Nothing Happens
by Itself
Copyright © 2023 Karl W. Palachuk
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Greetings!
Happy 4th of July / Independence Day.
This is an odd Tuesday holiday. As a non-moving holiday, we dance around July 4th a lot. Technically, our office is open today, but we don't expect much activity.
I hope you and your staff are able to spend some special time with you home computers on Tuesday the 4th.
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And welcome to Q3!
We're officially half way through the year. I hope your company is doing well. If you haven't done so yet, now is a great time to print out your profit-and-loss statement for the last six months. How are you doing? Do you need to make changes? If so, what are they?
I'm often alarmed to talk to partners who never look at their finances. You would think this means they have so much money that they don't need to worry about it. But, in fact, it usually means they are living off cash flow, spending money intended for year-end taxes, and barely getting by.
I know many people don't like the "money" side of business. But, ultimately, that's why a business exists.
I've never met a lazy person who's been in business for more than two or three years. Even if you love it, it's a lot of work. You should be rewarded for that work. So if you're not going to pay attention to your finances, you should have someone on staff who will.
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Dangers of Building Your House on Rented Land
One of the early decisions I made about building my platforms and "presence" on the Internet was to own my own landing pages. I describe this as:
I don't build my house on rented land.
Essentially, that means I participate on social media and groups online, but when I want people to take action, I send them to one of my web sites. For example, I created my own community. But I also send people to my store, my blog, and other properties I control.
The reason is simple: If I rely on others' platforms, they can kill my business model with one simple policy change. See the posting to the left.
This company relied on Reddit . . . until they had to pay for the service to connect their app. Maybe they could afford it. I have no way of knowing. But their business model included access to a large audience for free.
Now that part of their business model simply doesn't exist.
I have seen this with companies that relied on Twitter . . . until something changed. Polices change for many reasons. But if it hurts you business model, you probably don't care why.
Many people have built their communities on Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. And many have been very successful for a long time. But all of them are subject to the whims of a platform they don't control.
My advice is that you do what you think is best - but be very aware that your so-called platform has the right to change your relationship on a whim. As long as you accept that, and go in with your eyes open, I think you'll be fine.
Just remember that they do not care about your business. They are looking after their investors and their stake-holders.
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Join me in Vegas - Free!
This is a mock-up of the sign we're bringing to Booth 101 at ChannelCon. Join us August 1-3 in Las Vegas.
We have plenty of fun give-aways. Plus - both Kara and Jenn will join MyTie and me in the booth. We'd love to see you there.
Or use the code SBSmallBizThoughts23 if asked. NOTE: I am giving away this robot to one lucky winner. Must be present to win.
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In the days before ChannelCon, I'll be at Dave Seibert's SMB TechFest in Irvine, representing the National Society of IT Service Providers.
Join me there if you can. And be sure to drop by my table!
:-)
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National Society Update: Elections!
The NSITSP continues to grow. And we're very happy to beging the second annual elections. Filing for office will begin August 1st. Stay tuned here and at NSITSP.org for details.
In the first election, about half of the committee and board members were elected for two-year terms. The rest were elected to a one-year term. Beginning in September 2023, all elections will be for two-year terms. This way, about half of all positions will be up for election each year. This establishes some continuity and provides for change at the same time.
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TCP/IP Training
Inside the Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community, we're holding a series of "Super-Newby" trainings on TCP/IP and building networks. This is a good tune-up for anyone, but is primarily intended as a starter kit for new technicians or new-to-networking techs.
We kick off the series with an introduction to TCP/IP on Wednesday, July 5th.
This is a members-only event. All members are encouraged to bring your whole staff. That way everyone has at least a common, basic understanding of what it takes to build a network in the 2020's. (It's a lot easier than it used to be. But that's true for all technology.)
Note: Members should go to the class page and download the slides. You'll want to print them out so you can take lots and lots of notes. We plan to go full speed ahead, so be prepared. We'll also stay as long as it takes to answer all your questions.
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As always: Feedback and comments welcome. Please share this newsletter if you enjoy it.
Have a great week!
:-)
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Join me at . . .
- SMB Techfest - July 27-28 in Anaheim
- CompTIA ChannelCon - August 1-3 in Las Vegas
- XChange - August 20-22 in Nashville
- Beerfest - October in Perth, Australia
- SMB IT Pro Conference - October 27-28 in Melbourne, Australia
- ASCII event - December 7 in Waikiki, HI
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Sign up now. Join me live July 11th!
