Nothing Happens by Itself
Copyright © 2021 Karl W. Palachuk
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Always have a plan B.
Plan C's not bad either.
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Happy MLK Day
It's Martin Luther King day in the US. So our offices are closed.
I have always enjoyed the fact that MLK is the only (North) American whose statue is carved into Westminster Abbey. He is acknowledged as one of the martyrs of the 20th century and is a hero of the world.
(As a nerdy side note, he's right next to Oscar Romero, the only South American statue at Westminster Abbey, and I believe the only statue wearing glasses.)
I hope you took the day off.
What a Week!
As you know, I was all set to have a very busy week. Then my internet went out an hour before the big webinar Tuesday!
I have historically had a failover connection. But at $50/month, I hadn't used it in five years. So I dropped it last year.
I also, historically, had an account with a Divinci meeting room. But they didn't answer the phone. They probably are not "in the office" these days.
So . . . I drove over to a Residence Inn to rent a room or meeting room. But they wouldn't rent me either because I have an in-town address. I asked a quick why, but the only response I got was, "That's our policy right now." Bizarre. But I didn't have time to ague.
Next, I drove to a Courtyard by Marriott - and they rented me a room for $93. I did the webinar with the setup in the Picture of the Day below. It was cheaper than a meeting room - and had good internet.
All in all, it worked out well.
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As for last week . . .
- Lori Hardtke's great class Powerhouse of One: Be a Super Successful Sole Proprietor kicked off with a full house. You only missed one week. It's recorded, so you can catch up and join her for class tomorrow. More info here.
- Finally, on Thursday, Amy Luby and I did a webinar with Acronis: Stop Buying Tools that Kill Your Productivity. Registered attendees should receive a link to the recording. When one is posted, I'll report it here.
YAY! What a way to start the year.
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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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In case you're considering joining my online Community . . .
Do It!
We are about to produce a series of members-only materials that will help you to put a powerful almost-automatic process in place that will improve sales and customer relationships for 2021.
Our weekly meetings have become great resources on their own, with discussions of vendors, offerings, recommendations, and more.
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Update on our advertiser, efile4biz.com. I used this resource to provide W2's and 1099's to all employees and contractors. If found it super easy and fast.
For the first time in years, I'm totally done with my employer-side tax commitments for last year. I recommend you check it out.
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That's the news for now. Have a great week.
-- Karl W. Palachuk
:-)
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Our MOST Popular Class
You only missed one class.
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It's 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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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
- 270+ 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 . . . |
Our weekly community meetings are continuing with great success! Last week's call was excellent, with plenty of new members, good attendance, and a greeat discussion of VOIP vendors.
If you feel like you missed something good . . . well, you did. Join us!
This week, we hold our regular "Third Thursday" monthly member meeting. If you're a member, the link is right at the top of your Dashboard. We'll see you at 9:00 AM (Pacific) on 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.
As always, our goal is to help you to be as successful as possible!
We are working on some amazing new members-only sales resources in January. Stay tuned!
If you need something, please post a question in a forum or email Kara (your Community Manager) or me.
:-)
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Do you have a "Webinar Bug Out Bag"?
As a frequent traveler, I have a second power supply, a web cam, and a few HDMI cables in a backpack.
Many hotels actually have spare cables, such as HDMI, in their desk drawers or TV cabinets. Others have actual wired panels with ports next to the work area.
I almost never turn on the hotel TV when I travel - except when I need a second screen for the Q&A and management panels in a webinar.
This is also why I stay at "business" hotels rather than lower-priced accomodations.
:-)
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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
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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Small Biz Thoughts is a subsidiary of Great Little Book Publishing Co., Inc. |
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