tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-223113642022-07-18T01:55:10.116-07:00Small Biz Thoughts by Karl W. PalachukA blog for Small Business IT Consultants and the vendors who serve them. It contains Opinions on business success, News in the consulting community, and Information on what I'm up to.<br>All material Copyright (c) 2006-2022 by Karl W. Palachuk unless otherwise noted.Karl W. Palachukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10854725002875547297noreply@blogger.comBlogger2122125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-46066643026642684972022-07-15T12:52:00.000-07:002022-07-15T12:52:32.695-07:00Heads Up, PayPal Users!<p>Per the PayPal "Changes" Page . . . .</p><p><a href="https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/ua/upcoming-policies-full" target="_blank">https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/ua/upcoming-policies-full</a></p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/ua/upcoming-policies-full" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1411" data-original-width="1500" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8hgdmGdJAnOCE5d--9KXI4VzMyo-ibhk79DQXKTVtq_1nxO5tmy3USm7CyohCyW0e8VEcPQM7YBjioimP7BRN8KenmsYH1tKQ0cL1GEVWjjNqYAtG2rGPkkU1UNsaCxbw-kGNn9p-OFp5SFKHVysZ_ZuExpoCkBOMxxc2RLKdk2MUdSy_hRE/s320/PayPal%20store.png" width="320" /></a></b></div><b><br />Effective July 28, 2022:</b><p></p><p>- U.S. business accounts will not be able to receive personal transactions from U.S. PayPal accounts.</p><p>- U.S. PayPal accounts will not be able to send personal transactions to U.S. business accounts.</p><p>- The rate for the “Send/Receive Money for Goods and Services” payment type will be 2.99% (with no fixed fee). This pricing change will result in fee increases for some transactions. You can preview the Merchant Fees page that will be effective on July 28, 2022, following such changes.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>What this means for you business:</b></p><p>If you pay US (Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community, ITSP University, etc.), be aware: U.S. PayPal accounts will not be able to send personal transactions to U.S. business accounts. I'm sure this has to do with regulations around keeping business and personal straight.</p><p>But, to be honest, it's a really great idea to keep business and personal expenses separate as much as possible, even for a small business. </p><p>The rate for the “Send/Receive Money for Goods and Services” payment type will be 2.99% (with no fixed fee). This pricing change will result in fee increases for some transactions. You can preview the Merchant Fees page that will be effective on July 28, 2022, following these changes.</p><p>It might help to go to PayPal now (ASAP) and review all recurring purchases. Make sure you know what might "break" at the end of the month. You can then make alternate arrangements. If you wish to continue paying with PayPal, you'll need to update your account. If you only have a personal account, you may need to set up a business account, and vice versa.</p><p>Obviously, there will be more details. Just be aware that the change is coming. And follow that link to learn more as details are released.</p><p>:-)</p><div><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b>Feed: <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk">http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk</a></b>
All material Copyright (c) 2006-2021 Karl W. Palachuk unless otherwise noted.</div>Karl W. Palachukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10854725002875547297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-39663208139086914362022-07-08T13:32:00.004-07:002022-07-08T13:32:46.413-07:00NSITSP Election Kick-Off Meeting July 13th - Join Us!<p> The National Society of IT Service Providers is holding elections for ALL positions: Every committee position and every board of directors position.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0rc-qprDIqHtFEVq-0drOqF6ywG4bt8vvS" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1200" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ji32WCMDQv6sw5L0SYM3VTa6r7pNQ7WjO7zCKRb5rUflQ4Uc1ujTSk1ejt3qqufgkbWHVS8gCvruR3ozDws5tDB6pau_D9riCmIQKKyGbYo715bXtPZB3lK3RRFxuj8FNAkEKkpq0h-wPVoC5nq0qZdWnTFDfqwC80Gwi7OJRWViGyTM9uQ/s320/NSITSP%20Elections%20green%201200x630.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />Please join us for a live Zoom meeting <p></p><p>July 13th</p><p>9:00 AM</p><p><b><a href="https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0rc-qprDIqHtFEVq-0drOqF6ywG4bt8vvS" target="_blank">Register Now</a> </b>for the Zoom meeting.</p><p><br /></p><p>Join us for an educational meeting and Q&A. We’ll cover the election guidelines, candidate requirements, and the timeline for filing, running and voting.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #272727; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px;">Right now, our Board and Committees are filled with people who have been appointed, with the understanding that this arrangement is temporary. In September, every single position on our Board of Directors and standing committees will be elected by the membership.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #272727; font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 17px;">This blog post will give you some information, but we’re also going to have a general meeting to go through the entire election process and guidelines. </p><p>Everyone is welcome! </p><p><b>Election Timeline</b></p><p>Here’s the basic timeline for our election “season.”</p><p><b>July 2022</b>: Announce elections. Educate membership.</p><p><b>August 2022</b>: Filing period. Professional members can submit forms to file for office. This will create a customized campaign profile page.</p><p><b>September 1-15</b>: Campaign for office. Use our forums to answer questions and promote your candidacy.</p><p><b>September 15-23</b>: Voting online!</p><p><b>September 23</b>: Winners announced.</p><p><br /></p><p>Note – You can start preparing now by writing your candidate statement and collecting a list of your associations, social media links, etc. Basically, we’re looking for the kind of stuff you probably have on your LinkedIn profile. We recommend you compile your information in a Word or text document and then copy/paste into the application.</p><p><br /></p><p>Lots more details . . . in the meeting!</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0rc-qprDIqHtFEVq-0drOqF6ywG4bt8vvS" target="_blank"><b>Register now</b></a>. And please share with your online network.</p><p><br /></p><p>:-)</p><p> </p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b>Feed: <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk">http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk</a></b>
