Nothing
Happens
by Itself
Copyright © 2022 Karl W. Palachuk
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Greetings!
Hello, all.
No matter what you celebrate, I hope you're taking some time with your family this year. This week's newsletter and next week's newsletter fall right on national holidays, so they'll be sparse.
I also hope you've set aside a book or two to enjoy during the quiet time you find in the "holiday season."
I try to read a book per week. Some years, I exceed that. Some years, I don't reach it. Happily, I always find time to read two books in the week between Christmas and New Years.
My list of books to read exceeds all the free time I'll have for the next twelve months. In the next week, I'm reading "Choke" by Sian Beilock. So far, it seems obvious, but I tend to read at least 3-5 chapters before I commit to finishing the book.
The premise is straight forward: There are knowable, definable reasons some people choke in challenge. We shall see whether there are any surprises here. :-)
Next up: "Unreasonably Hospitality" by Will Guidara. I've mostly given up on the never-ending supply of books on stupid, unrealistic cheerleading on customer service, but this one struck me at more promising than most. I'll let you know next Monday. :-)
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Again and again, I talk about the "Muscles of Success." That's my term for the never-ending practice of practicing the things that you know will make you better.
Some days, you scroll through Netflix, HBO, and Amazon for an hour and don't find a show to watch. Finding good books to read can feel like the same pointless struggle.
There are probably a million things to watch on Netflix, HBO, and Amazon. So if you can't find something interested, that's probably on you! Books are the same way. If you can't one that looks interesting, it's probably more about your attitude than the selection!
And so the habit is . . . Pick a book from you Amazon wish list, Kindle backlog, or Audible library, and start reading. Don't have those things? OK. Go do that first.
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Quick SNITSP Update
You may have seen the announcement that we're going to move up to a new level of professionalism over at NSITSP next year.
I am the founder and Executive Director of the NSITSP, which mostly happened by accident. Of course, since the whole thing came from my blogs and webinars and public meetings, it makes sense that I would be the Executive Director.
But it was never my plan to be the Exec long term. We budgeted for a real, "professional" directory starting sometime in 2023.
But don't worry! I'm not going anywhere. I will be just as active and involved as ever. It's just that running a serious, professional membership association is a real job that requires certain skills and training. I already have a business to run!
The 2023 budget for the NSITSP is larger than many member MSP businesses. And we hope to triple that in 2024. We have been extremely successful to go from zero to almost 1,000 members in a year and a half.
We absolutely need professional management. So, we're going to start the process of putting that in place very soon. I can't say exactly what that process is since the Board is meeting today (January 26th) to start forming the taskforce. Stay tuned.
If you are interested in being involved, send me at email.
Thank you to everyone for your support. I can't wait for the next big member meeting.
But first, let's get to January!
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Happy Holidays and Happy New Year. Please share this newsletter!
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Since last week, many more offers to help with the move to Xero have rolled in. This makes me wonder if I'm doing something wrong.
Xero seems extremely easy to use. We have updated the documentation for all daily and weekly tasks (for example, invoicing and cash flow). I think we're up to spec on connecting bank accounts and running the basic reports.
We "go live" January 1st. That really means, I process an order or two on Monday the 2nd just to check the documentation, and Nai dives in head first on January 3rd. We always have a LOT of year-end orders, and this year's calendar makes for a long weekend, so she'll be busy all week.
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So now we wait. Not sure I'll have an update next week. The transition should be complete the week after, though.
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This article is not an endorsement or a paid placement. I am not claiming that Xero is right for your business (I can't promise it's right for mine). I'm just letting you know what I'm up to.
Comments and feedback welcome.
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Register Now:
My 14th Annual State of the Nation Address
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My 14th Annual State of the Nation Address for SMB IT is scheduled for January 11th!
What a year - the one ahead and the one behind!
I'll give a quick report on 2022 and some predictions for 2023. Then I'll introduce my company theme for the year - and how it fits in with helping YOU to be more successful in the year ahead.
I'll give you a hint: I think 2023 will be a great year for IT consultants. And I'll tell you why. Sign up now and join me January 11th.
:-)
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Next 5-Week Course Start January 10th
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Check out all the courses at IT Service Provider University
Core Standard Operating Procedures for IT Providers
You’re guaranteed to learn something that will make or save you the price of admission!
