Small Biz Thoughts by Karl W. Palachuk

Saturday, February 27, 2021

Harry B Hits the Road: Digital Inclusion Roadshow 2021 Begins NOW

Harry Brelsford passed me this press release over the transom . . .

Digital Inclusion Roadshow 2021 features pop-up computer donation sites to support local nonprofit organizations’ work to end the Digital Divide.

SMBNation, in cooperation with Lenovo, PC Matic and ZPI, kicks off a whirlwind pop-up technology donation event across 5-western U.S. states to support Digituity’s efforts to close the technology gap.

NORTH CONWAY, N.H., February 26, 2020 — Digitunity and SMBNation, in cooperation with technology manufacturer Lenovo, software provider PC Matic and managed service provider Zepol Productions, Inc. (ZPI), launches a whirlwind 5-state Digital Inclusion Road Show that includes technology donation drives to collect working used computers and repurpose them to provide technology access and skills training to people who need it most.

“At Digitunity, we believe that device ownership is the heart of digital equity and the key to unlocking opportunity, particularly for those most marginalized,” shared Sue Krautbauer Digitunity’s Senior Director of Strategy and Development. “Owning a computer is essential in today’s digital society allowing one to participate in telehealth appointments, find employment, engage in training and more.”

Over 55 million people in the United Statesdo not have a computer at home, and tens of millions of households do not have enough computers to allow for concurrent use by multiple family members. Yet around 56 million new computers are purchased each year. What happened to the computers they replaced? There are enough computers for everyone in America. "The need to close the digital divide has never been more urgent, and we here at PC Matic proudly support the mission of great organizations like Digitunity" stated Corey Munson, Vice President, PC Matic.

A computer donation drive is a great opportunity for local residents and technology businesses to donate used, working computers to local nonprofit organizations, who then put the donated laptops and desktops to good use supporting their community-based missions. “It’s in our DNA to support causes such as this technology drive. The tour is a natural fit as ZPI is in the technology hardware maintenance business, so we get it.”, said Scott Lopez, CEO, ZPI.

At each stop on the tour, a member of the Digital Opportunity Network, a nationwide Digitunity community of 1400+ member nonprofit organizations will be highlighted and benefit from the technology donations raised during this event. These worthy organizations’ efforts include distributing computers and internet access, conducting skills training, digital support in their communities.

Site-Specific Info:

(Check for Updates Here)

Feb 26 - Seattle, WA => Supporting Interconnection. https://interconnection.org/

Mar 1 - Boise, ID => Supporting Computers for Kids. https://www.cfkid.org/

Mar 2 - Salt Lake City, UT => Supporting Tech Charities. https://techcharities.org/

Mar 4 - Albuquerque, NM => Supporting multiple organizations, more info to come.

Mar 10 - Austin, TX => Supporting multiple organizations, more info to come.

“Lenovo’s vision as a company is to provide smarter technology for all" said Libby Richards, community engagement manager at Lenovo. “At Lenovo, we continue to partner with organizations like Digitunity to provide local communities with critical access to technology to help solve problems, create opportunities, and transform the way we all live."

The digital divide has been with us for decades and continues to be a barrier to success for millions in our country. Device ownership is the key that unlocks vast opportunity. The purpose of the Digital Inclusion Road Show is to unite local businesses and nonprofits and, by working together, to get computers to everyone in need in their communities.

To learn more about the Digital Inclusion Road Show or to donate, visit https://pages.donately.com/digitunity/campaign/digital-inclusion-road-show-2021

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Digitunity, an initiative of National Cristina Foundation, is leading a national strategy to eliminate the technology gap at scale. We partner, coordinate, educate, ignite and unite people, ideas and solutions so that everyone can participate fully in a digitally-connected world. Learn more at www.digitunity.org.

SMB Nation is a nationwide community of over 3,000 small and medium business (SMB) technology professionals providing critical information technology services in their local markets. Learn more at www.smbnation.com

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Tuesday, February 09, 2021

Position Your IT Firm for Growth or Sale – New Class Starts Feb. 16th

Totally Revised for 2021

Position Your IT Firm for Growth or Sale – 5W19

Taught By: Rayanne Buchianico

Five Tuesdays - February 16 - March 16

Register Now - Only $299

All classes start a 9:00 AM Pacific

As your business matures, you want to take control of profits and your financial house. You invested the time to set up your chart of accounts, align income with COGS for easy measuring, and organize your reports and service desk. You have the information you need; this course teaches you how to use it.

This class provides unique content from a unique teacher! Rayanne is a managed service provider from Tampa, FL. She is also an accountant and an Intuit Certified ProAdvisor. In addition to her MSP business, Rayanne helps I.T. consultants to take control of their finances and understand their own business at a deeper level.