All material Copyright (c) 2006-2021 Karl W. Palachuk unless otherwise noted.</div>Karl W. Palachukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10854725002875547297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-26400811519017242312022-07-06T22:04:00.000-07:002022-07-06T22:04:06.467-07:00Final Call - Attend ChannelCon - On Me!<p><b>MyTie and I are busy packing for ChannelCon - Join Us!</b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.snoball.it/p/I9xl/t" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1413" data-original-width="1500" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQib5NOI-JrE8mqJewQhLTRMJRMUZToEUAeTvE9-2TeQTibxsHZN0YMbXnYfvSHODl6lLy7DBhji3NlPxvfQFN6UEwL8kDuS74bYdScNb6ljGKicQoOEw6g6OW24Juh6fYdE-KbaS1ExFG5hSaQ0Slenq6_-0PnEx1A_pDMfKtc6ynoHU3odQ/w400-h376/packing.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p><br /></p>In case you haven't seen the vendor hall at ChannelCon . . . it's pretty amazing. The one defining factor is: It's a very egalitarian setup.<p></p><p>When booths are "open" to vendors, each vendor picks a table space on a first-come, first-served basis.</p><p>That means that any vendor has an equal spot at a table. All booths are the same size. So a billion-dollar company, a million-dollar company, and a $12 company all have the same size booth.</p><p>But you want to visit OUR booth because we have . . . <b>badge enhancements</b>. And MyTie. Add a few badge tags to your attendee nametag . . . and grab a selfie with MyTie.</p><p>Everyone should attend CompTIA's ChannelCon event. Seriously. If nothing else, register so you can get the content that's streamed and all the related materials.</p><p>Please use the code use the code <b>CC22SmallBiz </b>to register free.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.snoball.it/p/I9xl/t" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="55" data-original-width="100" height="55" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIJgQ7N-VS1WCWimWhoDyLpfNJHVlDVVrOsg_vw7YXYeoCuRCfEGI-QloqYTDnKt_ljsq6DbGnxNd2ZxWSzwT4Dfajk4MGAjxvLK4grfS8NR-qQI3QWW0If0X7EBiVewkzICmtUzukllSH2Qio8jmrwNBpX98K_0V_-E2kpSpe1s75uzsE6Ds/s1600/register-now.jpg" width="100" /></a></div><p><b>ChannelCon is . . .</b></p><p>in Chicago, August 2-4</p><p>Click here: <a href="https://i.snoball.it/p/I9xl/t" target="_blank">https://i.snoball.it/p/I9xl/t</a> to <b>register right now.</b> </p><p>Use the code <b>CC22SmallBiz</b> to register free. Just to be safe.</p><p>Please watch this video with blue sequins:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WXYY-DBzlcA" width="463" youtube-src-id="WXYY-DBzlcA"></iframe></div><br /><p>I am a member of CompTIA and have been on various councils and forums for years. THE event of the year is CompTIA's ChannelCon event.</p><p>This is literally one of those events where it seems like "everyone" is attending. So your Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter will explode with pictures of everyone you know at ChannelCon. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.snoball.it/p/I9xl/t" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="55" data-original-width="100" height="55" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIJgQ7N-VS1WCWimWhoDyLpfNJHVlDVVrOsg_vw7YXYeoCuRCfEGI-QloqYTDnKt_ljsq6DbGnxNd2ZxWSzwT4Dfajk4MGAjxvLK4grfS8NR-qQI3QWW0If0X7EBiVewkzICmtUzukllSH2Qio8jmrwNBpX98K_0V_-E2kpSpe1s75uzsE6Ds/s1600/register-now.jpg" width="100" /></a></div><p>Check out the whole agenda here: <a href="https://connect.comptia.org/channelcon/agenda" target="_blank">https://connect.comptia.org/channelcon/agenda</a>.</p><p>MEET US at booth 517!</p><p>:-)</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b>Feed: <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk">http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk</a></b>
All material Copyright (c) 2006-2021 Karl W. Palachuk unless otherwise noted.</div>Karl W. Palachukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10854725002875547297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-21199566728542314672022-06-29T16:59:00.002-07:002022-06-29T16:59:31.493-07:00Map Your Vendors to CMMC Processes<p>Here's an idea to consider: The next time you get a pitch from a vendor, ask this a simple question:</p><p><b>How does this product/service/solution map to CMMC processes and practices?</b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcle2eIdrM8PTKEsZXN4qkEcgM8PBB47VbOiPLeWusUAAe83FEdBoFkeJ3o-8voj_axwIhntkMmk9RASKTBJbFxDMkiNmEPh_phzP9nibD5O2vBO8jdk3n0Y9QUhG1Lmo3KH7MYi0K3UdXfSpGZjUFitj1DmIaxB6ql0peOLGsndT8-8HDAgk/s1200/cmmc%20vendor%20compliance.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1200" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcle2eIdrM8PTKEsZXN4qkEcgM8PBB47VbOiPLeWusUAAe83FEdBoFkeJ3o-8voj_axwIhntkMmk9RASKTBJbFxDMkiNmEPh_phzP9nibD5O2vBO8jdk3n0Y9QUhG1Lmo3KH7MYi0K3UdXfSpGZjUFitj1DmIaxB6ql0peOLGsndT8-8HDAgk/w400-h210/cmmc%20vendor%20compliance.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />By now, I'm sure you've noticed that more and more government agencies are turning to NIST (The National Institute of Standards and Technology) and their Cybersecurity Framework for guidance on "best practices" for securing technology. See the official description of NIST's Cybersecurity Framework here:<p></p><p><a href="https://www.nist.gov/cyberframework/upload/cybersecurity-framework-021214.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.nist.gov/cyberframework/upload/cybersecurity-framework-021214.pdf</a></p><p>The NIST SP-800-171 standard has been used by government (specifically military) contractors to demonstrate cybersecurity readiness. A few years ago, the Department of Defense created the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) to create standards of compliance so that organizations could demonstrate their "cyber hygiene" as measured against the NIST SP-800-171 standard.</p><p>In other words . . . instead of self-attesting that they are compliant, organizations can demonstrate to outsiders that they are compliant. And BOOM! an entire industry was born around compliance training, compliance auditing, and compliance testing.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>What CMMC Should Mean to Managed Service Providers</b></p><p>Lots of people have jumped on the bandwagon of training and using CMMC in their businesses, and in offering services to their clients. That's great.</p><p>I would encourage you to take another step - and put a little pressure on your vendors. Simply ask the question: How does this product/service/solution map to CMMC processes and practices? See the graphic from the official NIST slide deck.</p><p>How do I map your amazing, AI-enhanced, fully buzzword-compliant widget to the capability domains defined in one or more of the five levels of CMMC compliance?</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://csrc.nist.gov/CSRC/media/Projects/cyber-supply-chain-risk-management/documents/SSCA/2020%20Jan/WedAM1.1_CMMC_Overview_Releasable_Dec%202019_v2.pdf" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWJvlNtKnycrN6yZg241UQf0TNACNPSwZ96YWUkg8VzizT5COx-tVdod0nsZ4KRJRLmRkFtFsGfggGcdd0z6x7TGhakjL4e40cfMo6muvDAcIhNCaHVbcsyP6qYE2T3C7o2EpE12fLER0DhCJAdbJnRDXHZMjMTJBnshwTutwMQuppN2-lHgA/w640-h480/CMMC%20Level%20I%20Domains.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />In fact, I recommend that you build a spreadsheet with each of the knowledge areas and define how each specific product or service helps you achieve compliance in that area. For example:<p></p><p><br /></p><p>Access Control<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>-<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>[Vendor]<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>[Product]</p><p>Incident Reponse<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>-<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>[Vendor]<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>[Product]</p><p>Risk Management<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>-<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>[Vendor]<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>[Product]</p><p>etc.</p><p><br /></p><p>You need to look for two things on this spreadsheet: <b>Gaps and Overlaps</b>. I can pretty much guarantee that you'll have overlaps. These are areas addressed by more than one vendor/product. More importantly, look for the gaps that aren't addressed by any of the products or services you use.