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Nothing Happens
by Itself
Copyright © 2024 Karl W. Palachuk
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Hello Karl, -
I never like posting things on April Fool's Day. My "April Fools" activity is rare, and tends to get taken too seriously. For example, I've actually received kudos for the advice I give in this April 1st video:
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Anyway . . . the REST of this newsletter has no April Fools content.
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I'm a big fan of the futurist Daniel Burrus (best book: Flash Foresight). One of the key messages he has is that the future is generally visible to people who are paying attention to specific technology. A great example of that is the memory module pictured down below in my Picture of the Day.
When you see a memory module built with 1.5mm iron rings, it's pretty easy to see how that module might be made smaller. And then, it's easy to see the actual memory components being covered with some material to protect it.
Another of Burrus' rules is that all technology gets smaller over time, or disappears inside of something else. I'm glad to live in an era where micro SD cards are the size of a fingernail. But it's also cool to remember that there was a time when you could see the zeros and ones in a computer with the naked eye!
... And what about you ... and your technology ... and the months ahead? What can you see? No in ten years or five year. What can you see in 2024?
I'd love your feedback.
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Free Webinar: Measuring Success
Register now and don't miss this webinar!
Question: What is the primary result of KPIs in your company? Do you make changes based on these measures? Do they improve your business? Think about this from your employees' perspective. Do KPIs motivate them or de-motivate them?
In a recent coaching session, an MSP told me that "the only thing we measure" is the number of tickets closed. He admitted that it's a horrible metric. Of course, my response was that he should give me access to his service board. I'd close all of his tickets and he could declare success!
Let's take a productive look at Measuring Success in your business. I promise this is 100% not sales.
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Mark Your Calendar! Join me for the live webinar:
Measuring Success:
The Unpopular Truth about KPI's, SLA's, and SMB IT
Are KPIs helping your business ... or just killing employee morale?
No sales. No time wasting!
April 10th
9 AM Pacific / Noon Eastern
Register Now!
The latest fad in our business is measuring lots and lots of things . . . but that's probably not improving your business, your profit, or your happiness. Join me for a different perspective. I promise this webinar will lighten your workload, reduce your stress, and give you a better understanding of how your business works.
Consider: What are most important things in your business? Profit, of course. Then what? Quality clients? Long-life clients? Quality employee? Culture? Operational excellence? Work-life balance?
Whatever you decide is important, I guarantee you will find zero enlightenment from knowing how much revenue you have per technician! In fact, revenue per technician might be the least interesting number you will ever waste time on.
Join me for a different perspective that might actually help you run your business!
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Thanks again to Huntress
I have scheduled an interview with Huntress for an upcoming SMB Community Podcast. I'm going to explore their offering, and the "human" component in particular.
Subscribe to the podcast now so you don't miss it. https://smbcommunitypodcast.com
I am grateful to Huntress for the sponsorship, and giving me access to some smart security folks. If you haven't tried Huntress yet, give them a look. And tell them Karl sent you.
If you're not a regular listener, you can learn more at SMBCommunityPodcast.com, or search for it on iHeart Radio or your favorite podcatcher.
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NOTE: I also got together with Dave and Ryan and we released a new Killing IT podcast over the weekend. Check that out at https://killingit.smallbizthoughts.com
We're stilling working on getting into the new groove of doing quarterly shows. Please check it out and give us your feedback.
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This is an odd newsletter as I'm writing it before Easter Sunday, but it comes out after Easter Sunday. So, happy Easter Monday. Or, as my grandfather's side of the family would note: Happy Dyngus Day. With luck, you're seeing buds on pussy willows - and Spring really is around the corner.
SBT Community Members: Read the notes below and the April Newsletter!!!
That's the news for now. Have a great week!
:-)
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Join me live at . . .
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Measuring Success: The Unpopular Truth about KPIs, SLAs, and SMB IT - April 10th - on Zoom
- An Introduction to Artificial Intelligence for Small Business - May 29th - on Zoom
- SMB IT Professionals conference - Oct. 25-26, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia
- ChannelPro SMB Forum - Nov. 12-13, 2024 in Los Angeles, CA
Links below in the events calendar - or at WhereInTheWorldIsKarl.com.
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You only missed two units.
Register today. Catch up and Join us live tomorrow !
Powerhouse of One:
How to Be Super Successful MSP
(or Solo Entrepreneur)
Taught by Lori Hardtke, Community Leader and Coach
- Five Tuesdays
- March 19 - April 16
Register Now - Only $399*
Features
1. A different, simplified approach to packaging your Managed Services
2. How to grow revenue and net income without hiring any full-time staff
3. A quick start guide to Profit First and establishing quarterly bonuses
4. Tactics on utilizing engagement letters, pre-paid support agreements & raising rates
5. Automating your business to run like clockwork
If you prefer to run a very small managed service business, you can be extremely successful – but you have to create excellent processes to make that happen. Multi-state MSP owner Lori Hardtke shows you how to grow your business to $350K and beyond without any additional full-time staff on your payroll.
You hear it all the time, you need to work "on" your business not "in" your business. You need to hire staff and delegate in order to grow.