Topics for this class include:

Create KPIs specific to your company
Benchmark against your peers
Detailed cash flow management and measure debt against income
Measure service-level profits and improve profitability
Identify red flags in your business, make changes before they become problems
Prepare your company for growth, sale or merger
Use margins to price your services for profit
Income Tax Planning and Projections
Action plans for success

... And More!

Delivered by Rayanne Buchianico, Accounting Professional 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 and managers. It is particularly useful for the Owner or Operations Manager.

Only $299

:-)

Monday, February 01, 2021

Acronis reports on the "Pulse of the Industry"

Today, Acronis published their Pulse of the Industry report. This is a follow-up to research they reported in 2020. The focus of this report is the future of managed services and where we make money. One un-surprising conclusion is that the move to the cloud is being accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

You can grab the report at: https://www.acronis.com/en-us/resource-center/resource/560/.

Here are a few of my thoughts.

One of the most striking findings is the comparison of actual 2020 sales with projected 2021 (and beyond) sales. The vast majority of respondents reported stable or increasing sales for unified communications, networking, and systems integrations.

Looking ahead, these same respondents project major reductions in traditional onsite maintenance, hardware and software sales, and even remote management. They foresee increases in cloud-based management and managed security services.

One important message in all of this: The source of your revenue is changing - fast.

Here's a personal caveat to all such reports: If you haven't read Flash Foresight by Daniel Burrus, please do so as quickly as possible. Burrus gives great advice about examining future trends. One of him most important points is that we can only find a handful of "future facts" or hard trends. Everything else is a future possibility or soft trend.

From the report:

Click to Enlarge

I reproduced one of the graphics from the report here. I will take the list of current top revenue sources as fact: Network security, endpoint protection, data protection, remote monitoring, and email security. But the projection for the next two years is topped by Cloud/SaaS security and backup. As the report points out, this "top" future revenue source is not even on the respondents' radar right now.

Let me be clear: That's the direction we're going. But to move from not-on-the-list to top of the list in the next two years seems a bit drastic.

The report does make clear what most of us know and the rest suspect: Onsite hardware and software are disappearing fast. And the Covid pandemic is a great opportunity to talk to your clients about finally making the move. After all, many of them have been working from home while their server sits alone in a closet at the office. They understand that they don't have to be able to walk in the next room and touch the server in order for it to work.

Now, take all that and put in the context of modern ransomware, impending regulation, increased insurance rates, and the never-ending battle over cybersecurity. The result is that 2021 will be a great year for MSPs who are pivoting away from onsite hardware for email and storage. Those trends have been around for more than a dozen years, but they will take a big leap this year.

Please check out the report. I would be happy to discuss your feedback. Drop comments below.

:-)

Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Exclusive Resource: Sales in the Era of Zoom

We've added a new white paper in the Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community: Sales in the Era of Zoom by Carolyn Heinze.

2021 is a year for tremendous opportunity for MSPs. One of the challenges is learning to effectively sell without visiting clients in their office. Remote Sales can be conducted by Zoom, Teams, or another remote meeting tool. In this white paper – written exclusively for the Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community – Carolyn Heinze addresses this challenge head-on.

Topics include

Making remote appointments
Getting comfortable with the remote process
Helping clients with remote meetings
Executing the sales call
Follow-up
. . . and more.

She concludes with a “Get Started” checklist and a note on securing the sales call.

We hope members you’ll use this to develop a remote sales process. You might even include a little training on online meetings as a way to build rapport with prospects and give some value before you do a sales pitch. Start by asking the prospect how they’re doing. Be a consultant – not a sales person – and you’ll gain their trust.

Do not put off sales until the pandemic is over. That’s never a good strategy, especially in an economic downturn!

Note: This white paper is 100% free to all members, no matter what level you subscribe at.

Members Access the White Paper Here

Non-members may buy a copy of the white paper for only $1,099. That includes one year of membership, with all rights and privileges.

-- -- --

Carolyn Heinze has covered everything from technology, business, broadcasting, distribution, manufacturing, management, pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, collections and credit, careers, human resources, culture, entertainment, advertising, marketing, fashion, restaurants, travel, architecture and design, house and home, facilities management, energy and electricity, professional AV and lighting, yoga, cowboys and cowgirls . . . and the horses they love.

Currently, she focuses on SMB-centric topics related to IT, operations, leadership, and management, as well as enterprise-level AV/IT.

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The Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community

Karl Palachuk’s Small Biz Thoughts is the premier online community and training resource for IT service providers, whether they call themselves VARs, Managed Service Providers, or IT Professionals. You can find out more about our community at SmallBizThoughts.org.