</p><p>After all that, you should get with your team and discuss whether you have the right mix. Is THIS the product you want to use to provide THAT compliance? If not, create a change plan. </p><p>Also, make sure you go back to your vendors. Ask then how they map their products and services to CMMC compliance. Ask them if one of their products can fill your gaps. Remember, it might be as simple as using a feature you hadn't explored or didn't know about. Training from your vendors will help you choose the combination of products that you want to use going forward.</p><p>It's easy for vendors to throw up a slide deck and tell you how they plan to make the world safe from evil, amazing, AI-enhanced, fully buzzword-compliant attacks. But more and more, your company's success will be tied to your ability to demonstrate that you provide auditable compliance with a security framework that is truly growing to be a standard in the industry.</p><p>I would love to see every vendor add a slide that specifically maps their product or service to a specific piece of the CMMC security framework.</p><p>Feedback welcome.</p><p>- - - - -</p><p><b>A few sources:</b></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Levels - <a href="https://www.nsf.org/knowledge-library/guide-cybersecurity-maturity-model-certification-cmmc-levels" target="_blank">https://www.nsf.org/knowledge-library/guide-cybersecurity-maturity-model-certification-cmmc-levels</a></li><li>Graphic from: <a href="https://csrc.nist.gov/CSRC/media/Projects/cyber-supply-chain-risk-management/documents/SSCA/2020%20Jan/WedAM1.1_CMMC_Overview_Releasable_Dec%202019_v2.pdf" target="_blank">https://csrc.nist.gov/CSRC/media/Projects/cyber-supply-chain-risk-management/documents/SSCA/2020%20Jan/WedAM1.1_CMMC_Overview_Releasable_Dec%202019_v2.pdf</a></li><li>NIST 800-171 revised - <a href="https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/detail/sp/800-171/rev-2/final" target="_blank">https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/detail/sp/800-171/rev-2/final</a></li><li>NIST CMMC Overview - <a href="https://csrc.nist.gov/CSRC/media/Projects/cyber-supply-chain-risk-management/documents/SSCA/2020%20Jan/WedAM1.1_CMMC_Overview_Releasable_Dec%202019_v2.pdf" target="_blank">https://csrc.nist.gov/CSRC/media/Projects/cyber-supply-chain-risk-management/documents/SSCA/2020%20Jan/WedAM1.1_CMMC_Overview_Releasable_Dec%202019_v2.pdf</a></li></ul><p></p><p>:-)</p><p><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b>Feed: <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk">http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk</a></b>
All material Copyright (c) 2006-2021 Karl W. Palachuk unless otherwise noted.</div>Karl W. Palachukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10854725002875547297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-75854784579724526242022-06-28T11:10:00.000-07:002022-06-28T11:10:05.649-07:00Managing Your Service Board - 5-Week Course Starts July 5th<h1 style="text-align: left;">Managing Your Service Board</h1><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.itspu.com/all-classes/classes/managing-your-service-board/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="375" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL6WsvF7EXWGgXiLgjz9A28Kg13AUrk_MioKMBTCWN1zM0dcJrYVLNnMr50ewPVYWFetm3_DYZE0lUtqUqnsHMYB61QxMnUU0UqO4jHJXXEX5p28oZyJ80vjOGKXTyuj4OWot7x3BVVV2XKIRriM8eRzWpxDusjBnQ9XBFbMN8wY-oCO-Wbq4/s320/5W10-splash.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />5 Consecutive Tuesdays<p></p><p><b>Starts: Jul 05, 2022</b></p><p>Ends: Aug 02, 2022</p><p>9am Pacific - 50 minutes</p><p>Handouts & Resources</p><p><a href="https://www.itspu.com/all-classes/classes/managing-your-service-board/">Register Now - Only $299</a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.itspu.com/all-classes/classes/managing-your-service-board/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="100" data-original-width="300" height="67" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyvMrg2fbZOYOZgZZ1nhHPDHjutVV2YHSJTWhFTYQ0bwuXqXOvlNKkYEEdkAQUbFeVxDTmoQKek5_4KSUPjvcYX9bQeskOPAjbKQHvBb_1opFxaifHinAfygiEl5Lw-ywI4lAdgwPvkx_1BWR233-rRD9MqghQ7dzgigEfN6c0JaHZBq5NVmk/w200-h67/Register%20Now%20Glossy%20button%20300x100.png" width="200" /></a></div><br /><p>Learn how to properly set up, develop core SOPs and adopt daily procedures that make your service board work better than ever.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Description</b></p><p>This course covers the most important pieces of making your PSA (Professional Services Administration) service board work effectively. Your PSA is the brain center of your entire operation.</p><p>Most Managed Service Providers don’t use their PSA systems efficiently. In fact, most of them only use 10-20% of the capabilities of their PSA. This costs you money because you have the tool to run everything in your business more effectively. But if you don’t put the right information into the tool, then you can’t get the reports you need to improve your business.</p><p>This course covers the daily operation of a managed service business – or any IT shop with a service board and one or more technicians who execute the service. It assumes you have a service board or PSA (Professional Services Administration) and a service manager.</p><p>Whether you sell “break fix” or flat fee services, a service board will take your company to the next level – if you use it right. In addition to covering setup and core standard operating procedures, we’ll get into the “nitty gritty” of running a service board and managing the service department.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Which PSA?</b></p><p>I used ConnectWise for four years in my business. Then I switched to Autotask and used that for five years. Eventually, I moved to SolarWinds and used that for more than five years.</p><p>On top of all that, I’ve worked closely with coaching client who have used all of these products. This course is intended to apply to all PSAs. I will point out areas where differences are most obvious.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>You will learn:</b></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>How tickets should flow into, through, and off of the service board</li><li>How to set up the core components of a service board</li><li>Priorities</li><li>Statuses</li><li>Workflows</li><li>Time Estimates</li><li>The most important processes and procedures for making the board work effectively once it’s set up</li><li>Introducing new processes to you employees</li><li>Getting clients to understand the new processes</li><li>Time tracking the right way</li><li>The most important reports you need to run</li><li>Every Day</li><li>Every Week</li><li>Every Month</li><li>When it’s time for client renewals</li><li>Avoiding the biggest pitfalls with service board management</li><li>Building an Action Plan that works</li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Additional Topics Include:</b></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Welcome to the Service Department</li><li>After Hours Work</li><li>On Call and Night Staff</li><li>Managing Internal Administrative Tasks</li><li>Assign Techs or Rotate Them?