But what if you could grow your business to $350K or more without any additional full-time staff on your payroll?
Tired of sitting in traffic to make that meeting across town and filling up at the pump every few days? What if you could master running your MSP practice remotely nearly 100% of the time?
Ever dream of having no monthly A/R and no debt?
Then this class is for you!
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Only $399
Here's what you will learn:
- How to pick the right vendors to do a lot of the heavy lifting
- How to position your micro MSP practice to prospects and clients as though you have an army of employees behind you!
- How to sell additional technology services that are pure profit
- How to land new MSP contracts without leaving your office!
- Tactics on raising rates and going after low hanging fruit
- Ideas on how to package and price your MSP offering
- How to streamline your sales process
- Technical Business Review checklist
- Finances - the bottom line
- How to Live Your Business Dream
…And more tips-n-tricks to help you be different and think different!
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Only $399
Top Take-aways:
- A different, simplified approach to packaging your Managed Services
- How to grow revenue and net income without hiring any full-time staff
- A quick start guide to Profit First and establishing quarterly bonuses
- Tactics on utilizing engagement letters, pre-paid support agreements & raising rates
- Automating your business to run like clockwork
PLUS lots more.
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Here are the specifics of what you'll learn, week by week:
Unit 1 Vendors/Affiliations/Peer Groups
Unit 2 Sales Process for Services That Are Pure Profit
Unit 3 Plans, Pricing & Agreements
Unit 4 Finances – Learn how to break through to a 6-figure salary
Unit 5 Automating Your Business to Run Like Clockwork
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Delivered by Lori Hardtke, an MSP, a Certified Profit First Professional, a technology educator, author, and coach. Lori has been an MSP (managed service provider) for many years and runs a two-state business with no employees.
ITSP University Certification:
Meets Certification Requirements for:
- Management
- Service Manager
- Front Office
- Sales & Marketing
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*
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 | |
Recent Blog Posts, Podcasts, and Videos | |
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Small Biz Thoughts Blog:
Killing IT Podcast - Now posted quarterly
SMB Community Podcast - New episodes drop every Thursday
National Society of IT Service Providers News Blog
Relax Focus Succeed:
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From the Relax Focus Succeed channel ... | |
Community News
SmallBizThoughts.org
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Join us Thursday
9 AM Pacific / Noon Eastern
All members welcome.
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Members: Please read the April newsletter. Or at least view the latest news video.
Big Announcement One: ALL NEW community web site will be here this week. Join us for the grand tour Thursday, 8:30 AM Pacific / 11:30 AM Eastern. Right before the monthly member meeting.
Big Announcement Two: Beginning immediately (well, Thursday), we are moving to monthly meetings on the first Thursday of every month. Please mark it on your calendar and don't miss it!
Big Announcement Three: Community Breakouts will be held on the third Thursday of each month. We'll start this month, on April 18th. Details below.
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Member Notes
We have an all-new Community Breakout starting in April. Plan to join us April 18th for the big kick-off.
All SBT Technology Community members are welcome to join us.
The focus of this breakout is Marketing!
We'll start with a bit of information to set the scene. Then we'll have an open discussion and begin working on helping attendees to create and execute a marketing program over the next five months.
Breakouts are part education, part peer group, part mastermind, and part accountability group. They are intended to be short-term. In other words, they are not a forever commitment - but highly focused to help you get value right now. And we get to build community in the process!
Members check out the registration link - in the Community!
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Community Plus Members - That's most of you:
Please watch my latest video on getting the most from your Community Plus Membership! Get your free classes. Download two dozen books. Get the checklists and calculators and tens of thousands of pages of other downloads !!!
We know we have an overwhelming about of great content for you. If you're wondering where to start, check out the Roadmaps. Or send us an email. We're here to help.
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Members: Grab that Free Training!
We have a great co-marketing program with IT Service Provider University. And you can engage at any level you choose.
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Community Members receive one free 5-week course each year from our list of twenty-five courses.
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Community Plus Members can access ALL twenty-five courses free of charge.
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Team Members can also engage with me to do a deep-dive on the live classes. We have two teams doing this right now with the Managing Your Service Board class.
If you have questions, or want to learn more, send me email to me at : karlp@smallbizthoughts.com.
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Here's the last Community News video: | |
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I *LOVE* this recent acquisition. I have to build a display case for it.
This an an old memory module. This is the technology that got us to the moon - kind of. To see a great discussion of the memory that got us to the moon, see the videos on the Smarter Every Day YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dI-JW2UIAG0.
I was able to buy the module above on Ebay. This module is from a Soviet computer built in 1970. It is basically the same technology.
You can see that the frame has 36 wire connections per side, four of which are either unused or connect corner-to-corner and are grounded. That leaves 32x32 leads = 1,024 wire intersections. That's also 1,024 iron (ferrite) rings connected at the intersections. Copper wires go over and under each ring.
When current is passed one way through an iron ring, it's a zero. Passed the other way, it's a one. And thus you have 1K (1,024 bytes) of data. "Programming" is done by perfectly executing the threading of these tiny copper wires on the grid.
This module is two sided, and thus the entire module is 2K. So, the 16GB micro SD card holds about eight million times as much data.
