expo
March 27-30
Las Vegas, NV
Enterprise Connect
March 27-30
Kissimmee, FL
James Kernan's Millionaire Mastermind Quarterly
March 30-31
Orlando, FL
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April
ItaliaSec: IT Security Conference
April 4-5, 2023
Rome, Italy
The IT Sales And Marketing Boot Camp
April 11-14, 2023
Nashville, TN
HIMSS
April 17-21
Chicago, IL
ASCII Edge 2023
April 19 & 20
Dallas, TX
CyberSecurity Expo
April 20, 2023
Bristol, UK
Kaseya Connect IT Global
April 24-27, 2023
Las Vegas, NV
RSA Conference
Apr. 24-27, 2023
San Francisco, CA
TECHSPO New York
Apr 27-28, 2023
New York City, NY
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May
ChannelPro Summit
May 9-10
Chicago (Midwest)
2023 SMB Online Conference!
May 17-18
Zoom
Online - Stay Tuned for Details - but mark your calendar now.
Join Me Live Online!
ASCII Edge 2023
May 24 & 25
Newark, NJ
:-)
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June
Cisco Live!
June 4-8, 2023
Las Vegas, NV
IT Nation Secure
June 5-7, 2023
Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center
Orlando, FL
ChannelPro Summit
June 7-8
San Jose, CA (West Coast)
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
ChannelPro Summit
Aug. 9-10
Newark, NJ (Northeast)
ASCII Edge 2023
July 12 & 13
Columbus, OH
CyberSecurity Expo
July 13, 2023
Manchester, UK
:-)
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August
ASCII Edge 2023
August 30 & 31
Toronto, Canada
:-)
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September
ChannelPro Summit
Sept. 6-7
Boston (New England)
ASCII Edge 2023
September 20 & 21
Chicago, IL
James Kernan's Millionaire Mastermind Quarterly
Sept 28-29
Omaha, NE
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October
ChannelPro Summit
Oct. 10-11
Atlanta (Southeast)
Acronis #Cyberfit Summit 2023
Oct. 16-18
Miami, FL
ASCII Edge 2023
October 18 & 19
Washington, D.C.
dattoCon 2023
Oct. 2-4, 2023
Miami, FL
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November
Send me your events !!!
:-)
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December
James Kernan's Millionaire Mastermind Quarterly
Dec 7-8
Phoenix, AZ
:-)
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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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