Nothing Happens by Itself
Copyright © 2021 Karl W. Palachuk
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Welcome to the "Dog Days" of August |
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August is historically known as a slow-news month. Congress goes on vacation for six weeks. It used to be the last month of Summer. Now it's about half a month before many schools reopen.
And this year we celebrate the second August of the Pandemic. So who knows how slow the news will be. It might be an all-pandemic news month.
Just note: If you have news to splash the world with, this might be your opportunity.
Also note: Almost any news story you read will be getting 10x the attention it deserves because the only other news is "Back to School."
But scan Twitter for "Florida Man" stories if you need a break from the hard Back to School news coverage. There are bound to be some goodies.
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National Society of IT Service Providers Update
We had another organizational meeting for the new National Society of IT Service Providers last week. Now we're gathering recommendations for Committees to form and setting up the basics of a structure.
I've put together a steering committee to create a enough of a Board of Directors to approve committees, and begin the process of creating a formal structure so we can hold elections.
In the meantime, YOU can help right now.
Please fill out this form [ https://bit.ly/ns-committee ] to recommend the committees you think we should create, and to volunteer to serve at the committee, state, or Board level.
And, of course, if you haven't done so already, please join this group - free.
Thank you!
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Join Me on the Podnutz Pro Podcast with Marvin Bee
Join me Wednesday 5PM Pacific / 8PM Eastern on Marvin's Podnuts Pro Podcast as we talk about Tips for Starting a New MSP!
We'll also talk about transition your current business to a managed service model, in case you haven't made that leap yet.
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CompTIA ChannelCon Free to Everyone
Three ChannelCon notes for you.
1) ChannelCon 2021 is all online and 100% free to members and non-members. You can register for free with this link: Click Here - August 3-4.
2) There are six Live, in-person receptions August 2, 3, and 4. See the links in the calendar below.
3) Make your travel plans! ChannelCon 2022 will the live in Houston, August 1-3, 2022. It's on the calendar. If you hear of more 2022 in-person events, let me know!
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That's all the news for now.
Have a great week.
-- Karl W. Palachuk
:-)
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Experience Matters
In early 2020, a friend of mine was interested in quitting his job to start a business. But he'd never started a company before. So, he asked me for the "ultimate" checklist for quitting your job and starting your first business.
His questions were basic and understandable: What form of business should I create? How do I get a separate Tax ID for the business? How do I get insurance? And so forth.
Ultimately, many people take months (or even years) to get all their ducks in a row and get a business off the ground.
I also have several friends who started new businesses in the last year, but it was not their first time. Those folks literally took care of all the startup details in a week or less. Why the big difference? Fundamentally, having done it once, a lot of the mystery was gone.
The Unknown can be a big, scary thing. But once you do something, even once, the mystery goes away - and so does the fear. Some things that you thought were difficult become trivial. Things you feared would be time-consuming become quick.
Doing something once has tremendous power.
In the Olympics, I am always amazed at the gymnasts. I find myself asking, "How do you do that the first time?" Clearly, they're doing things I could never do. That's easy to understand. But even for top athletes, how do you jump up, flip over, twist around, and land on a beam the first time?
The answer is one of two things. Either you build up to it, putting skills together one as a time, or you just do it. Note: "Just do it" results in failure a great deal more often than building up skills one at a time until you are good enough to combine them successfully.
This applies in many areas of life and business. How do you start a training program the first time? How do you migrate email to the cloud the first time? How do you hire a sales person the first time? How do you hire an outsourced administrative assistant the first time?
And yes: You can read a book. That might help with the doubts and practical steps. But, ultimately, you have to build a plan and execute it. As Bryan Tracy loves to say, you can do anything anyone else has done, if you set your mind to it.
Personally, I love to educate myself with books and blogs. Then I build a plan and acquire the skills I'll need (or hire someone with the skills). But then I have to stop planning and thinking and just do it.
What have YOU got planned for the rest of the year? I hope you're trying something new. If I can help, drop me a line.
. . . And good luck!
:-)
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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 Absolutely 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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Spam Works: Should You Use It? |
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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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First Thursday Roundtable (August 5th) Features Sales Coach Gil Cargill |
This Thursday we have our monthly community Roundtable. We bring in a special guest - and ask them to go off their regular script.
Our guest this week is Gil Cargill, one of my favorite sales trainers.
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Gil Cargill on the SBT Roundtable
Gil is smart, funny, and gives great advice.
If you have any questions to submit for any of the community meetings, the link for that is also at the top of the dashboard.
Obviously, this is a members-only event. Join us!
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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.
The video is open to everyone. The more detailed news is members only.
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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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A friend gave me this new paperweight
. . . Killing IT!
:-)
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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
IT Nation (Connectwise) Evolve Peer Groups
August 2-6
Englewood, CO
ChannelCon Reception for ChannelCon
August 2, 202
Naperville, IL
ChannelCon Reception for ChannelCon
August 2, 2021
Scottsdale, AZ
ITO Compass Summer Security Soirée
August 3rd
Chicago Yacht Club
ChannelCon Reception for ChannelCon
August 3, 2021
Hamilton, NJ
ChannelCon Reception for ChannelCon
August 3, 2021
San Antonio, TX
ChannelCon Reception for ChannelCon
August 4, 2021
Carlsbad, CA
ChannelCon Reception for ChannelCon
August 4, 2021
Tampa, FL
Defcon 29
August 5-8
Las Vegas, NV
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!
XCHange+
August 15-17
San Antonio, TX
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
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
SMB Roadshow - Vancouver
Sept 7th
Vancouver, BC
Join me Live!
SMB Roadshow - Toronto
Sept 9th
Toronto, ON
Join me Live!
SMB Roadshow - Montreal
Sept 14th
Montreal, ON
Join me Live!
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
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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