:-)
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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
Fortinet Accelerate
April 1-5
Las Vegas, NV
More Info: https://www.fortinetaccelerate.com/home/3861565
Intel Vision
April 8-9
Phoenix, AZ
More Info: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/events/on-event-series/vision.html
Google Cloud Next
April 9-11
Las Vegas, NV
More Info: https://cloud.withgoogle.com/next
North American Cloud & Collaboration Summit
April 9-11
Dallas, TX
More Info: https://www.collabsummit.org/
Special Webinar with Karl:
Measuring Success: The Unpopular Truth about KPIs, SLAs, and SMB IT - April 10th - on Zoom
April 10th
On Zoom
Register Now: https://mspwebinar.com
Join me Live online
ChannelPro LIVE
Apr. 10-11, 2024
Orlando, FL
More info: https://events.channelpronetwork.com/
Days of Knowledge
April 12-13
Odense, Denmark
More Info: https://www.directionsforpartners.com/conferences-and-events/days-of-knowledge/nordic-2024
Directions
April 14-17
San Diego, CA
More Info: https://directionsna.com/
Black Hat Asia
April 16-19
Singapore
More Info: https://www.blackhat.com/asia-24/
ASCII Edge 2024
April 17 & 18
Newark, NJ
More Info: https://events.ascii.com/
eMerge Americas
April 18-19
Miami Beach, FL
More Info: https://emergeamericas.com/
TDWI Transform
April 28-May 3
Chicago, IL
More Info: https://na.eventscloud.com/ereg/newreg.php?eventid=777592&_gl=1*x88u25*_gcl_au*NjI4NDAyOTQxLjE3MDE3Mjk1NjI.
Kaseya Connect Global
April 29-May 2
Las Vegas, NV
More Info: https://www.kaseyaconnect.com/
Microsoft 365 Conference
April 30-May 3
Orlando, FL
More Info: https://www.m365conf.com/#!/
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May
Red Hat Summit
May 6-9
Denver, CO
More Info: https://www.redhat.com/en/summit
RSA Conference
May 6-9
San Francisco, CA
More Info: https://www.rsaconference.com/usa
ServiceNow Knowledge
May 7-9
Las Vegas, NV
More Info: https://knowledge.servicenow.com/events/k23/getupdates
SMB TechFest
May 9-10
Irvine, CA
More Info: https://www.smbtechfest.com/showdates.asp
European Collaboration Summit
May 14-16
Wiesbaden, Germany
More Info: https://collabsummit.eu/
Gartner Application Innovation & Business Solutions Summit
May 14-16
Las Vegas, NV
More Info: https://www.gartner.com/en/conferences/na/applications-us
ChannelPro LIVE
May 15-16, 2024
Baltimore, MD
More info: https://events.channelpronetwork.com/
Dell Technologies World
May 20-23
Las Vegas, NV
More Info: https://www.dell.com/en-us/dt/events/delltechnologiesworld/2024/index.htm
IBM Think
May 20-23
Boston, MA
More Info: https://www.ibm.com/events/think
Microsoft Licensing Boot Camp
May 21-23
Atlanta, GA
More Info: https://www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/members/get-training
Nutanix .NEXT
May 21-23
Barcelona, Spain
More Info: https://next2024.nutanix.com/
MSP GeekCon
May 21-23
Orlando, FL
More Info: https://www.mspgeekcon.com
ASCII Edge 2024
May 22 & 23
Denver, CO
More Info: https://events.ascii.com/
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June 2024
Cisco Live
June 2-6
Las Vegas, NV
More Info: https://www.ciscolive.com/global.html
Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit
June 3-5
National Harbor, MD
More Info: https://www.gartner.com/en/conferences/na/security-risk-management-us
ConnectWise IT Nation Secure
June 3-5
Orlando, FL
More Info: https://www.connectwise.com/theitnation/secure/cybersecurity-conference
VeeamON
June 3-5
Fort Lauderdale, FL
More Info: https://www.veeam.com/veeamon
Microsoft 365 Educon & PWRCON
June 3-7
Seattle, WA
More Info: https://pwrcon.com/
Infosecurity Europe
June 4-6
London, England
More Info: https://www.infosecurityeurope.com/
ChannelPro LIVE
Jun. 5-6, 2024
Columbus, OH
More info: https://events.channelpronetwork.com/
Databricks Data + AI Summit
June 10-13
San Francisco, CA
More Info: https://www.databricks.com/dataaisummit/
European Power Platform Conference
June 11-13
Brussels, Belgium
More Info: https://www.sharepointeurope.com/european-power-platform-conference/
North American Information Security Summit
June 16-18
Denver, CO
More Info: https://infosecurity-summit.com/
Commsverse
June 26-27
Weybridge, England
More Info: https://www.commsverse.com/
ASCII Edge 2024
June 26 & 27
Chicago, IL
More Info: https://events.ascii.com/
XChange Best of Breed
June 2024
East Essex, England
More Info: https://www.thechannelco.com/xchange
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Note: If you know of any in-person event for SMB Consultants, please send info to karlp@greatlittlebook.com. | |
Check out all my "Channels" | |
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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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