Nothing Happens
by Itself
Copyright © 2023 Karl W. Palachuk
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Hello Karl,
I'm off to Australia!
For years - decades - my daughter and I have had a difference of opinion about how to describe emotions. This is most visible when I'm going on a trip and she asks me, "Are you excited about going to [city/country]?"
With very few exceptions, my answer is no. I'm looking forward to it. I have a few plans and a lot of beach time for serendipity. I hope to see some fun birds. But "excited" is not how I would describe it.
Anyway . . . I am looking forward to my trip to Perth. I've been to Australia many times and always love it. But I've never been to Perth. I've never put my toes in the Indian Ocean. So that will all be fun.
The plan takes off Wednesday and lands on Friday. Then, after a relaxing five hour layover in the Sydney airport, I fly four hours to Perth . . . and arrive about 3PM. Talk about a long day! Luckily, the missing day goes in the bank and I get it back on the way home.
Don't worry. Kara and my staff are always here to help with anything you need. And next Monday's newsletter will be out on time. Why? Habits!
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Habits and Processes
They don't create more time, but they free up time!
Over at the Relax Focus Succeed reading list - https://relaxfocussucceed.com/reading-list/ - there are at least ten books on habits. My favorite is The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg.
If you're not in the habit of reading, then perhaps this book will help you get in the habit of listening to books on MP3 or Audible.
Another recent favorite is Atomic Habits by James Clear.
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Here's an example of how habits reduce my stress, save me time, and help me to be productive. I rarely feel any stress around getting out this newsletter. Many people tell me that they don't know how I can write blogs, produce videos, and get out newsletters every week.
There are several factors, but they all amount to two things: Habits and processes.
I think this newsletter has gone out late two or three times in fifteen years. I think I skipped it altogether one time. When that happens, my inbox is filled with people asking if I'm okay and offering to help me if I need it.
I love my readers. This response is a testament to the regularity and predictability of this newsletter. The first piece of this regularity is to have a process. The newsletter has a standard format with regular, predictable sections. Each of these is updated as the week goes on.
Some of the components - blogs, videos, and podcasts - are produced according to other processes and habits. And they just "show up" inside the newsletter as part of the newsletter process.
Then there's the habit components. At some point, I sit down to write the "top" of the newsletter and it sits there waiting to go. Ideally, all of that is done by end of business Friday. At some point over the weekend, I give it all a once-over review and push the button to publish.
In fact, when my newsletter is late, it's always because it was completed very early and my brain moved on to other things. And, somehow, I never got around to pushing the button to publish it.
Other than sitting down to write this section of the newsletter, the rest of it is on a bit of an automated assembly line. I like to think of it like an Aston Martin. A bit of an assembly line, but all assembled lovingly by hand.
Back the love part: As you can see, my process allows me to have near-zero stress about producing a weekly newsletter. But there's another important - human - element: My readers are very forgiving. I know that if I mess up and put out a late newsletter, the response will be concern that something happened to me.
I appreciate that.
Do you have a big weekly or monthly process that could be improved with attention to both procedures and habits?
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Book Update
Thank you to everyone who bought the new book - The IT Consultant's Year of Intention. The PDF version is flying off the e-bookshelf. Get it now for only $29.95 at https://store.smallbizthoughts.com.
Also: Thank you to Gozynta and The ASCII Group for giving us a little financial support to get the book published!
Yvonne, who has done the interior layout for more than a dozen of my books, is working on the other e-versions (Kindle, epub). With luck, those will be out in the next week or so. Definitely by the end of October . . . which is now half over.
The Paperback version has had a bit of a snag. My printer changed an internal process and broke something. When they get it fixed, we should be back on track. I still expect publication in October.
If you pre-ordered, don't worry. We have your order info. It's all in a big Excel spreadsheet in the sky. So as soon as we have these resources available, we'll send you a note and ship the book.
FREE inside the Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community. Download the PDF now for free inside the community. All members can download the PDF now. Other formats coming soon. Go to
https://www.smallbizthoughts.org/member_content/workbook-the-it-consultants-year-of-intention/.
FREE Take the Class Based on the The Book - free inside the Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community. We meet two weeks in November and two weeks in December. We'll go through the book and begin the process planning your 2024 - with intention!
