Nothing Happens by Itself
Copyright © 2021 Karl W. Palachuk
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January: Always a Big Month
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Totally Personal Note
My daughter went to the hospital Sunday at 5AM with appendicitis. She's was originally scheduled for surgery today, but they decided to speed it up in the afternoon. She was up and texting within an hour. I'm sure she will be fine. But it's always scary as a parent - especially when there's absolutely nothing I can do.
Thanks for all the kind notes on Facebook. As I said, I'm sure she'll be fine. But that doesn't make it less scary.
Hug your kids.
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January is both a connection to last year and a jumping off place for the new year
There's no escaping certain work. But I hope you enjoy summarizing the year just ended. Despite all kind of trouble, most "information workers" did well. And since technology is the building block that makes information work possible, most IT folks did well last year.
So now you get to finalize your profit-and-loss reports and start seriously moving into the finances of 2021. As you complete the balancing of bank accounts, the numbers for last year should be in pretty clear focus. Here are a couple of simple things you can do to put a cap on 2020 and start building a plan for 2021 (if you haven't started already).
One: How did you actually do? I love complicated reports in Excel, but I realize many people do not. As a minimum, you should have some place where you track these basic raw numbers:
- Total Revenue 2020
- Total Expenses 2020
- Profit 2020
- Your salary 2020
It shouldn't be too much of a stretch to find those numbers for 2019. But if you can't find that easily, at least write down the 2020 numbers so you can find them next January!
These simple numbers tell you not only how much the company made, but how much the owner made in total income (assuming you get to keep your salary and the profit). In a perfect world, you should be able to track these numbers for the life of your business. And they should be going up year after year.
When they're not going up, you should jot down a reason or two. No, "the economy" is not a good excuse. Losing clients/endpoints is a legit excuse. So is putting major investments into developing software, building out a new office, or other investments in your business.
Next, write down your expectation for 2021. Not just random numbers of last year's numbers plus x percent. You should have actual reasons for your numbers. For example, if you're going to add one new client per month, HOW will that happen? If revenue is going up five percent, how will that happen?
I'm a big fan of spending lots of time on this. For me, it's at least one three-hour block of time per month. If I'm lucky, I also spend a couple of smaller blocks of time as well.
But I realize many people hate thinking about the numbers and money side of things. But please at least do this little bit. Your business simply will not grow all by itself.
See the note below: You Are an Economy of One.
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On other fronts . . .
NOW is the time to be talking to clients and prospects about Q2 moves. Some companies will be going back to the office. Remember: The move out of the office was sudden and probably less organized than you would have liked. There's no reason the move back to the office should be like that.
Meet with clients now and plan the move - at least in very general terms.
Remember: Your clients will remember your performance in this critical period for a long time to come. The more communication you have with them now, the more they will feel that your companies went through this experience together.
I know it sounds dramatic, but it's not. When you look back on the history of your business, there will only be a few really big events that stand out. I'll bet this will be one of them. Go through it with intention, and with your eyes open.
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How was your "conference experience" in 2020?
Amy Babinchak from Third Tier has posted a survey, asking how you liked (or disliked) several elements of the online events you attended last year.
Thank you.
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You're An Economy of One
I've covered this before. But it's important to remember.
You should be vaguely aware of what the economy is up to. You should be more aware of how it affects your clients. But you should not worry too much about it for your business.
In any times - economic good times or bad - you need to focus on two primary goals:
- Serve your clients. Keep their systems UP. Keep them happy.
- Work on acquiring ONE more client. Don't worry about one a month, one a week, or one a day. Just work about the next one.
Since 1995, I've found myself marketing, marketing, marketing. Sometimes, we would run big campaigns intended to add several clients at once. That normally involved a decent budget and concerted effort. This rarely failed. In fact, whenever it failed, it was because we let the campaign drag out for a long time.
