Sunday, October 29, 2017

Cloud Roadshow . . . Only THREE Cities Left!

Australia: Done!
Last Three Cities: San Jose - Oakland - Las Vegas


This show is 100% education. No vendors. No sponsors. No promotions. Just education focused 100% on helping you make money with cloud services.


This training will NOT be available at a lower price in a recorded format when the roadshow is over! If you were hoping for that, I'm sorry.

If you want a sense of what we're up so, here's a 35 minute video on making the move from MSP to Cloud Service Provider:




Link to SMB Cloud Roadshow 


But if you sign up for any city, you get access to all the recorded audio - immediately. There are several cities’ audio posted already. More to come.

And you get access to all the downloads, handouts, slides, related member-only videos, and the Facebook group. Also . . . if you decide to attend live, you can attend any city you want.

There are only seven cities left on the 2017 Roadshow. So NOW is a great time to figure out your strategy for getting this material. Here are the cities.


City / CountryDate
San Jose, CA USA

Nov 14th

More Info

Oakland, CA USA

Nov 16th

More Info

Las Vegas, NV USA

Dec 8th, 2017

More Info


Option One: Attend one of the last few events.

Option Two: Sign up and attend "virtually" by downloading content now.

Option Three: Sign up for Las Vegas.

It's the last show. It's cheap to fly from just about anywhere. And you can join a national audience that didn't make it to any other city.

All cities now $599. Hurry . . . before they're really gone!

:-)

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Book Cover - Take Two

OK. Thank you to everyone who voted on the book covers in the last few weeks.

In addition to comments on the blog, I had lots of emails, votes on the official voting page, and comments on Facebook. In all, about 55% prefer the first book cover (with icons; without a guy looking off a building).

There was some discussion the the icons looked old school but I never got good feedback on whether that's good or bad. I also got a few comments that they looked modern and new. I don't know enough about icons to understand the discussion.

Anyway, it looks like Cover A is the favorite. But since I had Sally start working on another design, I thought I'd throw it out there as well.

Personally, I didn't like the dark gray on Option A, so here are four options to choose from:

Option 1 A is the original.

Option 1B is a lighter color (blue). Sally will choose the actual color.

Option 1C is black, which I somehow like more than dark gray.

Option 3 is the totally different cover.

Maybe none of this matters given the cover artwork I see on Amazon - and the fact that my book will probably never actually be in a book store. But I appreciate your feedback!

Please Click to Vote!




Thank you.

:-)

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Self Employed and Need Vision Coverage? No Need to Worry About Open Enrollment

Over at SMB Community Podcast, I posted an interview I did with Al Schubert, Sr. VP and General Manager of the Direct to Consumer Strategic Business Unit at  VSP Individual Vision Plans. You can also view it on my YouTube channel.

Earlier this year, I worked with VSP to create a resource guide about preparing for retirement when you’re self-employed. After all, it’s a lot different from folks who receive a regular paycheck. Download the resource guide at www.vspdirect.com/retirement.


Check out the interview here:



VSP has a national program for vision care that is focused entirely on individuals and their families. They've engaged me to help get the word out.

As a self-employed business owner, you've put in a lot of hard work to get to the point where you are actually looking at retirement. Now there's a payoff you might not have expected: flexibility!

For example, with a VSP Individual Vision Plan, you don't have to worry about once-a-year opportunities to sign up for coverage. You can enroll anytime by visiting VSP Direct to sign up. Enrollment is open year-round and only takes five business days for your benefits to kick in.

Here's the deal: In the 21st century, you can choose to sell your business, take on a partner, pass it on to your children, or slowly downsize. You can continue working at some level for as long as you want. If you truly love your business and your clients, you have lots of options.

As with everything else, I encourage you to move to retirement with intention. Don't just let it happen to you. Choose what you'll do. I hope this free resource gives you some ideas.

Get the PDF immediately at www.VSPdirect.com/retirement.

:-)



Sunday, October 15, 2017

Rayanne Offers Brand New Course: QuickBooks Online for the I.T. Pro

W5-15

Automate Your Accounting with QuickBooks Online and Integrated Apps


Taught by Rayanne Buchianico, Author and Coach
- All classes start a 9:00 AM Pacific

Complete assignments during this course and email them to the instructor.

Topics for this class include:
  • Touch your transactions exactly one time to avoid duplicated entries
  • Make your business audit-proof with automated attachments
  • Understand the purchasing and procurement process in detail
  • Assess late fees to past-due invoices
  • Automate invoicing and collections
  • Customize Payroll Settings for proper gross profit margins
  • Pay your bills electronically from INSIDE QuickBooks Online
  • Match your vendor bills with actual credit or bank payments
  • Set up and record:
    • Deferred Revenue
    • Customer Deposits
    • Sales Tax
    • Hardware as a Service
  • . . . and More!
Delivered by Rayanne Buchianico, Financial Coach and QuickBooks Advisor. Rayanne has been an MSP - managed service provider - for many years and advises MSPs on how to get the most out of their QuickBooks and PSA integrations.

Includes five weeks of webinar classes with related handouts, assignments, and "office hours" with the instructor.

This course is intended for business owners, accounting staff, and managers. It is particularly useful for the Owner or Operations Manager.

Register Now


A Few Details . . .

  • Each course will be five teleseminar phone calls (50-60 minutes each)
  • There will be handouts and "homework" assignments
  • If you wish to receive feedback on your assignments, there will be instructor office hours
  • Class calls will be recorded and made available to paid attendees only.
  • All calls start at 9:00 AM Pacific Time

Thursday, October 05, 2017

Which Book Cover Should I Use? - Managed Services in a Month - 3rd ed.

I've hinted here and there. So here's the announcement: The 3rd Edition of Managed Services in a Month will be out in December.

It will have TEN new chapters and is truly the complete guide to managed service. In fact, if the title "Managed Services in a Month" hadn't already been the best selling managed services book on Amazon for almost ten years, I would change the title to The Complete Guide to Managed Service.
:-)

Right now, the book is going through proofreading and layout.

And of course we need a book cover. I asked my graphic pro Sally Galli to come up with a few designs. Unfortunately, I like them both. I do have my own thoughts on both, but I want to hear what YOU think.



After all, if you're reading this blog, you're the audience, right?

Here's how you can help me pick a book cover. Choose your preference (A or B) and any comments about changes you recommend.

Fill out the official survey here.


The survey does NOT ask for your contact information. The only required question is which cover your prefer.

Or you can just email me - [email protected] with your preference.

Thank you for your feedback!

:-)

Wednesday, October 04, 2017

New Podcast from Auvik - with Richard Tubb (and Me)

Ta-DAAAA!

I am happy to announce that Mr. Richard Tubb and I have teamed up to provide a "What's Going On?" segment on Auvik's new podcast. The new podcast is called Frankly MSP.

You can get instant access to the podcast (Episode One) on YouTube here:


Auvik announced the podcast Tuesday on their blog at https://www.auvik.com/media/blog/tech-podcast-msp/.

The podcast will also be available on iTunes, of course.


A Few Details . . .

In Episode One, Richard and I talk about password policies, creepy artificial intelligence, connecting Alexa to your ticketing system, and more.

Then host Jennifer Tribe interviews Kevin Royalty (Total Care Computer Consulting, Cincinnati) about expanding your offerings by partnering with other technician who have specialty offerings.

After that, Auvik is planning two more episodes immediately to kick off their new podcast.

Please check it out. Subscribe on iTunes!

:-)