The Absolutely Unbreakable Rules of Service Delivery
Taught By: Karl W. Palachuk
Author and Community Builder
- Five Tuesdays - July 11 - August 8
- Includes the book The Absolutely Unbreakable Rules of Service Delivery in PDF format
This course covers the most important "rules" you need to follow to create a massively successful business. Based on Karl's 20+ years experience running successful businesses - and helping others do the same.
How can you guarantee that your company delivers great service, has a great culture, and still manages to stay profitable? You need to follow certain “Unbreakable Rules” for success. Best-selling business author and coach Karl W. Palachuk draws on more than thirty years of owning and running service-based businesses to present the rules his companies live by.
These rules will help you align your personal and professional goals while creating “standard operating procedures” to automate successful habits. Notice that “The customer is always right” is not on the list. Why? Because everyone knows that’s not true. Customers are frequently wrong, or would make bad decisions if we didn’t help them to make good decisions.
This class doesn’t waste your time giving lip service to worn out platitudes. Instead, we focus on building a great, successful business in the 21st Century. And since the rules are absolutely unbreakable, they will stand the test of time and the changing business environment.
In addition to the unbreakable rules, we give advice on identifying your own unbreakable rules. Branding, after all, is everything you do in your company: The way you hire, the way you greet customers, the way you document processes, the way you invoice, how you handle difficult conversations, and much more. Your business is a reflection of your beliefs and values. It should be built with intention, not something that “just happened.”
Some of these rules help you make money. Some of them keep your work standards high. Some build culture. All of them help your employees and client to understand the culture that's embedded in your brand. This book will help you identify and codify the core elements of your success. It will also help you build the definitive list of absolutely unbreakable rules that will guide your business going forward.
Top Five Take-aways:
- Define YOUR company’s rules for greater success
- Learn great “best practices” for your company
- You will take actions to improve your business before the class is over
- Improve your profit
- Improve customer service
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Here are the specifics of what you'll learn, week by week:
Week One - Why these rules?
- Define your brand, and the guidelines that create it
- Create rules that define overall behaviors of success
- Learn to prioritize everything you do
Week Two - Client Rules
- Learn to control your processes since you can’t control people
- Learn to get accurate information from clients so you don’t have to guess
- Stop being tempted by unprofitable habits
- Define your overall approach to customer service
Week Three - Employee Rules
- Assuming you have good processes, find employees who will do what you need them to do
- Create clear communications around expectations, behavior, wages, and performance
- Create a great hiring process
- Create effective employee evaluation forms
Week Four - Finance Rules
- Learn why you should be prepaid for everything, and how to implement this policy
- Establish very profitable rules around billable hours and minimums
- Know which money you should go after and which you should avoid
- Establishing new financial policies over time
Week Five - Service Delivery Rules
- Create a great definition of what’s covered under managed services, and train your clients and employees
- Manage time from every angle (time billed, time paid, time off, etc.)
- Sign service agreements with every client
- Use your ticketing system/service board effectively
- Document absolutely everything you do
Delivered by Karl W. Palachuk, blogger and author of Relax Focus Succeed (and lots of other books).
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 Owner or Operations Manager.
ITSP University Certification:
Meets Certification Requirements for:
- Management
- Service Management
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.
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 |
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Recent Blog Posts, Podcasts, and Videos |
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Small Biz Thoughts Blog:
SMB Community Podcast - New episodes drop every Thursday
National Society of IT Service Providers News Blog
Relax Focus Succeed:
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Selected Recent Videos and Webinars:
Our YouTube IT Consulting channel now has more than 690,000 views!
Subscribe today and don't miss a thing!
A quick guide to my Playlists:
- Total: Over 940 videos on the Small Biz Thoughts channel
- 360+ SOP videos
- 275+ Relax Focus Success videos
Plus . . .
- Training, Courses, Seminars on Managed Services
- Product Reviews
- and more
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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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July Roundtable: Paul Green from
Paul Greens MSP Marketing
Join us Thursday, July 6th for a great Small Biz Thoughts Roundtable with Paul Green
Paul is an MSP marketing expert, based in the UK, working with 700+ MSPs all over the
world with his MSP Marketing Edge program.
Paul is a former journalist and radio presenter, and the host of the world’s most popular podcast on MSP marketing – search for “Paul Green’s MSP Marketing podcast” in your favorite podcast platform.
Remember: You can always submit questions in advance. The link is at the top of your dashboard. Join us live on July 6th - the link is always at the top of your dashboard!
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Don't Miss These Members-Only Webinars!