Once you engage a prospect in a discussion about hiring you, you need to dig in and complete that discussion (the sales cycle) as soon as you can. If you don't, they are likely to just wander off. They might hire someone else or no one at all. In either case, you have diminished your long term prospects with that potential client. They place you in a category defined as, "We looked at them and decided not to do business."
That's hard to dig out of.
More commonly, we took a slow growth route. I like to nurture prospects with education, information, and occasional help. Over time, they come to feel that they know us, like us, and trust us. And who do we do business with? Those we know, like, and trust.
Many, many consultants reading this newsletter have 15-25 clients on signed managed service agreements. If you're in that range, you really only need to worry about one new client at a time. Once you sign them, you can move to the next. Then the next after that.
The economy of the world or the national are NOT relevant to your success in signing that one client. No matter what's going on with the economy, someone is looking for IT support. Someone is looking to replace their current IT provider. Someone need help getting connected to the cloud.
You just need one of those someones.
It's funny. When the economy is booming, consultants complain that things are moving so fast that they can't get their share. When the economy is slow, they complain that "no one" is signing. Neither of these perspectives is accurate.
You need to go get one new client. Period. One.
Don't freak out about money or the economy. Just go get one client. It might take three months. But go do it. Then immediately go get the next one.
I know it sounds simplistic, but even if you get one new client each day, this advice still applies. Sign them one at a time and then go get the next one.
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Community members: Please check out the notes below. New Remote Sales materials will be loaded in the Community this week!
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That's the news for now. Have a great week.
-- Karl W. Palachuk
:-)
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You only missed two classes.
They're recorded! Sign up. Catch up.
Join us tomorrow.
Powerhouse of One:
Be a Super Successful Sole Proprietor
I used to have the most popular class.
Then Lori introduced this class and it exploded
(in a good way)!
5W18
Taught By: Lori Hardtke, Community Leader and Coach
- All classes start a 9:00 AM Pacific
You're guaranteed to learn something that will make or save you the price of admission!
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 $300K 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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"The class Lori did was simply awesome.
I learned so much.
She is what I want to be when I grow up!"
- David Streit, Stephill Associates, LLC
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!
. . . and More!
The Modules:
- Week 1 - Vendors/Affiliations/Peer Groups
- Week 2 - Selling Services That Are Pure Profit
- Week 3 - Sales Process for Website/VoIP/Cloud Desktops
- Week 4 - Plans, Pricing & White Glove Services
- Week 5 - Finances
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Only $299 per student
Delivered by Lori Hardtke, MSP and Peer Advisor. Lori has been an MSP (managed service provider) for many years and runs a two-state business with no employees.
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.
A Few Details . . .
- Each course will be five one-hour Zoom webinars
- There will be handouts and "homework" assignments
- Class webinars will be recorded and made available to paid attendees only.
- All calls start at 9:00 AM Pacific Time
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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:
Relax Focus Succeed:
SMB Community Podcast - New episodes drop every Thursday
The Killing IT Podcast - New episodes drop every Tuesday
The Cheeky Sales Coach Podcast / Video - New episodes drop every Wednesday
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From the Relax Focus Succeed YouTube Channel
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Selected Recent Videos and Webinars:
Note: We started auto-posting the podcasts to YouTube. Those are not listed here as YouTube Videos since they're listed under the podcasts above.
A quick guide to my Playlists:
- Total: More than 700 videos on the Small Biz Thoughts channel
- 275+ SOP videos
Plus . . .
- Training, Courses, Seminars on Managed Services
- Product Reviews
- and more
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Small Biz Thoughts Community News
SmallBizThoughts.org
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2021 is well under way . . .
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Our Monthly Community Meeting was great!
New members - join us for the weekly meetings every Thursday.
The link is right at the top of your Dashboard. We'll see you at 9:00 AM (Pacific) Thursday.
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Our next big Roundtable meeting features Jay McBain on February 4th. The link is at the top of your Community dashboard.
Join us and feel free to ask questions!
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If you haven't seen the January News video yet, please check it out.
