Nothing Happens by Itself
Copyright © 2021 Karl W. Palachuk
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National Society of IT Service Providers Update
I know everyone's busy - But NOW is the time to fill out the application for Board Member or Committee Member positions for the National Society of IT Service Providers.
Note: We sent out a major update email last week. If you missed it, please check out the News section on the NSITSP.org site.
Thank you to everyone who's volunteered.
(And if you're on the fence, at least look at the application form.)
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Is This Hard To Read?
I got the screenshot on the right from someone whose phone displays this message in micro-type as if it's a PDF. We try to use the latest reactive templates so that this email is readable on all email systems.
Yes, I know we're chasing an impossible dream. But that's how we roll.
Anyway, I need your feedback. I build these newsletters in what's supposed to be 14pt type, but then the reactive template plays with it for various screen sizes. And the number and variety of screen sizes changes almost every week.
Basically, I am trying to accommodate screens in the range of 1,000-2,000 pixels since that generally looks well on phones, tablets, and desktops. Given the nature of my audience, about 80% of you read this email on a desktop screen. But that still leaves almost 2,000 of you on small screens.
Please send me your feedback - particularly if you have trouble with the format. Thanks.
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Will You Join Me In Providence?
I know it's impossible for many people. But I also know that it IS possible for many of you.
The SMB Roadshow is 100% ON for September 16th in Providence, RI. And it features GREAT new content - and a game show.
Please check out the details and plan to join me in Providence.
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Are You Unplugging Enough?
August is a good time to think about evaluating your schedule - and locking in some good habits.
There's an odd trend on YouTube these days that "sounds good" but goes against all the research that's ever been done on the topic. The topic in question? Work/Life balance.
The bad advice: Ignore work/life balance. You need to lead an unbalanced life until you're successful. Or, on a related note, you need to be unbalanced when you're young and full of energy.
As I mentioned, 100% of the research on work/life balance shows that it improves every aspect of your life - including your success, income, and long-term financial well being. I would quote from a book, but then this could easily turn into an 80,000 page email: EVERY piece of research on work/life balance demonstrates that it has a positive impact on success.
I'm not sure why people want to argue in favor of imbalance, except perhaps to justify their addition to old habits and workaholism. The most pernicious part of this bad advice is the assumption that you can spend a decade or two being un-balanced and then switch to relaxing and enjoying life.
The timing for this bad advice is particularly interesting given the large number of books on the topic of habits over the last few years.
(Have you ever noticed that no one writes books about how to work more, ignore your family more, stay in the office twelve hours a day, and build a life filled with headaches, heart problems, stress, depression, ulcers, hypertension, and early death?)
For many of us, August is a transition month. Even in the pandemic, there's some effort to send the kids back to school. Even if you don't have young ones at home, many of your clients do. And, as schedules change, it's a good time to build in some extra "down time" in your schedule.
Work/life balance - as with all balance - is something that you need to constantly work on. The world keeps changing. So the balance that worked in the Spring may not work in the Fall. The balance when your children are young is not the same as the balance when they get older.
The act of balancing never stops. It's not a thing you "do" and be done with. It's a thing you do all the time, forever.
Workaholism is a horrible consequence of the modern world of work, and the fact that human brains haven't evolved in response to the use of technology. Back when "work" meant physical labor, an hour of extra work produced extra output. Overworking resulted in lower quality, more rework, and increased mistakes. But more widgets ultimately resulted from extra work.
Today, especially with knowledge-based work, the extra effort no longer produces more widgets. Instead, the percentage of mistakes and rework increase dramatically. But our brains instinctively believe that more work equals more productivity. After about ten hours of work, this is simply no longer the case.
The myth of workaholism is so important that I consider Chapter Two of Relax Focus Succeed (entitled Workaholism) the most important part of the book. AND that's why I make it available to download for FREE:
And remember: If you practice a lifetime of unbalance, you won't be able to flip a switch and create balance when you need it.
“Habit is a cable; we weave a thread of it each day, and at last we cannot break it.”
— Horace Mann
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That's it for now. Please send me those updates when you hear about new in-person events for the calendar.
Have a great week.