Remember: Just because you’re in business for yourself doesn’t mean you have to go it alone!

:-)

Monday, January 25, 2021

Why I Give Away Valuable Information

I was bragging a bit on Facebook the other day about how much traffic we're getting on our YouTube channel - https://youtube.com/smallbizthoughts. We have reached 7,000 views per month!

One of my longtime Facebook friends, David, made the following comment:

"Karl, it comes as no surprise to me. Unlike many others in your field, you provide very valuable content with no financial commitment. Many others seem like they are just trying to lure you in to buy their latest training series for $.

I realise you also offer paid for content, but you are one of the most generous contributors to the SMB IT community."

I know that many people are suspicious of "free" stuff - especially if they don't know me. Those who've known me for ten or fifteen years are far less suspicious.

So I thought I'd expose my thinking about giving away information free of charge. It begins with this view of the IT Consulting community (click to enlarge):

Like everyone else, I started my company as "just me." Unlike many others, I had deep experience with very large organizations' IT infrastructure, including managing teams of twenty-five people (and more) to take care of almost ten thousand endpoints.

I grew my business from just me to more than a dozen people. Somewhere along the line, I was one of the early adopters and proponents of what we now call managed services. I went on to advise larger and larger organizations with multi-state operations and over a hundred employees.

Sharing and Growing - in the Community

Along the way, I shared my knowledge. At first, it was online in forums and newsgroups. Then in in-person local meetings. Eventually, I spoke at SMB Nation and many other conferences. I wrote books and toured the world training IT consultants. Sometimes I trained them on specific technologies (e.g., Microsoft servers); sometimes I trained them on my philosophies and techniques.

All along the way, I realized that there are different needs for different kinds of companies.

I also noticed that almost everyone providing services to IT consultants wants to talk to and help the larger companies who have mostly figured out how to be successful already. These folks basically charge for everything. They either charge you - the attendee - or they charge the vendor who wants your attention.

My experience has taught me that the smallest companies need the most help. I learned how to put this in words thanks to my friend Don from Australia. He pointed out that "little guys" like him (he's easily a foot taller than me) can only work on one thing at a time. So it makes no sense to buy into a big training program. He literally cannot send the service manager to one set of classes, the sales manager to another set of classes, and the customer service reps to a third. He is all those people.

At any given time, the types of companies illustrated above exist in some mixture.

New consultants enter the market. Nowadays, these people might be called "managed service providers" - but they don't call themselves that. How could they? If you think you're a computer consultant, the term managed service has no actual meaning. So you're not going to call yourself that or Google it.
Eventually, these folks learn about managed services and try something. But they need to learn more about the business model. LOTS of them try a few things they read about online, but do so out of context. So they don't have much success.
Many are simply never convinced that managed services will work for them.

I want to help these people! My personal mission for my life and for my companies is to help as many people as possible to be successful. For these folks with one-person companies who are trying to figure things out, I have lots of free resources.

Note: About 70% of the contents of my four-volume Managed Services Operations Manual is available for FREE on my blog. And, in fact, I've indexed a lot of it at www.sopfriday.com. So you can get a lot by reading the blog and never spending a penny.

Growing Companies

As companies grow, they face new challenges they didn't have before. And they need just as much help. With luck, they have a little money to buy some books, buy some classes, and maybe buy a membership. Again, my goal is to help as many people as possible.

The biggest challenge for these companies is staying focused on what matters: Profit! All too often, they get side-tracked into discussions about how much revenue they have or how many employees they have. And, all too often, they are not profitable. They lie to themselves about growth and investing in their future. They convince themselves that they'll be profitable tomorrow or next year.

And, to be honest, they join peer groups that encourage these behaviors. In some of these groups, people get together and lie to each just so they don't lose respect from each other. They are barely getting by, going deeper into debt all the time, and bragging it up with their friends.

For these folks, I offer classes and books and membership. But more than that: I offer honesty that no one else is giving them.

Too many people in this business are losing money and afraid to face it. They are digging themselves into debt and growing poor instead of growing rich. I am committed to helping these people straighten out their companies and their personal finances.

I'm not perfect. I've been through some really bad finance experiences. So I'm in no place to judge. But I've also built a number of successful companies and helped a lot of people grow their companies to new heights.

These growing companies can and should be saved by the magic of recurring revenue! As many people have experienced, recurring revenue reduces a lot of stress. First you make $1,000 per month. That's enough know that the system works. Then you make enough to cover rent and utilities. Eventually, you make enough to cover payroll. But all along the way, you have some extra cash flow and the ability to try new things.

