Nothing Happens by Itself
Copyright © 2021 Karl W. Palachuk
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Hard to believe . . . The end of Q2 is next week.
I hope you'll take a small amount of time to generate reports for end-of-quarter and end-of-half. And, if you haven't set goals for the quarter, half, or year, now is a great time to do so!
Money is the easy measure. You should absolutely measure that and have specific targets. But also consider other measures. Some might be:
- Total clients invoice in last X months
- Total endpoints under management
- Total endpoints moved to cloud
- Number of servers removed from service
Think about where your company needs the most improvement. It might be time on tickets, billability of technicians, or profit per client. Whatever you need work on, generate a report.
Here's a strange truth: It doesn't matter what the report is. Generate a report. Keep generating reports. Post these reports and talk about them. Even without actually creating a specific plan, you will improve performance.
In the book Relax Focus Succeed, I stress this point: You get better at whatever you put your attention on.
And best of all, you get to decide what you put your attention on!
I hope you had a great first-half of 2021 - and that you have an even better second half.
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Quick Note: Whitelist this email!
Reader Brian sent me a note about this newsletter being quarantined by Symantec. This is a never-ending struggle for newsletters.
Granted, I break a lot of "rules" about newsletters. This newsletter is in HTML format. And I have a lot of links to various resources.
Many people use GMail, and the filters automatically send this newsletter to a Promotions sub-folder.
I appreciate that people actually spend a little time looking for this email and whitelisting it. Sadly, I recommend that you whitelist now, because you never know when your spam filter will tag this newsletter.
. . . And thank you all for your support!
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Happy Juneteenth - the latest American holiday.
Last week, the US created it's twelfth federal holiday. Juneteenth National Independence Day, has historically been known as Jubilee Day, Black Independence Day, and Emancipation Day. It commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. It is also often observed for celebrating African-American culture.
It normally takes a few years for new holidays to be universally celebrated. Part of the reason for that is the challenge US businesses need to address in about six months. Will this be one of your company's official holidays?
It's a good practice to give your employees a simple handout that lists the upcoming pay dates and company holidays for the year. This should be distributed in late December or early January. Holidays float a bit. Half of the official US holidays are on fixed dates (e.g., January 1st or July 4th) and half float to a Monday.
Here's my company's 2021 memo:
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If you Google "Holidays 2022" you'll find several places that list holidays for your national and local governments. The US has more than forty holidays that you can find on a calendar. But you (probably) can't afford to give off forty holidays per years.
Note that we do not celebrate Columbus Day. I have nothing against Columbus, but that holiday just doesn't have a lot of meaning for me and each holiday actually costs a little something to celebrate. We also don't celebrate election day. That's one I personally consider a "Federal employees" holiday. I don't know anyone who takes that day off.
Anyway, you've got two years to decide whether you'll be taking off Juneteeth. Because it does not float, it will be on a Sunday in 2022 and Monday in 2023.
I plan to celebrate and add the Juneteenth holiday to my company calendar for one important reason: The US Civil War is the greatest crisis in American history. It's ultimate result was the emancipation of black slaves.
We'll see how things evolve. Labor Day has become an opportunity to take a day off and do some long-neglected yard work. I don't know anyone who takes their family to the beach on Labor Day.
I think Juneteenth will be holiday that people actually celebrate. I foresee parades and fireworks. And I believe it will be considered an important holiday almost immediately.
We'll see. Anyway, you need to decide whether this will be part of your company calendar. But you have time.
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Webinar Reminder
Please take a moment to register for my webinar
Wednesday, June 30th
9AM Pacific / Noon Eastern
Register in advance for this webinar:
I promise: NO sales! We have about sixty people registered already.
Topic: Transforming Our Industry into a Profession.
In case you would like a little context, I've written a series of blog posts on this topic and compiled them into a single PDF. You can download it here: http://bit.ly/kp9pillars.
Join me for a free webinar on this topic.
Please join me on the webinar. I will ask for a bit of your time and attention. But I promise, I'm not asking for money. And I'm not selling anything.
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All New Class: Deep Dive into Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn
Arguably the most important social media for your business. So, we've put together a five-week course to help you get the most out of these tools. See longer description below. Starts July 6th.
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That's it for now. I appreciate the notes and feedback. Keep 'em coming.
Have a great week.
-- Karl W. Palachuk
:-)
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Social Media Deep Dive:
Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn
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Starts July 6th
Don't Miss It!
Sign up today.
Deep Dive Into Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn
Course 5W24
Taught By: Karl W. Palachuk
Five Tuesdays
- All classes start a 9:00 AM Pacific
Part of the "Social Media Super-Charge" Series for Small Business
This course covers three of the largest and most important social media in great detail. In all cases, we present a thorough training on getting the most of these applications. And, for each, we talk about how that specific medium fits into your overall sales and marketing strategy.