</li><li>Approved Tools</li><li>Employees in The Tech Department</li><li>Technician Daily Time Management — includes daily work flow</li><li>Time Tracking for Employees</li><li>The Tech on Call for The Day – Managing Daily Workflow</li><li>How to Maximize Billability of Technicians</li><li>Email Rules and Etiquette for the Consultant</li><li>Technician Supplies</li><li>Final Friday Training</li><li>Troubleshooting Guidelines</li><li>Troubleshooting and Repair Logs</li><li>Service Delivery Policies and Procedures</li><li>The First Client Visit</li><li>Guide to a Service Call</li><li>The Network Documentation Binder – NDB</li><li>Response Times – Guarantees and Delivery</li><li>Time Entry and Note Entry in Service Tickets</li><li>Information Sharing</li><li>Service Board Backlog Management</li><li>Daily Monitoring of Client Machines</li><li>Patch Management Philosophy and Procedures</li><li>Setting Up Alerts in Your PSA and RMM</li><li>New PC Checklists</li><li>Server Down Procedures</li><li>Third Party Tech Support – Documenting Calls</li><li>Third Party Tech Support – Rules of Engagement</li><li>Document Pouches</li><li>Service Focus: Monthly Maintenance</li><li>Why We Do Monthly Maintenance</li><li>Scheduling Monthly Maintenance and On-Site Visits</li><li>Checklist for Major Scheduled Maintenance</li><li>The Monthly Maintenance Checklist</li><li>Monthly Single Checklist</li><li>Outsourcing (some) of Your Monthly Maintenance</li><li>Backup Monitoring, Testing, and Management</li><li>Disaster Recovery – An Overview</li></ul><p></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>Specialist Certification Pathways</b></p><p>Meets Certification Requirements for:</p><p></p><ul><li>Management</li><li>Technician</li><li>Service Manager</li></ul><p><br style="background-color: white; color: #0c0c0c; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /></p><p></p><p><b>Course Outline</b></p><p>Unit 1<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Core Components / Building Blocks of a Great Service Board</p><p>Unit 2<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Core Processes and Procedures for Success / Time Tracking the Right Way</p><p>Unit 3<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Implementation and Daily Processes</p><p>Unit 4<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A Day in the Life of the Service Desk / Policies that Drive Profitability</p><p>Unit 5<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Build and Maintain a Well-Oiled Machine / Getting the Details Right</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.itspu.com/all-classes/classes/managing-your-service-board/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="100" data-original-width="300" height="67" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyvMrg2fbZOYOZgZZ1nhHPDHjutVV2YHSJTWhFTYQ0bwuXqXOvlNKkYEEdkAQUbFeVxDTmoQKek5_4KSUPjvcYX9bQeskOPAjbKQHvBb_1opFxaifHinAfygiEl5Lw-ywI4lAdgwPvkx_1BWR233-rRD9MqghQ7dzgigEfN6c0JaHZBq5NVmk/w200-h67/Register%20Now%20Glossy%20button%20300x100.png" width="200" /></a></p><p>:-)</p><p><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b>Feed: <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk">http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk</a></b>
All material Copyright (c) 2006-2021 Karl W. Palachuk unless otherwise noted.</div>Karl W. Palachukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10854725002875547297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-57149846170269267932022-06-27T13:31:00.000-07:002022-06-27T13:31:32.977-07:00Everyone Should Attend ChannelCon - on Me!<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">OK. Good clean fun:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">1) Everyone should attend CompTIA's ChannelCon event. Seriously. If nothing else, register so you can get the content that's streamed and all the related materials.</span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">2) You should use the code use the code <b><span style="color: #351c75;">CC22SmallBiz</span> </b>to register <b>free</b>.</span></h3><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">. . .</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.snoball.it/p/I9xl/t" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><img border="0" data-original-height="617" data-original-width="581" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoxkhysp6jLbWEYBJB4c2Z-lom3Q0ogcmARQV0oGLPl5wyYK3cR5WAVBpA5ldh6tTabeRtq6OprAW-A5DTfr2Q2r0Pc9zJUDS-s2wS_xAiXC3rjvwJqauVRDrIoMgab2bXo3iuW3LMzZAAFEpXF4AQ5mPOaw0sRxSAvKvxnM3h66ZuBeYWKeE/s320/channelcon%20promo06.png" width="301" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br />and 3) There's a bit of a friendly competition. But that doesn't mean I want to lose. So PLEASE use my code and register today.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">See, I got this taunting email today. <b>Sophos</b> is ahead of us and <b>Lifecycle Insights/OIT VOIP</b> is right behind us. We want to be the clear winner by a mile.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">But we need your help.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><b><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">Answer This Simple Quiz</span></b></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Q: Are you registered for ChannelCon in Chicago, August 2-4?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A1: If you said YES, great. Please drop by booth 517 for a hearty handshake and a slap on the back. And consider buying me a beer.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A2: Not Sure. That's okay. Click here: <a href="https://i.snoball.it/p/I9xl/t" target="_blank">https://i.snoball.it/p/I9xl/t</a> to register right now, use the code <b>CC22SmallBiz </b>to register free. Just to be safe.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A3: NO. Well, then you definitely need to register using our code! Click this link and follow the prompts: <b><a href="https://i.snoball.it/p/I9xl/t" target="_blank">Attend ChannelCon FREE on Me!</a></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Why?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I am a member of CompTIA and have been on various councils and forums for years. THE event of the year is CompTIA's ChannelCon event.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">This is literally one of those events where it seems like "everyone" is attending. So your Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter will explode with pictures of everyone you know at ChannelCon. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>If you don't register</b>, you will be very sad. Co-workers will find you sobbing at your desk. Nobody wants that. Please do yourself a favor and register today! </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">On me. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">So SBT gets the credit. So we can beat Sophos and put some distance between us and Lifecycle Insights/OIT VOIP. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">And that means you can <b>attend for free</b>, compliments of Small Biz Thoughts!</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.snoball.it/p/I9xl/t" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://snoball-production.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/5Q1VVBEsmCV5ERKkvKwFXXqiZ4uxXJ.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">Please <a href="https://i.snoball.it/p/I9xl/t" target="_blank">Click Here to Register</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">( <a href="https://i.snoball.it/p/I9xl/t" target="_blank">https://i.snoball.it/p/I9xl/t</a> )</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">And use the code </span><b style="font-family: helvetica;">CC22SmallBiz </b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">to register free.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>ChannelCon 2022 </b>is your chance to get back in the groove—an opportunity to reconnect and reinvigorate your business and your career. ChannelCon serves up a great playlist of information, tools, and networking opportunities. Join other tech innovators and thought leaders live for three days of learning, collaborating, and skill development.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Check out the whole agenda here: <a href="https://connect.comptia.org/channelcon/agenda" target="_blank">https://connect.comptia.org/channelcon/agenda</a>.</span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Be a guest of Small Biz Thoughts</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>CompTIA ChannelCon 2022</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">August 2-4 in Chicago.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">MEET US at booth 517!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://connect.comptia.org/channelcon/agenda" target="_blank"><b>Register now and I’ll see you at ChannelCon.</b></a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">:-)</span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b>Feed: <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk">http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk</a></b>