In a business that completely redefines itself every five years, trying new things is a requirement. But if you're scratching and clawing to pay the rent, it's much easier to keep doing the old stuff that got you where you are - even though you know it doesn't work.

My for-pay programs are great for these growing companies for one big reason: I provide the training you can assign to the service managers, the sales managers, and the customer service reps. When you're ready to change ten things at once and super-charge the whole organization, our program is perfect. We probably don't charge enough for it. But I'm okay with that. I've never felt good about memberships where everyone paid a different price. So mine is priced for the smaller companies.

Large Companies Need Love, Too

One of the great frustrations of my life is that larger companies think they've got it all figured out. If fact, I know from experience, most of them haven't figured out much at all. I've coached companies of all sizes, and I can tell you, they ALL have the same problems. Companies with two employees don't have good processes and procedures. Companies with a million in revenue don't have good processes and procedures. Companies with fifteen million in revenue don't have good processes and procedures.

These companies call on me from time to time. I always help them out. But they ALL could do themselves a great big favor by just going through my programs and saving about $50,000 in coaching.

In fact, starting last year, I now include my Community membership in my coaching program because I spend so much time telling people to read this chapter or take that class. I didn't want them to think I'm just trying to sell more stuff, so I raised the price and included everything I've ever written.

. . . So you see . . .

I give away lots of information to people who need it the most. They can only do one thing at a time. So a blog post or a YouTube video works great for them.

And I don't worry that larger companies will gobble up all this free information and never buy anything. They are convinced that nothing free is worthwhile, so they pay me to give them the same information in exchange for money. That way they find value in it and feel good about the transaction.

Never feel guilty downloading the information I give away for free. But once you start to grow, I would appreciate it if you buy a book from time to time. Or take a class. Or join my community. We'd love to have you. https://www.smallbizthoughts.org

:-)

Wednesday, January 06, 2021

Special Webinar: PPP 2021 Update with Rayanne

I am pleased to announce a very special webinar for all US-based IT consultants. It features Rayanne Buchianico and Rich Freeman.

This Webinar was recorded:

January 12th

You may view it here, on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh8vWGn6c18

Rayanne is well-known as an instructor, MSP, and accountant. She has been a great source of knowledge for our community on all things related to PPP and EIDL over the last year.

As we know, Congress has approved a "second round" of benefits for small business, with new requirements. Rayanne has been studying this and is ready to give us an update.

Rich Freeman is the Executive Editor at the ChannelPro Network. He has been following the PPP/EIDL story for the last year and is well informed on how these programs have been used by IT consultants of all sizes.

We will start with an update from Rayanne, and information about what the new programs look like. Then Rich and I will join in for a panel discussion.

We will be taking questions from the audience. So prep any questions you have.

Free, of course.

Additional site mentioned by Rayanne: https://abcsolutionsfl.com/resources

Post questions and comments here!

:-)

Tuesday, January 05, 2021

The ASCII Group Announces Keynote Speakers and Content for 2021 Events

This flew in through the transom from my friends as ASCII . . .

The ASCII Group Announces Keynote Speakers and Content for 2021 Events

Bethesda, Maryland – January 5, 2021 – The ASCII Group, a membership-based community of independent North American MSPs, MSSPs and Solution Providers, is pleased to announce the featured speakers for its 2021 Event Series. The agenda for the events showcases an enhanced focus on education, providing attendees with new approaches and best practices on how to grow their IT companies while best servicing their customer base. The sessions will feature more MSP-led education content from its presenters (including ASCII members), bringing even more value to attendees.

Keynote Speaker – Mike Michalowicz, “Fix This Next”

Deemed the top contender for the ‘patron saint of entrepreneurs’, Mike Michalowicz, has helped thousands of businesses use his techniques to better their overall operations. Considered one of the leading business makeover specialists, Mike has authored the ‘Pumpkin Plan’, ‘Profit First’ and will be discussing how businesses can determine what to do, in what order, to ensure healthy, fast and permanent growth with his latest book ‘Fix This Next’.

Keynote Speaker - Robbie Kellman Baxter, “The Forever Transaction”

The Forever Transaction is a ready-to-use game plan for running a successful and sustainable subscription business. A veritable blueprint for success in the new subscription-based economy, Robbie’s approach is a must-do for organizations of any size; it’s a true game-changer. From initial start-up or testing of a new model, to scaling the operation for long-term growth and sustainability, to revamping your culture so everyone works together to optimize customer lifetime value. Learn how to build lasting customer relationships that are the very foundation of business success – today, tomorrow and forever.