Free to members:
https://www.smallbizthoughts.org/event-calendar/year-of-intention-class-and-breakout/
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AI Update from NSITSP
National Society members: If you missed the AI Roundtable last week, you missed a great event. It is recorded and available in the Resources section at NSITSP.org. Just log in and click the Resources tab at the top.
The AI Roundtable from NSITSP is very different from 99% of the information you see out there. There's no selling, and there's a lot of information. And some useful opinions as well.
As long as you're in the member resources area, also check out the AI Toolkit - free to NSITSP members.
If you have any trouble accessing these resources, here's the fix: Join as a paid professional member and support the only group 100% committed to improving the reputation and professionalism of the IT consulting industry: nsitsp.org/join.
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Cheeky Heads Up
New Resources Available Soon
I did a 50-week video and podcast series called The Cheeky Sales Coach. See https://cheekysalescoach.com/.
While the video training is all free, there are some "premium" resources available to subscribers as well. And, of course, these are all available for free to members of the Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community.
Here's the search link for Cheeky Sales inside the SBT Community:
https://www.smallbizthoughts.org/all-resources/?text=cheeky%20sales
What's New:
As I prepare for a live presentation on The Cheeky Sales Coach, it occurs to me that I can break out the premium content into smaller chunks and make them available over at the Small Biz Thoughts store. So we're going to do that . . . soon.
The really good news right now: 99% of all of this is free to anyone at https://cheekysalescoach.com/. So you can get started on those 50+ videos and you'll be ready for the new resources when they're released.
SBT Technology Community members who need assistance accessing the Cheeky goodies can always contact concierge@smallbizthoughts.com for assistance.
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Tid Bits . . .
I love this industry - and the larger community it has spawned around the country and around the world. This was brought into sharp focus in the last week. A few days ago, I had a morning meeting in which a number of people were talking about the bad behavior of many vendors as they grow richer and more powerful.
Then, in the afternoon, I had a completely different meeting for one of the NSITSP committees. One member emailed the group beforehand to say that he had a meeting with his kid's teacher, so he was going to miss the meeting. Several people responded, "Family comes first," or words to that effect.
It was an instant outpouring of the sentiment that business is business, but family comes first. I was really struck with how universal this feeling was. And it made me happy.
Business can be tough. And there are difficult people in the world. But you get the community you build. I am eternally grateful to work in an industry with so many kind people who keep both business and family in perspective.
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Starting next week - an exciting new course over at ITSPU: Profit First for MSPs. Details below and in the interview video. You will love it!
Please send me your calendar updates for this year or next!
That's it for now. Have a great week.
:-)
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Join me live at . . .
- SMB IT Pro Conference - October 27-28 in Melbourne, Australia
- ASCII event - December 7 in Waikiki, HI
- Karl's 2024 State of the Nation report for SMB IT - Register Now
Links below in the events calendar - or at WhereInTheWorldIsKarl.com.
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ALL NEW Class Stars October 24th
Profit First for MSPs
Taught by Lori Hardtke
MSP and Certified Profit First Professional
- Five Tuesdays
- October 24th - November 21st
Register Now - Only $399*
(Only $349 with code below)
Learn how to break through to a 6-figure salary and build a profitable and valuable MSP business. You’ll learn the benefits of having multiple bank accounts and how to make financial business decisions by simply looking at your bank account balances.
Running and growing a business can be one of the most rewarding things you do in your life…it can also be one of the most frustrating and challenging endeavors you embark on. As an IT business owner myself, an educator, and a certified Profit First Professional, it’s my mission to help business owners of any size eliminate debt, prioritize profits, provide clarity, and reduce financial stress.
Can You Relate To Any Of These?
- You run your business paycheck to paycheck
- You are stressed out every month worrying about how you’ll pay all the bills, your employees and/or consultants.
- You shuffle money from your personal account to your business thinking you’ll pay yourself back in the next month or two or ten.
- You, the business owner, don’t pay yourself a respectable salary if at all, or you wait until the end of the year to see how much profit you made
- You don’t want to learn or understand how to read your financial statements
- You see a decent profit at year end (from your Profit & Loss Statement) but wondering why that amount of money isn’t in your bank account
- You keep thinking you just need “1 more big client” or “Better PSA, better tools” or “A sales person, another tech, etc.” and then the money will come pouring in
- You want a sustainable, profitable business month after month, year after year
- You want your staff (W2 and/or 1099) to have a vested interest in the success of your business
- You dream of having no A/R, no debt, and cash in the bank.