All material Copyright (c) 2006-2021 Karl W. Palachuk unless otherwise noted.</div>Karl W. Palachukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10854725002875547297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-31402275002305957452022-06-14T01:00:00.008-07:002022-06-14T01:00:00.203-07:00My MSP's Mission and Vision<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfWlrXTlu1sKNXuQUvuldHIK_RBmH1g5tcmqPv-xmvnm0_cAqjdCbIPxXvh6jpjKom69kiCSRK0IVkzWdRoVzLVueBMfJTUQd8gPetTzdiwTmIkVlj6Rx5lfazEbWIlQk7BG_Q7DQ40qdmmM6oyN5Or2QyqBdMI-RauOrbOmi7putL6BVgorE/s1500/mission%20vision%20tiles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1500" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfWlrXTlu1sKNXuQUvuldHIK_RBmH1g5tcmqPv-xmvnm0_cAqjdCbIPxXvh6jpjKom69kiCSRK0IVkzWdRoVzLVueBMfJTUQd8gPetTzdiwTmIkVlj6Rx5lfazEbWIlQk7BG_Q7DQ40qdmmM6oyN5Or2QyqBdMI-RauOrbOmi7putL6BVgorE/s320/mission%20vision%20tiles.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />My Mission/Vision Statements - 1995 to today.<p></p><p><b>We get mail </b>. . . </p><p>Marty asked me a simple question recently: What was my mission statement at KPEnterprises (my first managed service business)?</p><p><br /></p><p>Like most small businesses, my first company was founded with <b>no mission statement</b>. I wanted to make money. I knew I could design and build networks. I knew I could learn new technologies. I knew I could consult on business and on strategy. So I started trading dollars for hours. Of course things evolved over time.</p><p>I founded KPE in 1995. But I'm a reader. So I gobbled up a few hundred business books, and thousands of hours of audio while driving all over town. And within a few years, I started actually working on my vision and mission. (Side note: The luckiest thing that ever happened to me in business is that someone recommended <i>The Emyth Revisited</i> to me when I first started my first business.)</p><p>All that started to come together at the end of 1999 and beginning of 2000. And <i>that</i>, coincidentally, is when I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. So, I was going through a very difficult and extremely painful personal journey while growing my business and getting my arms around a meaningful mission.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Definitions</b></p><p>Everyone has a slightly different take on these things. To me, a vision statement is literally what the future will look like. And the mission statement defines what it takes to make that vision come true. So the two are definitely related.</p><p>Here is the KPEnterprises discussion of Mission from our 2005 business plan. At this time, I was preparing to publish my first book for IT consultants. The company was growing nicely, and had six employees.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglCFAY_X8EdXELlr409yGSW4mPNTmD4qG62TkBkxDPpFJfbY6bwlefy3MB6WklZGuls5RvzDUSYn65sBCpDYK9_pYr_OV2hUUmqjNqLryQp8tCmmxcbUi1pe57frGPPXBWob2yoNSzvcJCa7g9ocq6aOmri7KtbOBNC8DBqPAOiv5xfkqPlwE/s1109/KPE%20Mission%202005.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="1109" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglCFAY_X8EdXELlr409yGSW4mPNTmD4qG62TkBkxDPpFJfbY6bwlefy3MB6WklZGuls5RvzDUSYn65sBCpDYK9_pYr_OV2hUUmqjNqLryQp8tCmmxcbUi1pe57frGPPXBWob2yoNSzvcJCa7g9ocq6aOmri7KtbOBNC8DBqPAOiv5xfkqPlwE/w640-h342/KPE%20Mission%202005.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>About the same time, I laid out my <b>personal values, vision, and mission</b> in the book <i>Relax Focus Succeed</i>. These are essentially unchanged today. The following is on the bulletin board next to my writing/reading desk in my study:</p><p><b>1. My Values and Principles</b></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Honesty, Integrity</li><li>Fairness</li><li>Good Personal Relationships</li><li>Healthy Life/Long Life</li><li>Helping Others</li></ul><p></p><p><b>2. My Vision</b></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>My vision is to inspire success through a balance of serving myself and serving others.</li><li>My motivations are:</li><ul><li>Accomplish things</li><li>Relax</li><li>Heal</li><li>Help my family and other people</li><li>Grow personally and professionally</li></ul><li>Notes on My Vision:</li><ul><li>My vision is not to reach a point and then stop. I want to be the kind of person who can simply continue doing what I enjoy forever.</li><li>I want to combine the “Me at work” with the “Me as father,” “Me as an individual,” “Me as a moral being,” etc.</li><li>I don’t want to be an atomistic, schizophrenic person. I don’t want to behave one way in church and another at work.</li><li>I have goals for the various parts of my life, but they complement each other, they don’t fight each other.</li></ul></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p>Skip ahead a bit. In 2010, KPEnterprises had grown quite a bit. Great Little Book Publishing had been spun off as a separate company (now operating with the dba Small Biz Thoughts). I owned two companies with about fifteen employees operating out of the same office space. We had moved 100% of our clients to managed services and our largest fifteen clients to our cloud "five pack" offering. </p><p>The 2010 KPEnterprises business plan had the following notes on the mission statement:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiULBLdSKWet2We1MHoXOtneqlh4oIqBLC9i4sF2wdMsBSHQOr_ENBDjXYcoetvDP_oBajDCgvuNOYocy_1e4CjfRwntkZ3OA7b6AFyHY4-YZZ2bnb5j5nj1evNhR4ZEBrRsZ-Cw77hlD6RSwTRHf5SNPsShpT14e0wprnn-GOBJubetpgf-H8/s957/KPE%20Mission%202010.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="757" data-original-width="957" height="506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiULBLdSKWet2We1MHoXOtneqlh4oIqBLC9i4sF2wdMsBSHQOr_ENBDjXYcoetvDP_oBajDCgvuNOYocy_1e4CjfRwntkZ3OA7b6AFyHY4-YZZ2bnb5j5nj1evNhR4ZEBrRsZ-Cw77hlD6RSwTRHf5SNPsShpT14e0wprnn-GOBJubetpgf-H8/w640-h506/KPE%20Mission%202010.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>All of which, in case you're interested, brings us to <b>the mission of Small Biz Thoughts</b>.</p><p>My current company, Small Biz Thoughts, runs an online membership community and a training company dedicated to IT consultants. We are also a bit of a "media" company, publishing my books, blogs, podcasts, videos, and whatever else I can think of. And we provide some services to vendors in the space, primarily through advertising or speaking at events.</p><p>We have three W2 employees, including myself. We also have three 1099 contractors who work for us all the time. And, because it's the 21st Century, we have about five more contractors who work for us on an as-needed basis.</p><p>From our 2022 business plan:</p><p><b>Mission</b></p><p>Our Mission is simple and powerful: <b>We help IT professionals to be more successful on the business side of their business.</b></p><p>Ultimately, Small Biz Thoughts seeks to change the SMB IT industry through information and thought leadership. These are accomplished through writing, speaking, education, and activism intended to redefine the industry to make it more honest, more competent, and more professional.