This course takes each of the platforms in turn, but constantly reminds you to create an overall approach to branding and social media. Each platform has "secrets" and best practices that most casual users never see. We provide these secrets and best practices as a series of checklists. Some are specific to individual postings; some are based on a weekly or monthly schedule; and some have a larger, strategic approach.
Most small businesses "use" social media, but don't really have a strategy for using social media effectively. That strategy starts with understanding the strengths and weaknesses of various platforms. And it culminates with a unified approach to branding and how your company presents itself across a variety of platforms.
This course is taught by Karl W. Palachuk, a social media influencer who "touches" over one million people per month. Karl has been using these social media for more than ten years, and has demonstrated mastery across all of the major social media that small businesses need to be successful.
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Weekly Agenda
Week 1: YouTube - Setup and Optimizing for Marketing
- “Google Properties” And Webmaster Tools
- Planning Your YouTube Strategy
- One Email; Multiple Brands
- Graphics and Branding
- Creator Studio
- Channel Settings
- Next-Level Branding
- Social Media Link
- Custom URLs
- Paid Membership Channel?
- Monetizing
Week 2: YouTube - Video Upload and Tagging
- Video Uploading Checklist
- End Screens and iCards
- Thumbnails
- Tags/Keywords
- Scheduling, Captions, and Chapter Headings
- Longer Videos
- Link to Adwords Account
- Analytics and Reports
- YouTube in the Big Strategy
Week 3: Facebook - Setup and Maximizing Results
- Facebook Personal and Business
- Graphics Revisited
- Pages and Groups
- Rules for Group Management
- Successful Posting / Cross-Posting
- YouTube in the Big Strategy
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Week 4: LinkedIn - Setup and Effective Use
- LinkedIn Basics
- Three Levels of Connections
- The Greatest Profile Opportunity in Social Media
- Details and Options
- Overwhelm, Minimalist, or Super Niche?
- Sharing
- Fake Profiles Can Teach You a Lot
- Graphics and Branding
- Custom URL
- Premium Options
Week 5: LinkedIn - Optimizing for Sales
- Email Marketing – and Abuse
- Recommendations – Giving and Getting
- Posts, Articles, “Blogging” and Syndicating
- Groups
- Activities and Notifications
- All-Star Status
- Super Search
- LinkedIn in the Big Strategy
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Only $299 per student
Delivered by Karl W. Palachuk
Karl W. Palachuk, blogger and author of the most popular books on managed services.
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 Sales Managers and Marketing 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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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 730 videos on the Small Biz Thoughts channel
- 295+ SOP videos
- 45+ 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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Great Meeting Last Week - and Next! |
We had a great Community meeting last week. As with all of our meetings, it's recorded and in the Community to view.
We have a regular weekly meeting scheduled for this wee. New Members: We would love to have you join us every week, not just the big monthly meeting.
And, coming up July 1st, we have our monthly Roundtable. The July 1st guest is business operating system coach Brett Jaffe. Join us July 1st at 9:00 AM. Your link is at the top of the dashboard.
Based on member feedback, , we are going to be using the regular Zoom meeting for the July 1st Roundtable. We'll do the regular style Roundtable meeting, but also be able to open the floor for discussion.
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Are You Ready for Ecommerce?
Kara is working with Ecommerce members this week to launch new ecommerce sites AND document the process. I am also launching a site to document the process.
The goal is to make the process so easy that you don't need documentation. But, of course, I believe you always need documentation. Otherwise, you'll find yourself in the technology equivalent of, "You can't miss it."
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 found my parking spot.
But I'm not sure which is my car.
:-)
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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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June
IT Nation Secure
June 21-23
Orlando, FL
James Kernan's Millionaire Mastermind Event
Omaha, NE
June 24-25th
Channel Sec Europe
June 24th
London
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July
ChannelPro SMB Forum - Live Event
July 8, 2021
Atlanta, GA
InfoSecurity Europe
July 13-15
London, UK
ASCII Success Summit
July 21 & 22
Chicago, IL
Retail NOW 2021
July 25-27
Nashville, TN
Black Hat USA
July 31-August 5
Las Vegas, NV
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August
IT Nation (Connectwise) Evolve Peer Groups
August 2-6
Englewood, CO
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
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 IT Professionals National Conference - Australia
Oct 15-16
Surfer's Paradise
Join me Live. I'm going to do my best to be there!
Sherweb Accelerate
Oct 18-20
Hollywood, FL
More Info: https://info.sherweb.com/accelerate.html
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
ASCII Success Summit
November 3 & 4
Houston, TX
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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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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