- You want to be insanely profitable!
If you answered Yes to any or all the above, then you need Profit First!
Lori Hardtke would be honored to help you pave your way to financial freedom. Sign up now!
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Only $399 - only $349 with code
Top Take-aways:
- Breaking through to a 6-figure salary
- Avoiding burnout and building a business that serves you
- Recognizing and eliminating unnecessary expenses
- Learning how to pay off debt and saying good-bye forever
- Funding your retirement account year after year
PLUS lots more.
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Here are the specifics of what you'll learn, week by week:
Unit 1 Why Profit First and How It Creates Predictable Profits
Unit 2 Determining CAPs & TAPS and Creating Allocation Rhythm
Unit 3 Cutting Expenses, Learning How to Pay Off Debt
Unit 4 Disbursing Quarterly Bonuses and Owner Tax Reimbursement
Unit 5 Funding Your Retirement Account & Creating Stronger Money Management Habits
Delivered by Lori Hardtke, MSP, Certified Profit First Professional, Peer Advisor and Coach. Lori has been an MSP for many years and lives and runs her MSP remotely (in Hawaii) for clients in 7 different states with no full-time employees.
Includes five weeks of webinar classes with related handouts, assignments, and "office hours" with the instructor.
Includes five weeks of webinar classes with related handouts, assignments, and “office hours” with the instructor.
This course is intended for business owners or finance managers.
(The title “Profit First” used with permission.)
ITSP University Certification:
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.
Register Now - Only $399*
Save $50 with code above
Note: * Members of the Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community attend at no additional charge. See details in the Community
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Check out my interview with Lori on the Profit First philosophy: | |
All the Resources That Are Fit to Print | |
Recent Blog Posts, Podcasts, and Videos | |
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Small Biz Thoughts Blog:
Killing IT Podcast - NEW
SMB Community Podcast - New episodes drop every Thursday
National Society of IT Service Providers News Blog
Relax Focus Succeed:
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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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Ready to Launch: Community Breakouts
IF you've been paying attention, then you know that the new book The IT Consultant's Year of Intention is free to you in the community. But we want this to be a lot more than a book. My motto is . . .
Nothing Happen by Itself
And that's why everything we do is focused on taking action to make changes in your business (for the better). Our courses have homework so you are prompted to take action. We produce workbooks and checklists to promote taking action.
And so . . . The new book is also a new class inside the SBT Technology Community.
100% free to members. 100% not available to non-members.
Get all the juicy details (and register) here:
https://www.smallbizthoughts.org/class-and-breakout-based-on-the-new-book-year-of-intention/
The special class is schedule for four sessions:
- November 9
- November 16
- December 7
- December 14
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In each class, we'll go through some of the book and then have "Breakout" session to help you begin planning your 2024 - with Intention. The Breakout will be something like a peer group or mastermind group - but with a defined time frame.
Our new Breakout programs will be very focused on a specific topic - but without the open-ended long-term commitment of most peer groups or mastermind groups. We're using the Year of Intention book to kick off the Breakout program.
If you just want the class - GREAT. Sign up. I promise you'll get great value from it.
If you want peer feedback and a safe space for brainstorming with other IT consultants, that's also GREAT. Jump in and join us.
Those who choose to join the Breakout program will continue to meet for the first few months of 2024. So, you get to customize the experience you get.
Bottom line today: The first class is coming up in a few weeks, so sign up today. You don't have to commit to anything now. But we'd love to have you in class.
Note: All of this is 100% free to members! So jump in.
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Here's the last Community News video: | |
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Sadly, Sacramento had some cloud cover during the Saturday eclipse. So all I saw was bright clouds. BUT my sky map app doesn't care! So I pointed it to the sun and voila!
I got a cartoony view of the eclipse in real time.
I love the 21st Century! I think I'll spend the rest of my life here.
:-)
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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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April 2024
Send us your updates
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May
MSP GeekCon
May 21-23
Orlando, FL
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June 2024
XChange Best of Breed
June 2024
East Essex, England
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July
XChange Security
July 15-17
Dallas, TX
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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. | |
View this and previous newsletters at
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AI Transparency Statement
We do not use artificial intelligence apps in the writing of any content for this newsletter. Some of our royalty-free paid graphics might use AI-generated images. But all of the writing is by Karl W. Palachuk, or others as noted.
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