</p><p>This mission is built on Karl Palachuk’s personal Values and Principles:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Honesty, Integrity</li><li>Fairness</li><li>Good Personal Relationships</li><li>Healthy Life/Long Life</li><li>Helping Others</li></ul><p></p><p>And Karl’s personal motivations:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Accomplish things</li><li>Relax</li><li>Heal</li><li>Help my family and other people</li><li>Grow personally and professionally</li></ul><p></p><p>And, just for completeness, here's the code of ethics in our business plan:</p><p><b>Code of Ethics</b></p><p>Small Biz Thoughts (Great Little Book, IT Service Provider University, SBT, SMB Community Podcast, etc.) is fundamentally a company designed around the concept of helping others to be successful. <b>We literally exist to help as many people as possible to be successful.</b> To that end, we have adopted the following Code of Ethics to drive our behavior and interactions inside and outside our company.</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>We are <b>honest</b>. In our work with clients, prospects, and strangers, we are committed to honesty at all levels. This drives several elements of our behavior.</li><li>We are <b>competent</b>. That means we know what we’re doing, or we don’t do it. It also means that we are constantly dedicated to learning new things. We are committed to never-ending education in a world that is always changing.</li><li>We only <b>work with people we like</b>. This includes employees, clients, vendors, distributors, advertisers, etc. We treat everyone with respect, both publicly and behind closed doors. In turn, we insist that the people we work with treat us and others with respect.</li><li>We are committed to <b>work-life balance</b>. Relax Focus Succeed. We certainly work hard, but we are committed to giving our employees time to relax, charge their batteries, and then come back to work with renewed creativity and productivity.</li><li>We are <b>fair, professional, and compassionate</b>. This is a bit like the “golden rule” of a service business. We treat everyone (employees, clients, vendors, etc.) as we would like to be treated. We remember every day that we are people working with people.</li><li>We are committed to <b>Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion</b>. Of course we work hard not to discriminate. But beyond that, we are committed to making everyone feel welcome to show up as their whole selves. This approach welcomes a great variety of “different-ness” and creativity to work its way into our daily operations.</li></ul><p></p><p>-- -- --</p><p>Some people doubt the sincerity of some or all of this. I honestly don't care. I believe that people who work with me and Small Biz Thoughts find that we "walk the talk." </p><p>Yes, we want to make money. But our focus is on <b>service</b>, with the belief that money will follow. </p><p>Starting way back in 2000, I have had people who belittle me and my companies from time to time for thinking small and not collecting piles of cash. I've had people dismiss me because I run a "lifestyle" business instead of a business focused on squeezing the last dollar out of every prospect.</p><p>But here's the important piece for me: I am happy.</p><p>When there's no intergalactic pandemic, I travel to five or six countries a year, on at least two or three continents. I live where I want, eat what I want, drink what I want. I have friends all over the world. Almost everything in my life is completely free of stress.</p><p>I jokingly tell people, "If you could be anybody, you'd want to be me." But it's true. After more than twenty-five years of running businesses the way I want to run them, I have built exactly the life I want.</p><p>Many of you have heard me say these words from the stage:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>A small business exists to fulfill the dreams and desires of the owners.</b></p><p>My business fulfills my dreams. And therefore, I declare it a success.</p><p>-- -- -- </p><p>What's YOUR mission?</p><p>:-)</p><p><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b>Feed: <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk">http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk</a></b>
All material Copyright (c) 2006-2021 Karl W. Palachuk unless otherwise noted.</div>Karl W. Palachukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10854725002875547297noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-26435455696675984692022-06-13T01:00:00.001-07:002022-06-13T01:00:00.247-07:00Regulation Conversation: Lessons from the Transportation Industry<p><b>Can IT the consulting industry regulate themselves?</b></p><p><br /></p><p>In the last post, <b><a href="https://blog.smallbizthoughts.com/2022/06/regulation-conversation-lessons-from.html">HERE</a></b>, I talked about some lessons we can learn about industry regulation from automotive repair. In this post, I want to look at some lessons from transportation - specifically, taxi cabs and the Uber/Lyft/rideshare industry.</p><p>The history of Uber and Lyft (etc.) is really a tale of an industry that could NOT be regulated effectively, so the market stepped in with a harsh alternative. But, more importantly, it's also the tale of an industry that refused to regulate themselves.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkGNefX6REBSHJkffCPzBqHJRNN9NYkdc_NK3cacVAxlYHGNpGn63COMEeveOEc8wRgXaCQCPYvjnjbUqEqdrefvljc0jwCg2WvaydAPEFAuJthTNKF77lOKOXDu6ZDo0RlH2y8q6kFxIhcxvMuMaMhemi-4nwZ5dmeZr2xOJkT9T0ohFnVKs/s512/taxi.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="512" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkGNefX6REBSHJkffCPzBqHJRNN9NYkdc_NK3cacVAxlYHGNpGn63COMEeveOEc8wRgXaCQCPYvjnjbUqEqdrefvljc0jwCg2WvaydAPEFAuJthTNKF77lOKOXDu6ZDo0RlH2y8q6kFxIhcxvMuMaMhemi-4nwZ5dmeZr2xOJkT9T0ohFnVKs/w200-h200/taxi.png" width="200" /></a></div><br />For you young people out there, the taxi industry has been famous for over a hundred years for giving horrible service with a bad attitude. Until about a dozen years ago, taxi cabs were often poorly maintained, unclean, unsafe, smelly vehicles. They were better in smaller towns and much worse in the largest cities.<p></p><p>On top of that, taxi drivers ("cabbies") regularly ripped off their passengers. They didn't start the meter, and then over-charged riders. They outright refused to charge the rates posted. They would drive out-of-towners by long, circuitous routes to run up the bill. They pretended that their credit card machines were broken, so you had to pay cash, so the cabby could pretend the fare never happened and rip off their company while not paying the taxes on income.</p><p>In many cities, most famously New York, taxi licenses (medallions) are limited. So drivers or companies had to pay a lot of money for a license. But once they had a license, they were part of a monopoly service. They had very limited competition. </p><p>Taxi prices are regulated pretty much everywhere. And there are lots of regulations. But drivers regularly ignore these regulations because they are essentially unenforceable. Prices are often limited by various schemes. For example, within a certain area, it's one price. If you drive to a different part of town, it's another price. But if drivers believe you're going a short distance, they simply refuse to pick you up.</p><p>Lots of rules and regulations did not improve service. You could virtually guarantee that you were going to get ripped off and have a bad experience when you got in a cab. The only protection you had was experience to arrange payment beforehand, agree on the price, remind them to start the meter, and let the cabby see you map the route on your phone. In other words, you had to be a savvy driver or get ripped off.