Way back around 2006, I made my first trek to London and the Westminster Abbey. I was surprised to see that Martin Luther King, Jr. was among those honored with a statue on the outside of the cathedral.

King is the only North American depicted on the Abbey (the only South American is Archbishop Oscar Romero, right next to him). Oddly enough, I remember seeing Romero first because he's wearing glasses. Then I noticed King.

[Side note: I took this picture in 2006. Since then, someone has stolen it from among my online posts and it is now on Wikipedia as "public domain." I don't mind. But, just be aware that Wikipedia is not a reliable source for public domain content.]

Anyway: Heads up. Next Monday is the MLK Monday holiday in the U.S. and our offices are closed.

But THIS WEEK, we have something big going on:

Wednesday

Wednesday, January 10th

Free, of course.

I look back at 2022 and look forward to 2023. Of course I give an update on my predictions. And then I present some new information and a theme for the year ahead.

Register Now < Direct Link

More info here: https://www.mspwebinar.com

I got bored in 2021, stuck at home in the pandemic, so I wrote three books.*

* I say three. As the author of more than twenty real books, I am a bit of a snob on counting books. I don't consider 60-page books to be real books. I don't consider books so skinny that you can't write the name on spine to be real books.

When I count my books, I don't count the Business Plan in a Month book as it is short and to the point and only exists as an Amazon download. I consider such small books to be either monographs or calling cards.

Anyway . . . I want to draw your attention to the Small Biz Quickstart Workbook. Not for yourself, but for your friends and family.

I wrote this book in response to a friend who asked for the absolute complete list of everything he needed to know before he quit his job and went out on his own. He is not in the IT business, so the book is not IT-specific. But it IS a great guide for anyone who is considering opening their first business.

IF we have a recession, a lot of people are going to take the opportunity to improve their lot by starting a business. Wow, they don't know what's a head. But this book can help. Please keep it in mind when your friends and relatives are considering the plunge into self-employment.

Skip ahead a bit. I didn't release any books in 2022. So I'm a bit behind my regular schedule. Or I will be if I don't get something out in 2023.

I was crazy busy with the National Society of IT Service Providers in 2022. With luck, that organization will take less effort this year.

SO . . . I've been percolating two books. I've got outlines for both and some chapters written. We'll have to see which one comes out first. But I would love your feedback on two questions - if you care!

Question One: Which book concept would you most like to see first?

Question Two: Do you think the cover should be in the style/format as the triple-combo Managed Services in a Month, Service Agreements, and Cloud Services in a Month?

Or is this something only authors care about?

Thank you for your input.

My friend Amy B has decided to double the size of her business (from about $1.5M to $3M). She doubled the size of her business a few years ago, she's got a process, and I'm sure she'll be successful.

So she said . . . Why not let others join her on the journey and everyone can double the size of their business. As a result, she is starting a new 12-month peer group.

You MUST start in January and commit to twelve months.

How to your grow your IT business? Hard work. It's building the perfect mailing list. Setting up networking events. Designing postcard invitations. Printing postcards. Sitting in your living room labeling them. And this is but one leg of the project to double the size of a business. Follow along and I'll walk you through the whole process for the next year. Join our growth focused peer-group. For people serious about being a successful owner-led grower.

Regular readers will know that we're moving off QuickBooks Online and onto Xero as of January 1st.

So here's the report one week in, more or less.

First, I note that the days before and after New Years were pretty bad for QBO. It was extremely slow, and sometimes module would not load. It was a case of, "Sorry. Just come back another day." This just helps us to stay committed to the move.

Second, my prep work (importing a clean list of accounts an items/products was time well spent. It wasn't great, but it made things easier on the staff that enter book, class, and membership orders. There are still a number of things that need to be entered by hand the first time to populate the system. So far, that's going well.

We always have a rush or orders at end of year and beginning of year, so we had to be aware of what goes into which system. I have now synched enough that my bank accounts are no longer synching with QBO and will begin synching with Xero this week.

Luckily, most of our revenue (98%) is either paid in advance or recurring revenue. So we have only two account receivable items to manually enter into Xero. All checkbooks are balanced for 2022, so we are pretty clean for the year. QBO will be pretty much wrapped in plastic in another week.

Overall, things are just different in Xero, so it will take some getting used to.

Now I have to make sure I have all the reports I need to report to the IRS, authors, teachers, 1099 employees, and my accountant.

-- -- --

This article is not an endorsement or a paid placement. I am not claiming that Xero is right for your business. I'm just letting you know what I'm up to.

Have you checked it out yet?

The SMB Community Podcast wasd rebooted last week. The second episode in the new format is this week.

Next week, we're looking at practical uses for AI chat right now for managed service providers.

Please give us a listen at https://www.smbcommunitypodcast.com, or on your favorite pod-catcher.

-- -- --

Have a great week!

:-)

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?

You will learn:

... 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.

Meets Certification Requirements for:

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.

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

SMB Community Podcast - New episodes drop every Thursday

The Killing IT Podcast - New episodes drop every Tuesday

Our YouTube IT Consulting channel now has more than 625,000 views!

Subscribe today and don't miss a thing!

You can always check out my YouTube Channel and subscribe at https://www.youtube.com/smallbizthoughts

OR my Relax-Focus-Succeed Channel at https://www.youtube.com/relaxfocussucceed

This meeting was recorded and is available for all members. See "Roundtables" under the Community menu.

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.

