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Nothing Happens
by Itself
Copyright © 2024 Karl W. Palachuk
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Hello Karl, -
I'm not sure why, but this Spring seems very different for me. Industry events seem mostly back to normal. I loved the Channel Partners conference, and my online community is going great. The weather's a bit odd, but the rain is good for us in California.
I am VERY happy that we are on the verge of announcing a 100% rebuilt from-the-ground-up version of the Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community. Kara has literally rebuilt every piece, which took more than a year to complete. Jenn and Nai have broken out all the handouts from all the books, and those are now individually searchable and downloadable. All audio and video programs are now set up with very cool controls across all your devices.
We know that we have an overwhelming number of checklists, spreadsheets, downloads, white papers, videos, and so forth. But the new search engine is over the top. We have (Kara has) designed it so it's easy to fine solutions that address your current need. And you can use the search engine in different ways, so it's easier to find an approach that works for you.
And, if you get more than 1,000 results on a search, you can check a few boxes to narrow it down.
The new site will be live any minute. In fact, I'm writing this on Friday, so it might be live by the time you see this newsletter. If you're a member, please check it out and give us your feedback. If you're not a member, today's a great day to join.
https://www.smallbizthoughts.org
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Free Webinars
I'm also excited about two new webinars. I'm doing one on Artificial Intelligence for MSPs and their clients in May. But I'm not really promoting that now because I don't want to compete with myself. So stay tuned. Don't worry. you won't miss it.
The webinar I *am* pushing is on 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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Myth:
If your business is not growing, it's failing
I just finished the book Company of One by Paul Jarvis. A friend recommended this, and it sounded good, so I ordered it.
Note that a lot of the book applies to generally "small" businesses as well as actual companies of one.
One of the great bits of information in this book is saved for the very end: Ninety percent of all companies that have been in business for more than 100 years are in Japan. And most of them have fewer than 300 employees.
They have learned that longevity does not require constant growth. A small shop does not have to become a global conglomerate. Building a great business with great employees and great clients CAN rely heavily on the fact that you choose not to grow larger.
Many small businesses figure this out. Despite nearly unlimited advice to grow, grow, grow, they know that enough can be enough.
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You may be familiar with Drive by Daniel Pink. (Read it!!!)
He finds that money only motivates employees to a point. Aside from a very unusual personality type, most employees are NOT motivated by money once they have enough. What constitutes "enough" varies per person. But beyond that point, offering employees more money will not motivate them to work harder, produce more, or abandon their family to spend the evening making service calls.
Jarvis's work suggests that small business owners are the same way. Yes, there are some people who can never have enough money. But most small business owners need enough to be successful. We want a decent nest egg, a reasonable amount of vacation, and a good life. So, growing larger forever is not actually a goal.
I would like to hear YOUR perspective on this. I, personally, have always striven to make a good living. And I love some regular increases in income. But I have no need or seek unlimited growth.
Enough, as they say, is enough for me. How about you?
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My Channel Partners Interviews are up on the SMB Community Podcast. Check it out at https://smbcommunitypodcast.com.
I'm planning a longer interview with the folks at Huntress. Stay tuned for that. And I thank Huntress for sponsoring the podcast this spring.
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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I've put out some new content this week, so catch the blogs, videos, and podcasts listed below.
I also started my official babysitting gig with the grand daughter. It is the highlight of my week!
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Community Members: Keep an eye out for the Community News this Friday (the 29th). We have some BIG announcements starting in April. There are hints below. But big changes are right around the corner.
Also: Someone stopped my in Vegas and asked about the Killing IT Podcast. Stay tuned. We are dropping a new episode SOON.
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 one unit.
Register now; Catch up;
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:
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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Member Notes
We have an all-new Community Breakout starting in April. We'll have a special announcement with all the details. For now, 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.
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Welcome New Members: Catch the next Live Community Tour with Kara on April 4th (the first Thursday) at 8:30 AM Pacific / 11:30 AM Eastern.
Note to existing members: The monthly tour has moved to First Thursday!
All Members: We are about to launch a Major Refresh and update of the Community!
Keep an eye out - It will magically appear at https://www.smallbizthoughts.org.
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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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Every spring, I see uglier, scarier rabbits.
I wonder if there's some secret cabal to get people to trade good money for things that will only give them nightmares in the long run. Someone will make a movie about these one day.
:-)
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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. | |
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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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