Starting July 5th, we kick off some special trainings for you and your staff.
This is NOT "Everything about TCP/IP and DNS." This is more along the lines of "The basics you need to know if you're going to be supporting small business networks today."
Here's the trio of classes:
Understanding TCP/IP - A Very Practical Introduction
July 5th
TCP/IP Troubleshooting - A Very Practical Workshop
July 26th
Building the Basic Small Business Network - A Very Practical Workshop
August 16th
I created these 1-hour trainings by request of a Community member. The goal is to make sure you and your techs have a solid understanding of the basics of TCP/IP - the protocol that runs the world.
And if YOU have a request for training or resources, please get in touch with Kara or me.
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Here's the last Community News video: |
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Monty Python inspired garden tags - only $2.99.
:-)
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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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July
IDM (Identity Management) Dach
July 6
Frankfurt, Germany
XChange Security 2023
July 10-12
Dallas , TX
National Retail Federation Nexus
July 10-12
Los Angeles, CA
ASCII Edge 2023
July 12 & 13
Columbus, OH
CyberSecurity Expo
July 13, 2023
Manchester, UK
Nerdio Training Camp
July 19
Calgary, Cananada
SMB TechFest Q3
July 27-28
Anaheim, CA
Join me Live!
MSPRescue
July 27th
Princeton
ARN Edge (Australian Tech)
July 29-August 2
Queensland, AUS
RetailNOW
July 30 - August 1
Orlando, FL
:-)
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August
CompTIA ChannelCon
August 1-2-3
Las Vegas, NV
Visit me in Booth 101
Join me Live!
Nerdio Training Camp
August 1
Toronto, Canada
ChannelPro Summit
Aug. 9-10
Newark, NJ (Northeast)
IT Nation Evolve Business Leaders
August 7-11, 2023
Denver, Colorado
MSP Community Minds
August 14-15
Denver, CO
XChange - Nashville
August 20-22
Nashville, TN
Join me Live!
Inclusive Leadership Network Workshop 2023
August 23
Nashville, TN
CMIT Connect Live!
August 29th
Austin, TX
ASCII Edge 2023
August 30 & 31
Toronto, Canada
:-)
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September
ChannelPro Summit
Sept. 6-7
Boston (New England)
Nerdio Training Camp
Sept 12
Atlanta, GA
Midsize Enterprise Summit Fall 2023
September 17-19
Houston, TX
ASCII Edge 2023
September 20 & 21
Chicago, IL
CanIT Con
Sept 24-26
Banff, Alberta, Canada
James Kernan's Millionaire Mastermind Quarterly
Sept 28-29
Scottsdale, AZ
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October
dattoCon 2023
Oct. 2-4, 2023
Miami, FL
Nerdio Training Camp
Oct 3
San Antonio, TX
Best of Breed Conference 2023
October 9-10
Atlanta, GA
ChannelPro Summit
Oct. 10-11
Atlanta (Southeast)
NexGen 2023
October 15-18
Houston , TX
Acronis #Cyberfit Summit 2023
Oct. 16-18
Miami, FL
Nerdio Training Camp
Oct 17
Dallas, TX
NexGen Security Workshop 2023
October 18
Orlando, FL
SMB TechFest Q4
October 19
Anaheim, CA
ASCII Edge 2023
October 18 & 19
Washington, D.C.
Beerfest with Karl
- October 2023
- Perth, Australia
More Info: Details to be announced !!!
Join me Live in Perth!
SMB IT Professionals National Conference
October 27-28
Melbourne, Australia
Join me Live!!
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November
ChannelPro CyberSecurity Strategies
Nov 1-2
Los Angeles
IT Nation Evolve Business Leaders
November 6-8, 2023
Orlando, FL
Nerdio Training Camp
Nov 14-15
Austin, TX
IT Nation Sales and Service Leaders
November 28 - December 1, 2023
Nashville, TN
:-)
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December
Growcon
Dec 3-6
Clearwater, FL
Women of the Channel Leadership Summit East 2023
December 4-5
New York, NY
ASCII Navigate in Hawaii !!!
Dec. 7th
Waikiki, HI
Join Me Live in Hawaii!
James Kernan's Millionaire Mastermind Quarterly
Dec 7-8
Phoenix, AZ
Nerdio Training Camp
Dec 12-13
Los Angeles, CA
:-)
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January 2024
Send us your updates
February 2024
Send us your updates
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March
Midsize Enterprise Summit IT Security 2024
March 18-19, 2024
Indianapolis, IN
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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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