Also note, in case you want a little introduction to Yvette, that she is my guest on the SMB Community Podcast Thursday the 22nd. You can catch up with her on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/yvetteportersteele/.

The link is always in your dashboard. Log in, click your name, and plan to join us live on Zoom.

If you are having problems getting in, please email Kara or Concierge. Folks will be monitoring in real time.

:-)

I just cancelled a trip to Hawaii because neither Mona Loa nor Kilauea were erupting.

And Kilauea started up again as soon as the refund came through. The video of the initial eruption is amazing.

See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIPzdF_2cp4 - Check out 00:20 onward.

Oh well. The rest of my year has been great.

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.

Register Now: Webinar Registration - Zoom

Jan. 30-Feb 1, 2023

Tel Aviv, Israel

More info: https://www.cybertechisrael.com/

:-)

Feb. 1-2

Dallas (Southwest)

More Info: https://events.channelpronetwork.com/channelpro-smb-forum-2023-dallas

Feb. 1-3, 2023

ChampnionsGate, FL

More info: https://zerotrustworld.threatlocker.com/

Feb 6-10, 2023

Amsterdam

More info: https://www.ciscolive.com/emea.html

Feb. 9-10, 2023

Southern California

More info: https://www.smbtechfest.com/index.asp

Feb 14-17, 2022

Fort Lauderdale, FL

More Info: https://www.mspexpo.com/east/

Feb 15-16, 2023

Phoeniz, AZ

More info: https://www.channelnext.ca/event/iotssa-cybersecurity-conference-and-expo/

February 22 & 23

Newport Beach, CA

More Info: https://events.ascii.com/

Feb 27-March 2, 2023

Barcelona, Spain

More info: https://www.mwcbarcelona.com/

March 5-7, 2023

Orlando, FL

More info: https://event.thechannelco.com/xchange-march

Mar. 8-9

Dulles, VA (Mid-Atlantic)

More Info: https://events.channelpronetwork.com/channelpro-smb-forum-2023-washington-dcdulles

March 8-9, 2023

London, UK

More info: https://www.gartner.com/en/conferences/emea/cio-uk

March 14-15, 2023

Londong, UK

More info: https://www.gartner.com/en/conferences/emea/cio-uk

March 20-22, 2023

London, England

More info: https://www.connectwise.com/theitnation

March 21-23, 2023

Europa-Park, Germany

More info: https://www.cloudfest.com/

March 22 & 23

Atlanta, GA

More Info: https://events.ascii.com/

March 30-31

Orlando, FL

More Info: https://kernanconsulting-mastermind.mykajabi.com/mastermind-event

April 4-5, 2023

Rome, Italy

More info: https://italy.cyberseries.io/

April 11-14, 2023

Nashville, TN

More Info: https://robinsbigseminar.com/

April 17-21

Chicago, IL

More info: https://www.himss.org/global-conference

April 19 & 20

Dallas, TX

More Info: https://events.ascii.com/

April 20, 2023

Bristol, UK

More info: https://www.cybersecurityexpo.co.uk/bristol

April 24-27, 2023

Las Vegas, NV

More info: https://www.connectit.com/global/

Apr. 24-27, 2023

San Francisco, CA

More Info: https://www.rsaconference.com/usa

Apr 27-28, 2023

New York City, NY

More info: https://techsponyc.com/

May 9-10

Chicago (Midwest)

More Info: https://events.channelpronetwork.com/channelpro-smb-forum-2023-chicago

May 24 & 25

Newark, NJ

More Info: https://events.ascii.com/

:-)

June 4-8, 2023

Las Vegas, NV

More Info: https://www.ciscolive.com/global.html

June 5-7, 2023

Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center

Orlando, FL

More Info: https://www.connectwise.com/theitnation/secure/cybersecurity-conference

June 7-8

San Jose, CA (West Coast)

More Info: https://events.channelpronetwork.com/channelpro-smb-forum-2023-san-jose

June 20-22, 2023

London, England

More Info: https://www.infosecurityeurope.com/

June 21 & 22

Tampa, FL

More Info: https://events.ascii.com/

June 29-30

Denver, CO

More Info: https://kernanconsulting-mastermind.mykajabi.com/mastermind-event

Aug. 9-10

Newark, NJ (Northeast)

More Info: https://events.channelpronetwork.com/channelpro-smb-forum-2023-newark 

July 12 & 13

Columbus, OH

More Info: https://events.ascii.com/

July 13, 2023

Manchester, UK

More info: https://www.cybersecurityexpo.co.uk/manchester

:-)

August 30 & 31

Toronto, Canada

More Info: https://events.ascii.com/

:-)

Sept. 6-7

Boston (New England)

More Info: https://events.channelpronetwork.com/channelpro-smb-forum-2023-boston

September 20 & 21

Chicago, IL

More Info: https://events.ascii.com/

Sept 28-29

Omaha, NE

More Info: https://kernanconsulting-mastermind.mykajabi.com/mastermind-event

Oct. 10-11

Atlanta (Southeast)

More Info: https://events.channelpronetwork.com/channelpro-smb-forum-2023-atlanta

Oct. 16-18

Miami, FL

More Info: https://promo.acronis.com/summit-2023-pre-register.html

October 18 & 19

Washington, D.C.

More Info: https://events.ascii.com/

Oct. 2-4, 2023

Miami, FL

More Info: https://www.dattocon.com/

:-)

Dec 7-8

Phoenix, AZ

More Info: https://kernanconsulting-mastermind.mykajabi.com/mastermind-event

:-)

View this and previous newsletters at