Nothing
Happens
by Itself
Copyright © 2023 Karl W. Palachuk
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Greetings!
Quick Note: We've added a bout ten events to the calendar. Please keep sending us the events YOU plan to attend. I'm happy to share all in-person events. Thank you.
As for me, I've added Channel Partners in Vegas in May. I enjoyed my last trip so much, I've decided to let one of the casinos treat me to a few more nights. With luck, I'll see you there.
I've also added the SMB IT Pro conference in Melbourne in October. I plan to be there. And, as usual, I plan to add some additional travel to the agenda. Please try to join me in Australia.
People always say, "It's such a long trip." Yes. True. But if you don't live on the border of Mexico or Canada, most foreign travel is a long trip. That's because the rest of the world is OUT THERE, waiting for you.
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I've gradually morphed from consuming podcasts on Stitcher to iHeart Radio. There's no actual reason behind this except that I list to iHeart a lot for morning news and afternoon music, plus some radio stations around the country I can't pick up with a "real" radio.
Anyway, I am glad that Dave's Business of Tech news casts are on iHeart as I always seem to find them on the weekend and just binge really smart techie news until I realize I must be caught up because I'm hearing a story I've heard before.
You might think that binging a five-minute show would be odd, but it's not. You don't need a 30- or 60-minute program to stay attentive. Dave's show is fast paced, very educational, and filled with smart observations.
I encourage you to check it out. Visit the link above or search for "Business of Tech" on your favorite pod-catcher.
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Two Big Events for Your Calendar:
Please sign up today - and join me online!
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One:
Webinar with Asigra - Does Your Backup Protect You Against the Latest Ransomware Attacks?
April 19, 2023
9:00 AM Pacific Time / Noon Eastern
Register Now:
Escape the ransomware attack loop! The problem is that a basic data restore will restore all this bad content along with the good. So, even an "air-gapped" backup is not clean because a restore will bring back problems that are inside the backup. The worst case scenario is that a client has a ransomware incident, recovers from backup, and immediately has a repeat incident.
Find out how to escape the loop. Join us April 19th.
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Two:
Webinar with NSITSP - Cyber Insurance Deep Dive
with NSITSP Vendor Partner Brian Mahon from Insurance for MSPs is putting on a zero-sales presentation on the challenges and opportunities around insurance for IT service providers in the years ahead.
April 26, 2023
9:00 AM Pacific Time / Noon Eastern
The battles over ransomware, cybersecurity, and financial liability are critical. In fact, they are potentially deadly for IT Service Providers. Bad decisions regarding insurance can put you out of business.
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Fresh Look . . . and an Invitation!
We have worked hard to make this a very community-oriented podcast. That means we want to include YOU. We want your wins, your challenges, and even your horror stories and commentary.
Check out the refreshed web site. And if you have something to say to the broader SMB IT community - tell us! We have a form where you can upload you audio. We might edit it a bit, but only to make it fit in our show, NOT to change your perspective or opinion.
There's no charge for this. Just jump in and join us. Details online.
Feedback welcome. Even if you decide to deliver it by email. :-)
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Final Final Note on Vegas in the Spring
Last week, I mention that I bet $50 that Gonzaga would win everything in the NCAA men's basketball tournament. Sadly, the Zags let me down big-time. Yes, they got into the "Elite Eight," but got their butts kicked by the University of Connecticut.
Sigh. The entirety of my sports attention span is now used up until next March. :-)
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I made some notes/comments about the Global Entry and APEC (Asian-Pacific Economic Conference) travel cards. These allow you to bypass customs in many countries.
The resulting conversation was pretty educational.
So, tune in. You never know when someone will throw in some golden nuggets.
That's it for now. Have a great week!
:-)
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You only missed on week. Sign up. Catch up. Join me live Tomorrow!
Optimize Your Social Media Marketing and Advertising
Part of the "Social Media Super-Charge" Series for Small Business
Taught By: Karl W. Palachuk
- Five Tuesdays: March 21 - April 18, 2023
This course covers the key elements of designing, planning, and executing a modern social media strategy in the Small Business environment. We cover the use of social media for both marketing and sales.
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 starts with a business-focused overview of social media marketing and sales. We discuss taking control of your brand and managing how you show up on the web. We present a strategy for creating and managing your overall branding across all social media. Finally, we do a deep-dive into automating and managing your social media presence going forward.
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Here are the specifics of what you'll learn, week by week:
Module 1: Introduction, Overview. Marketing vs. Sales
- The Plan of The Course
- Take-Aways And Goal-Setting
- What is Marketing?
- What is Sales?
- Developing a Funnel System
- Schedules – Manual and Automated
- Which Social Media are Best for You? (Including Reddit, Instagram, TikTok?)
- The Big, Big, Social Media Strategy
Module 2: Google, Apple, SEO, And Managing Your Company's Meta Data
- Meta Data Basics
- Taking “Control” Of Your Google, Apple, and Other Meta Data
- SEO Reality
- SEO Checklist
- Data Maintenance
- Organizing and Tracking Meta Data
- Meta Data in the Big Strategy
- Drill-Down: Choosing Social Media platforms
Module 3: Graphics Overview And Tools Management
- Graphics Overview
- Branding Basics
- A Storage Strategy
- Updates, Versions
- Graphics in the Big Strategy
Module 4 Automating Your Social Media Marketing
- The Benefits of Automation
- Pacing – Creation and Publishing
- Popular Tools
- Free vs. Paid
- Focus on Your Prime Social Medium
- Strategy, Planning, and Tracking
- Hiring/Outsourcing Assistance
- Automating Social Media in the Big Strategy
Module 5 When to Pay for Advertising and Tools
- Free - A Great Place to Start, and Often the Most Expensive Option
- Comparing Tools, Features, and Prices
- Start Small – Don’t Buy Everything You Find
- Get the Most from as Few Tools as Possible
- Avoid Trying to Do Everything and Measure Everything
- Measuring Your Success
- Social Blade
- Social Bluebook
- TubeBuddy
- HootSuite, etc.