Additional MSP peer education and industry speakers include:

"Be Heard! Why Your MSP Story Matters Now", C.J. Ezell, Founder & CEO, Cross Bay Digital Marketing

"How MSPs Can Best Manage & Solve Growing Pains", Stephen Monk, CEO, Noverus Innovations

"How to Build a Winning Client Advisory Board", Vince Tinnirello, Managing Director, Anchor Network Solutions

“Now, more than ever, the goal of ASCII events is to provide the MSP community with actionable content that can be easily implemented into their IT businesses,” said Jerry Koutavas, President, The ASCII Group. “In addition to a relatable keynote speaker, and a showcase pavilion of best-of-breed technology, attendees leave ASCII events with business intelligence they can use.”

ASCII events are the leading conferences in the channel and bring together over 1,500 IT solution providers and MSPs, innovative technology vendors, and key industry thought leaders in a two-day format. Designed for qualified Managed Service Providers, ASCII events are targeted towards those looking to increase revenue, enhance their current business model, and network with peers.

ASCII MSP Connect Live 2021 (Virtual Events):

• Canada - February 24 & 25

• Rocky Mountain Region (USA) - March 17 & 18

ASCII Success Summits 2021 (In-Person Events):

• Bethesda, MD - May 19 & 20

• Cincinnati, OH - June 16 & 17

• Chicago, IL - July 21 & 22

• Raleigh, NC - August 18 & 19

• NY / NJ area - September 22 & 23

• Orlando, FL - October 27 & 28

• Houston, TX - November 3 & 4

• Orange County, CA - December 8 & 9

For more information, visit www.asciievents.com and www.mspconnectlive.com.

About The ASCII Group, Inc:

The ASCII Group is the premier community of North American MSPs, MSSPs and solution providers. The Group has over 1,300 members located throughout the U.S. and Canada, and membership encompasses everyone from credentialed MSPs serving the SMB community to multi-location solution providers with a national and international reach. Founded in 1984, ASCII provides services to members including leveraged purchasing programs, education and training, marketing assistance, extensive peer interaction and more. ASCII works with a vibrant ecosystem of leading and major technology vendors that complement the ASCII community and support the mission of helping MSPs and VARs to grow their businesses. For more information, please visit www.ascii.com.

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:-)

Lori's Awesome Class is Back! Powerhouse of One: Be a Super Successful MSP

Powerhouse of One: How to Be Super Successful MSP (or Solo Entrepreneur)

Taught By: Lori Hardtke, Community Leader and Coach

- Five Tuesdays - January 12 - February 9, 2021

- All classes start a 9:00 AM Pacific

Register Now

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!

"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!

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 Zoom 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.

The Modules:

Unit 1 Week 1 - Vendors/Affiliations/Peer Groups

Unit 2 Week 2 - Selling Services That Are Pure Profit

Unit 3 Week 3 - Sales Process for Website/VoIP/Cloud Desktops

Unit 4 Week 4 - Plans, Pricing & White Glove Services

Unit 5 Week 5 - Finances

Details and Registration at https://www.greatlittleseminar.com/course/powerhouse-of-one-be-a-super-successful-sole-proprietor/

Only $299

:-)

Monday, January 04, 2021

WOW! We really put out a lot of info in the last 30 days. You missed some of this ...

You May Have Missed This . . .

I somehow managed to post 110 posts to this blog in 2020. That's about nine per month. Many people primarily get information about what I'm up to on this blog. Others, primarily through my newsletter (sign up at https://www.smallbizthoughts.com/newsletter/), and still others via my YouTube channels.

So, no matter how you get information, you're bound to miss something. I always put a list of recent activities in my weekly newsletter. But even there, I don't cover every little thing.

Here are some recent Mentions by Others and appearances on various forums in the last month.

Paul Green's Growth Guide. You can see it here: https://mspgrowthguide.com/

- Hard to read and impossible to print. But it has lots of resources!

Paul also hosted Nigel Moore and me on his podcast. This was a great way to end the year. It started with Nigel and I in Santa Barbara in January. So it was great to close the year out with another event with Nigel. This one was interesting to record since Paul is eight hours ahead of me and eleven hours behind Nigel. A truly global podcast!

https://www.paulgreensmspmarketing.com/podcast/episode59/

Acronis sponsored an "MSP Town Hall" discussion with Amy Luby, Dave Sobel, Amy Babinchak, and Erick Simpson.

Replay here:
https://acronis.zoom.us/rec/play/6SQYAFIOTEg0BKNQovMCT9dyGB00EmrX8H8MzswyAJuAb2SqG5iu1D53oce_MMUcO_fxWUlH3iiwvkTv.qfpknaDmYLVCPCr_