Taught By: Karl W. Palachuk
Newly Revised Course
- Five Tuesdays: January 10 - February 7, 2023
When I take on new coaching clients, they have many of the same issues over and over again. This is true of clients with $10 Million in revenue as well as those under $1 Million. And almost all of them boil down to SOPs – Standard Operating Procedures. Or the lack thereof.
Everyone knows you need SOPs. In fact, you probably know which ones you need. But where do you start?
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You will learn:
- A practical introduction to SOPs
- The relationship matrix of SOPs
- Clients
- Employees
- Vendors
- Internal Organization
- The Ten Most Important SOPs for your IT Consulting
- Business
- SOPs management, organization, and updates
- Implementation strategies internally
- Implementation strategies for clients
- Service Department SOPs
- Building
- Training
- Deployment
- Upkeep
... And More!
Avoiding the biggest pitfalls with SOP development and deployment
Building an Action Plan that works
Delivered by Karl W. Palachuk, blogger and author of the very popular “SOP Friday” posts at http://sopfriday.com.
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 Service Manager or Operations Manager.
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 Introduction and Organization of SOPs
Unit 2 Managing Time and Money
Unit 3 Service Delivery and the Service Board
Unit 4 Practical Operating Considerations
Unit 5 Putting It All Together
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 620,000 views!
Subscribe today and don't miss a thing!
A quick guide to my Playlists:
- Total: Over 860 videos on the Small Biz Thoughts channel
- 350+ SOP videos
- 265+ 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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Kicking Off 2023 with a Great Roundtable!
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Remember: We meet every Thursday at 9:00 AM Pacific on Zoom.
That includes December 22nd and 29th.
Join us. We want to hear about your end-of-year challenges and victories. And we always end up with an amazing conversation. Join US!
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January 5th Roundtable: Yvette Steele - Author and Advocate
Yvette is a longtime friend and collaborator of mine. We worked together on the CompTIA Advancing Tech Talent and Diversity executive council.
Now she's the author of a new book entitled the Impactful Inclusion Toolkit. This book is available to "pre-order" now, but it ships later this week! So I've already ordered my copy.
She'll join us on the SBT Roundtable Thursday, January 5th to kick off our year.
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New Zoom Link after January 1st !!!
The link is always in your dashboard. Log in, click your name, and plan to join us live on Zoom.
The December 22 and 29 meetings will use the same old 2022 link. But please check your dashboard - There's a new link for the weekly meetings and Roundtable starting with the January 5th meeting!!!
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Non-Members: If you want to get your 2023 headed off in the right direction, join our community NOW!
:-)
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I love Christmas.
Even city workers with thankless jobs say, "Tis the season!"
:-)
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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.
Of course: Everything here is subject to change based on Covid. Click the links for the latest details. Please send updates so we can post them.
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January
Send me your events !!!
Karl's 14th Annual State of the Nation Address for SMB IT
January 11th - 9:00 AM Pacific
Join me Live Online!
CyberTech Global Tel Aviv
Jan. 30-Feb 1, 2023
Tel Aviv, Israel
:-)
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February
ChannelPro Summit
Feb. 1-2
Dallas (Southwest)
Zero Trustworld 23
Feb. 1-3, 2023
ChampnionsGate, FL
Cisco Live!
Feb 6-10, 2023
Amsterdam
SMB TechFest
Feb. 9-10, 2023
Southern California
MSPExpo
Feb 14-17, 2022
Fort Lauderdale, FL
IOTSSA Cybersecurity Conference and Expo
Feb 15-16, 2023
Phoeniz, AZ
ASCII Edge 2023
February 22 & 23
Newport Beach, CA
MWC Barcelona 2023
Feb 27-March 2, 2023
Barcelona, Spain
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March
XChange March 2023
March 5-7, 2023
Orlando, FL
More info: https://event.thechannelco.com/xchange-march
ChannelPro Summit
Mar. 8-9
Dulles, VA (Mid-Atlantic)
CloudExpo Europe
March 8-9, 2023
London, UK
Gartner CIO Leadership Forum
March 14-15, 2023
Londong, UK
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
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
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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Check out all my "Channels"
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Small Biz Thoughts is a subsidiary of Great Little Book Publishing Co., Inc.
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View this and previous newsletters at
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