</p><p>Then Uber came along, and Lyft inside the U.S. </p><p>Rideshare increased the feeling of security. Instead of seeing a "license," the rider got to meet a driver with a name who was connected through an app. There was no haggling about price. You know the price before you request the ride. There's no rip-off because the payment takes place somewhere in the cloud. </p><p>And as silly as it sounds today, the car is clean. It is maintained. It doesn't smell bad. And, on top of all that, you are greeted with bottled water, mints, friendly conversation, and a cell phone charger. The driver takes the route promised and you pay the price agreed upon. And everything you (and they) do is tracked in the app.</p><p>All of the problems with taxis were "fixed" by the market. Taxi services railed against rideshares with a lot of bogus arguments about quality and safety. But rideshare not only fixed the taxi experience, they also improved on it.</p><p><b>Here's the important part: The taxi industry could have fixed themselves, but they refused to.</b></p><p>Government regulation can be (often is) ineffective. Sometimes, industries have to fix themselves. When they don't, the result is both more regulation and a changing market that punishes the bad actors. </p><p>Ultimately, very few industries fix themselves when things go wrong. Bad norms evolve over time. Sometimes, self-regulation helps, but it's very hard to do.</p><p>This is where the IT Consulting industry is today.</p><p>We have a lot of bad actors. I follow a lot of the conversations on Reddit, Facebook, and various forums. I am appalled at the stories I read - but we all know they're true. People create abusive contracts that are probably unenforceable, but clients sign them and never consider going to an attorney. MSPs sign contracts that they don't deliver the services. They abuse licensing agreements. They blame software and hardware developers when the problem is their own incompetence. They abuse their employees and falsify records.</p><p>All those bad actors hurt the industry. They hurt you and all the good, competent consultants out there. </p><p>But consider this: Most taxi drivers were honest before Uber. Most of them did not rip off their passenger. Most of them worked hard for decades because that medallion represented their retirement. In a monopoly market, the cost for a medallion might go up 400%. So drivers often got the equivalent of a mortgage to buy a medallion, knowing it would pay for their old age when they sold it. That market crashed when it became clear that Uber and rideshare are here to stay.</p><p>The reputation of the entire industry was hurt by the actions of the worst bad actors. And, ultimately, everyone suffered, even if they didn't contribute to the problem. </p><p>Our industry is at a critical point. We cannot ignore it. The excesses of the worst actors hurt us all. I suspect we are more like the taxi industry than the automotive industry. Regulation will have minimal effectiveness. And, more importantly, WE can fix a lot of problems before the market fixes it for us.</p><p>Complacent industries are the ones most likely to be disrupted.</p><p>If an industry can regulate itself effectively, we won't find ourselves being regulated from the outside by government agencies that don't really understand what we do for a living. I hope the National Society of IT Service Providers will be the voice of our industry and help us to regulate ourselves.</p><p>Please check out the NSITSP at <a href="http://www.nsitsp.org" target="_blank">www.nsitsp.org</a>. Join today. Be involved in the conversation. And help us address the major issues we face industry-wide.</p><p>Comments welcome.</p><p>:-)</p><p>[ Previous post mentioned is here: <a href="https://blog.smallbizthoughts.com/2022/06/regulation-conversation-lessons-from.html">https://blog.smallbizthoughts.com/2022/06/regulation-conversation-lessons-from.html</a> ]</p><p><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b>Feed: <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk">http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk</a></b>
All material Copyright (c) 2006-2021 Karl W. Palachuk unless otherwise noted.</div>Karl W. Palachukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10854725002875547297noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-14149979490235929922022-06-10T01:00:00.002-07:002022-06-10T17:08:00.447-07:00Regulation Conversation: Lessons from the Auto Industry<p><b>The IT industry is being regulated</b>. "Not being regulated" is no longer an option. Regulations come from many places, including state and federal agencies. Actual laws are a little ways down the road in most cases. But they're coming.</p><p>I thought it would be useful to look at some other industries and how they came to be regulated. One of the most obvious parallels is the automotive repair industry. You can actually look at some of the regulations and tell why they were implemented.</p><p>[Disclosure: I come from an auto repair family. My father and two of my uncles made a living as mechanics. My father and one uncle owned gas stations with repair facilities. My father had a side business rebuilding Volkswagens into custom dune buggies. I have brothers and cousins by the dozens who have been professional or amateur mechanics.]</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc4iEvKVZpoz-ggbDYoZZjXOQhVUsJcbiz00S6MrtFRH55XNPDulX_1pG8gpTIQvbSbt3Gj4-_KxNIhpHxQAV5Y3vVOUMcLkyJGVkugHzwuQ2bNAjMhH3g4SUDdjrCucb2AGExjFpPSiuqjxCZo2lDEahLrE6svp9BbR8FDN4GyoaJDIgYNIE/s512/mechanic.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="512" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc4iEvKVZpoz-ggbDYoZZjXOQhVUsJcbiz00S6MrtFRH55XNPDulX_1pG8gpTIQvbSbt3Gj4-_KxNIhpHxQAV5Y3vVOUMcLkyJGVkugHzwuQ2bNAjMhH3g4SUDdjrCucb2AGExjFpPSiuqjxCZo2lDEahLrE6svp9BbR8FDN4GyoaJDIgYNIE/w200-h200/mechanic.png" width="200" /></a></div><br />If you engage a mechanic today, your experience generally goes like this:<p></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>They look at your car</li><li>They give you an estimate for the work</li><li>You go away and they start working on it</li><li>If something is more complicated or difficult than they thought it might be, they contact you and give you a revised estimate</li><ul><li>You don't feel like you have a lot of options, so you say yes</li></ul><li>They do the work</li><li>You pay the bill</li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p>As with many, many professions, knowledge plays a big role in the relationship. Even if you're mechanically inclined, the mechanic knows more than you. They have updated knowledge and lots of recent experience. So you pretty much have to believe them.</p><p>So honesty is another factor. You have to believe that you have a problem, that it's the problem they identify, and that the fix is appropriate to the problem. On top of all that, you need to believe they are competent. And, if they ever want to see you again, you have to believe that you were dealt with fairly.</p><p>This entire discussion is VERY analogous to the IT industry. In fact, the first legislation regulating MSPs in Louisiana was designed to address the IT version of the situation described above. Consultants (which the Secretary of State identifies as Managed Service Providers whether they are or not) were signing contracts with state agencies and then under-performing or not performing the work as described in the contract.