- Paid Tools in the Big Strategy
... And More!
Includes five weeks of webinar classes with related handouts, assignments, and “office hours” with the instructor.
ITSP University Certification:
Meets Certification Requirements for:
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
The Killing IT Podcast - New episodes drop every Tuesday
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 660,000 views!
Subscribe today and don't miss a thing!
Side Note: You may not have noticed, but the number of view reported here goes up by about 10,000 views per week. If you're not watching, you're missing out.
A quick guide to my Playlists:
- Total: Over 900 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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SBT Member News hits your in-box Friday. Don't miss it.
And next week - April 6th - we have our monthly Roundtable. April's special guest is Janice Burt.
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Janice is a modern day renaissance woman. She's an author, speaker, trainer, actor, and much more. She is a court-certified Spanish interpreter as well as a yoga instructor and voice-over talent.
Join us to learn a very interesting bit of trivia: Something Janice and I share in common.
Keen observers may recall that Janice was "the voice" for the first edition of the Managed Services in a Month audio book on Audible.
Her most recent book (as far as I know) is Kicking the People-Pleasing Habit. We'll talk to her about her six-step approach to kicking this habit, and lots of other fun stuff.
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Here's the March Community News video, in case you missed it. April will be post Friday. |
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Look! It's Cloud.
My photography does not do justice here, but I loved the effect in real life.
This is on the ceiling in Terminal 3 in Las Vegas (the International Terminal). It looks like pieces of metal screen (think screen door), hanging from the ceiling. I liked the effect, especially since I spent five minutes looking up at the "clouds."
:-)
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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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March
Aruba Networks
March 23-28
Las Vegas
IWCE Expo
March 27-30
Las Vegas, NV
Enterprise Connect
March 27-30
Kissimmee, FL
Nerdio Training Camp
March 28-29
Tampa, FL
James Kernan's Millionaire Mastermind Quarterly
March 30-31
Orlando, FL
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April
ItaliaSec: IT Security Conference
April 4-5, 2023
Rome, Italy
The IT Sales And Marketing Boot Camp
April 11-14, 2023
Nashville, TN
HIMSS
April 17-21
Chicago, IL
ASCII Edge 2023
April 19 & 20
Dallas, TX
CyberSecurity Expo
April 20, 2023
Bristol, UK
Kaseya Connect IT Global
April 24-27, 2023
Las Vegas, NV
RSA Conference
Apr. 24-27, 2023
San Francisco, CA
TECHSPO New York
Apr 27-28, 2023
New York City, NY
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May
Channel Partners
May 1-4
Las Vegas, NV
Join Me Live in Vegas!
IT Nation Evolve
May 1-5
Dallas, TX 75207
Nerdio Training Camp
May 2-3
Houston, TX
SMB TechFest Q2
May 4-5
Anaheim, CA
ChannelPro Summit
May 9-10
Chicago (Midwest)
2023 SMB Online Conference!
May 17-18
Online - Two Days - 13 Hours of Education
Join Me Live Online!
ASCII Edge 2023
May 24 & 25
Newark, NJ
:-)
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June
Cisco Live!
June 4-8, 2023
Las Vegas, NV
IT Nation Secure
June 5-7, 2023
Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center
Orlando, FL
Nerdio Training Camp
Jun 7-8
Las Vegas, NV
ChannelPro Summit
June 7-8
San Jose, CA (West Coast)
Pax8 Beyond
June 11-13
Denver, CO
IT Nation Sales and Service Leaders
June 12-16, 2023
Denver, CO
Nerdio Training Camp
June 20-21
New York, NY
Infosecurity Europe
June 20-22, 2023
London, England
ASCII Edge 2023
June 21 & 22
Tampa, FL
James Kernan's Millionaire Mastermind Quarterly
June 29-30
Denver, CO
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July
ChannelPro Summit
Aug. 9-10
Newark, NJ (Northeast)
ASCII Edge 2023
July 12 & 13
Columbus, OH
CyberSecurity Expo
July 13, 2023
Manchester, UK
:-)
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August
IT Nation Evolve Business Leaders
August 7-11, 2023
Denver, Colorado
ASCII Edge 2023
August 30 & 31
Toronto, Canada
:-)
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September
ChannelPro Summit
Sept. 6-7
Boston (New England)
ASCII Edge 2023
September 20 & 21
Chicago, IL
James Kernan's Millionaire Mastermind Quarterly
Sept 28-29
Omaha, NE
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October
ChannelPro Summit
Oct. 10-11
Atlanta (Southeast)
Acronis #Cyberfit Summit 2023
Oct. 16-18
Miami, FL
ASCII Edge 2023
October 18 & 19
Washington, D.C.
dattoCon 2023
Oct. 2-4, 2023
Miami, FL
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November
IT Nation Evolve Business Leaders
November 6-8, 2023
Orlando, FL
IT Nation Sales and Service Leaders
November 28 - December 1, 2023
Nashville, TN
:-)
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December
James Kernan's Millionaire Mastermind Quarterly
Dec 7-8
Phoenix, AZ
:-)
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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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