-- Karl W. Palachuk
:-)
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Next Big 5-Week Class:
The Absolutely Unbreakable Rules of PSA
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Starts August 1oth
Updated for 2021!
The Unbreakable Rules of PSA
Course 5W11
Taught By: Manuel Palachuk
Five Tuesdays
- All classes start a 9:00 AM Pacific
You're guaranteed to learn something that will make or save you the price of admission!
Everyone needs a PSA - Professional Services Automation tool. But in addition to simply having a PSA, you need to set it up correctly and use it wisely.
In this course, you will learn how to double your value to clients and increase your profit with these powerful golden rules of PSA Service Ticket Systems.
Coach Manuel focuses on the direct connection between your service delivery system, the value you give your clients, and your profit, and how to maximize each. He also gives an overview of Agile Service Delivery, an emerging method you must learn to stay competitive.
Whether you’re a one-person shop or have fifty employees, to be consistently profitable, you must have guidelines for how to break down the work in an organized fashion and how you will communicate with the client along the way.
You don’t have to be an MSP or even use a PSA to work efficiently and be profitable, but you do need a system and a method. These "golden" rules can be the seed for your own system if you have none, or you can adopt them in whole to enrich your existing methods. Either way, this is your opportunity to take your service delivery and your profits to the next level.
The course includes a thorough discussion of the unbreakable rules of service tickets as well as covering quality communication with every client. It will be time well spent!
Whether you're a new "Computer Consultant" or an experienced Managed Service Provider, you need to create successful processes that will propel your company forward. Nothing is more critical to making profit than having the right processes and procedures in place!
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Only $299 per student
Delivered by Manuel Palachuk, author and business coach.
Includes five weeks of webinars with related handouts, assignments, and "office hours" with the instructor. All classes are recorded for download. All classes include suggested "homework" that is totally action-focused and intended to move your company's marketing forward.
This course is intended for business owners and managers. It is particularly useful for Service Managers.
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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Three Rules for Successful Outsourcing
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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 750 videos on the Small Biz Thoughts channel
- 300+ SOP videos
- 100+ Relax Focus Success 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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Sales Coach Gil Cargill Was Awesome!
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On the "first Thursday" of every month we have our community Roundtable. And I *always* get an email from someone who raves about the content and informs me that they consider it the best thing about our Community.
Several people gave me great feedback on Mr. Gil Cargill. We've added some contact information and goodies into the community. And Gil has donated a 72-page sample sales campaign ebook for you to download. So go check that out and follow-up on the great content.
And if you missed it, the recording is posted now, with a full transcript of the conversation.
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Stephanie Chandler on the SBT Roundtable
Stephanie is a LONG time friend, mastermind member, and co-conspirator. We have had several business ventures together, including co-authoring a book.
Two years ago, we published the Nonfiction Book Publishing Plan. You can find it on Amazon.
But Note: Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community members can download this book for FREE inside the Community. I made Stephanie a deal on publication: I gave her all the royalties and profits if she allowed me to give it away to everyone in my Community.
. . . I wish I'd known that it was going to be a legit best seller. Oh well. No regrets. :-)
Anyway . . . Stephanie is a great community builder. She built the biggest, best, most successful networking group on MeetUp in Sacramento. She actually gave it up because it got so successful that it was taking time away from here "real" job.
Stephanie founded and runs the Nonfiction Authors Association, the Nonfiction Writers Conference, and several training programs. But that's not her real job either. Stephanie's primary "gig" is publishing nonfiction books by authors who want to establish themselves at authorities in their field.
(Side note: In order to look for the URL for the Nonfiction Authors Association, I entered "nonfiction authors" in the Google machine, found the result below.)
She's an awesome entrepreneur, author of more than a dozen books, a community builder, and a very smart person to get to know. Don't miss this Roundtable!
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The August Community Newsletter went out Friday the 30th. If you missed it, you might not be on the member mailing list. Contact Kara.
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Grab your discount code in the Community and register for free. Strangers pay full price; members always free.
The Providence, RI show is September 16th and registration is open now!
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Members get free classes! New members - remember that you get massive discounts on our classes over at Great Little Seminar. Monthly subscribers save $200 per student. Annual subscribers attend for free. Grab your discount code in the Community and then head to GLS to register for class.