Also . . . Coming This Week: Materials on Remote Sales.
You want to excel at selling over Zoom? Start with the new white paper on this topic - 100% exclusive to the Small Biz Thoughts Community. This paper will appear in the "What's New" section as well as in the Whitepapers section on Tuesday. Don't miss it.
If you wish to discuss this or other remote selling resources on Thursday at the regular meeting, we can do that. NOW is the perfect time to tune up your remote sales skills.
As always, our goal is to help you to be as successful as possible!
If you need something, please post a question in a forum or email Kara (your Community Manager) or me.
:-)
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Digging deep into Amazon
You may have heard people joke that they have "finished" Netflix or Disney+.
I feel a bit like I've almost finished Amazon. I have all the desktop goodies, computer upgrades, and camera equipment I need. Now I'm poking around to see what other fun things I can find.
I came across these HO scale people to be used with train models. Not sure what to do with them. But for a few dollars, then showed up at my mailbox. You might see them in future videos.
And YES - I need to get back on the road!
:-)
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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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February
If you know of in-person events we should list, please let us know.
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March
XChange +
March 7-9 / Live + Virtual event
Orlando, FL
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April
If you know of in-person events we should list, please let us know.
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May
ChannelPro SMB Forum - Hybrid Event
May 6, 2021
Chicago, Il
SMB Roadshow - Vancouver
May 11th
Tentative . . . but count on it!
Join me Live!
SMB Roadshow - Toronto
May 13th
Tentative . . . but count on it!
Join me Live!
SMB Roadshow - Montreal
May 18th
Tentative . . . but count on it!
Join me Live!
ASCII Success Summit
May 19 & 20
Bethesda, MD
SMB Roadshow - Providence, RI
May 20th
Tentative . . . but count on it!
More info: https://www.smbroadshow.com
Join me Live!
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June
ChannelPro SMB Forum - Hybrid Event
June 9, 2021
Houston, Tx
ASCII Success Summit
June 16 & 17
Cincinnati, OH
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July
ChannelPro SMB Forum - Hybrid Event
July 8, 2021
Raleigh, NC
ASCII Success Summit
July 21 & 22
Chicago, IL
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August
SMB Roadshow - Manchester, UK
August 10th
Tentative . . . but count on it!
More info: https://www.smbroadshow.com
Join me Live!
SMB Roadshow - Cardiff, UK
August 12th
Tentative . . . but count on it!
More info: https://www.smbroadshow.com
Join me Live!
SMB Roadshow - London, UK
August 17th
Tentative . . . but count on it!
More info: https://www.smbroadshow.com
Join me Live!
ASCII Success Summit
August 18 & 19
Raleigh, NC
SMB Roadshow - Amsterdam, NE
August 19th
Tentative . . . but count on it!
More info: https://www.smbroadshow.com
Join me Live!
SMB Roadshow - Berlin, Germany
August 21st
Tentative . . . but count on it!
More info: https://www.smbroadshow.com
Join me Live!
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September
ChannelPro SMB Forum - Hybrid Event
Sept 2, 2021
Boston, MA
ITBOG (Business Owners Group) Cruise Conference
Sept. 3-6
Departs Miami
ASCII Success Summit
September 22 & 23
NY / NJ area
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October
ChannelPro SMB Forum - Hybrid Event
Oct 6, 2021
Atlanta, GA
SMB IT Professionals National Conference - Australia
Oct 15-16
Surfer's Paradise
Join me Live. I'm going to do my best to be there!
ASCII Success Summit
October 27 & 28
Orlando, FL
I'm hoping there's a trip to the Gold Coast in my future. Stay tuned.
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November
ASCII Success Summit
November 3 & 4
Houston, TX
ChannelPro SMB Forum - Hybrid Event
Nov 4, 2021
Los Angeles, CA
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December
ASCII Success Summit
Orange County, CA - December 8 & 9
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If you know of in-person events we should list, please let us know.
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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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