If you need something, please post a question in a forum or email Kara (your Community Manager) or me.
:-)
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I love "all you can eat" restaurants . . .
I don't eat more than normal. But I get to take a picture of the rules. These days, that means scanning the QR code and doing a screenshot.
Just another reminder: There is no such thing as All You Can Eat.
:-)
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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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August
XCHange+
August 15-17
San Antonio, TX
ASCII Success Summit
August 18 & 19
Raleigh, NC
IT By Design Build IT LIVE 2021
Aug 30 - Sept 1
Jersey City, NJ
IT Nation (Connectwise) Evolve Peer Groups
Aug 30 - Sept 1
Gold Coast, Aus
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September
IT Nation Connect APAC - Tentative - Stay Tuned
Sept 1-3
Gold Coast, Australia
CEDIA Expo
Sept 1-3
Indianapolis, IN
ChannelPro SMB Forum - Live Event
Sept 2, 2021
Boston, MA
Cisco Provider Elevate
September 14-15
Join me Online!
Managed Services Summit Live
Sept 15th
London
SMB Roadshow - Providence, RI
Sept. 16th
Providence, RI
Join me Live!
IOTSSA Cybersecurity Expo
Sept 16th
Charlotte, NC
Techcon Unplugged
September 17-19
Chicago, IL
Midsize Enterprise Summit+
September 19-21
Dallas, TX
Channel Live
Sept 21-22
Birmingham, UK
ASCII Success Summit
September 22 & 23
NY / NJ area
James Kernan's Millionaire Mastermind Event
San Diego, CA
Sept 23-24th
IT Partners
Sept. 29-30
Disneyland, Paris
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October
ChannelPro SMB Forum - Live Event
Oct 6, 2021
Raleigh, NC
DTX 2021 (Digital Transformation)
Oct. 6-7
London, UK
DattoCon 2021
Oct 11-13
Seattle, WA
SMB TechFest
October 13-14
Anaheim, CA
SMB IT Professionals National Conference - Australia
Postponed!
. . . Maybe next year
Sherweb Accelerate
Oct 18-20
Hollywood, FL
More Info: https://info.sherweb.com/accelerate.html
Channel SEC London
October 19th
London, UK
Kaseya Connect IT
Oct 19-22
Las Vegas
Channel Company NexGen
October 24-26
Anaheim, CA
Join me Live!
Acronis #Cyberfit Summit
October 25-27
Miami, FL
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
Channel Partners Evolution
Nov. 1-4
Las Vegas, NV
Managed Services Summit Live
November 2nd
Amsterdam
Kaseya Connect Europe
Nov. 2-4
Amsterdam
ASCII Success Summit
November 3 & 4
Houston, TX
IT Nation Connect North America
November 10-12
Orlando, FL
IT Nation (Connectwise) Evolve Peer Groups
November 15-19
Sydney, Aus
Managed Services Summit North
November 16th
Manchester, UK
ChannelPro SMB Forum - Live Event
Nov 16, 2021
Los Angeles, CA
Women of the Channel Summit West 2021
November 16-17
Palm Springs, CA
Acronis #Cyberfit Summit
November 18-19
Schaffhausen, Switzerland
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December
Women of the Channel Summit East 2021
December 6-7
New York, NY
ASCII Success Summit
Orange County, CA - December 8 & 9
Acronis #Cyberfit Summit
December 8-9
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
James Kernan's Millionaire Mastermind Event
Dallas, TX
Dec 9-10th
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If you know of in-person events we should list, please let us know.
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January
Send us your updates!
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February
Acronis #Cyberfit Summit
February 17 - 18, 2022
Singapore, Singapore
Xchange+
February 27 - March 1, 2022
Dallas, TX
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March
Cloud Expo Europe
March 2-3, 2022
London, UK
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April
Send us your updates!
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May
Send us your updates!
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June
Send us your updates!
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July
Send us your updates!
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August
CompTIA ChannelCon 2022
August 1-3, 2022
Houston, TX
More Info: Coming after ChennelCon 2021 ;-)
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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.
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