</p><p>See information on the Louisiana law at <a href="https://www.sos.la.gov/BusinessServices/FileBusinessDocuments/ManagedServiceProviders/Pages/default.aspx" target="_blank">https://www.sos.la.gov/BusinessServices/FileBusinessDocuments/ManagedServiceProviders/Pages/default.aspx</a></p><p><br /></p><p>I said we could figure out why regulations were put in place. In the case of the automotive industry, there were obviously lots of mechanics who used their knowledge to engage customers, and then charge them more than they had agreed to. And, in many states (maybe all states), the mechanic can actually place a lien on your car. So if you don't pay them what you owe, they can have your car repossessed or, at a minimum, get their money when you sell the car some day.</p><p>In other words: Unscrupulous mechanics were making huge profits by cheating their customers. The laws or regulations that require an estimate and approval of additional charges has not eliminated the problem, but it has three positive effects. First, it has dramatically reduced the number of bad actors in the industry. Second, it has increased consumer awareness of the problem. And, third, it has created an opportunity for the best, most honest mechanics to promote themselves as super-competent and super-honest.</p><p>All of those things are good for the consumer. And they have raised the bar with regard to competence and honesty in the automotive repair industry. So, these requirements have been good for honest, competent mechanics as well.</p><p>I realize that many people want to treat discussions like this with quick judgments. But the world is a big, complicated place. No matter how much you hate regulation, it's coming. And sometimes, the smallest amount of regulation can make a huge difference - and help us avoid a lot more regulation.</p><p>If an industry can regulate itself effectively, we won't find ourselves being regulated from the outside by government agencies that don't really understand what we do for a living. I hope the National Society of IT Service Providers will be the voice of our industry and help us to regulate ourselves.</p><p>Please check out the NSITSP at <a href="https://www.nsitsp.org" target="_blank">www.nsitsp.org</a>. Join today. Be involved in the conversation. And help us address the major issues we face industry-wide.</p><p>Comments welcome.</p><p>:-)</p><p><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b>Feed: <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk">http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk</a></b>
All material Copyright (c) 2006-2021 Karl W. Palachuk unless otherwise noted.</div>Karl W. Palachukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10854725002875547297noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-11261424130081915212022-06-09T01:00:00.025-07:002022-06-09T01:00:00.204-07:00D&H Adds HPE Greenlake and CTO Capabilities, Creating New Ways For MSPs to Benefit from Consumption-Based Cloud<p>News from our friends over at D&H . . .</p><p>D&H Adds HPE Greenlake and CTO Capabilities, Creating New Ways For MSPs to Benefit from Consumption-Based Cloud</p><p>— D&H Selects HPE GreenLake and Configure-to-Order (CTO) Offering to Give MSPs a Sophisticated, On-Premises or Cloud Model for IaaS </p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAQv8AX5dfiJNfudKlHmVCadzsc1SXdK2qztRaNBYrS7lIeyfJon8iSU8MKRVENzpM-fG595KW_MZ43O9NA-H-T3JPYSAJIQ4uvAEv3BcQvLGKoTjHvRAsecVLDfbZ9eDErphNN2T2LES0pVytFP54SFhLpVsiovGejIpcI6XSBNM0A2dswHQ/s220/dh.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="220" data-original-width="186" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAQv8AX5dfiJNfudKlHmVCadzsc1SXdK2qztRaNBYrS7lIeyfJon8iSU8MKRVENzpM-fG595KW_MZ43O9NA-H-T3JPYSAJIQ4uvAEv3BcQvLGKoTjHvRAsecVLDfbZ9eDErphNN2T2LES0pVytFP54SFhLpVsiovGejIpcI6XSBNM0A2dswHQ/s1600/dh.png" width="186" /></a></div>HARRISBURG, PA – June 7, 2022 – D&H Distributing, a major provider of SMB, mid-market, and consumer technologies to the North American channel, announces it has enhanced its relationship with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), allowing D&H to deliver custom-configured systems based on a wide range of HPE’s software and equipment such as servers, storage, and networking hardware. HPE will factory-assemble solutions based on the end-user’s requirements and ship them to customers on behalf of D&H’s partners, allowing them faster scalability based on a greater variety of non-stockable products. The new Configure to Order (CTO) capability accommodates the evolving demands of end-users in an increasingly complex, modern workplace. <p></p><p>This is in addition to D&H’s continued focus on the built-to-order (BTO) model as a just-in-time offering, optimized for the SMB market. D&H’s investments in its Modern Infrastructure team will provide additional resources to help partners select the right HPE solution for their needs. </p><p>D&H is also now authorized to sell the innovative HPE GreenLake edge-to-cloud platform, enabling partners to accelerate data-first modernization. The powerful HPE GreenLake solution provides more than 50 cloud services for business end-customers, and can run on-premises, at the edge, in a colocation facility, or in the public cloud. This enhancement to D&H’s portfolio allows the distributor to address a wider variety of cloud computing scenarios for partners via the cost-effective XaaS-based consumption model, whether their data requires on-premises, off-site, or hybrid cloud infrastructures. </p><p><b>Expanding Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)</b></p><p>“Our channel partners are working with businesses who are in various stages of digital transformation with unique data needs and dependencies. For example, certain companies might still benefit from keeping business applications or critical workloads on-site, while others could be more comfortable moving those to the cloud,” said Damon Kegerise, D&H’s director, modern infrastructure. “Yet the demand for IaaS and consumption-based delivery is growing, even at organizations that still require on-premises data. D&H’s MSPs can now offer the benefits of HPE’s advanced on-site cloud services to a greater scope of end-customers through a monthly subscription model, allowing them to shift their expenditures from the capital budget to a recurring consumption-based model, and to better accommodate end-to-end technology purchases.”</p><p>HPE GreenLake is currently transactional for D&H customers. As part of a forthcoming phase of this initiative, HPE GreenLake will be integrated into D&H’s Cloud Marketplace, allowing solution providers to build measurable solutions around this versatile platform, which will incorporate consumption invoicing and provisioning capabilities. </p><p>“We want to make it easy for partners to build services and solutions around the HPE GreenLake platform as seamlessly as they’ve done with alternative foundational solutions like Microsoft Azure,” added Earl Greer, D&H’s sales director of modern infrastructure. “HPE GreenLake gives partners a complementary way to deliver cloud services, creating a true hybrid solution. Our Modern Solutions team was created to help resellers, VARs, and MSPs accommodate these scenarios, where a multitude of end-user variables need to be managed and accounted for. Partners don’t have to contend with all these conditions alone. They can leverage D&H’s team to create bespoke, end-to-end solutions for a range of circumstances, across an assortment of end-customers.”</p><p>“I’m excited about the opportunity to expand our portfolio of cloud offerings with D&H through our HPE GreenLake edge-to-cloud platform,” said George Hope, Worldwide Head of Partner Sales at HPE. “The expansion of our partnership with the HPE GreenLake platform will bring a modern cloud experience to our clients, their apps and their data - enabling them to accelerate their time to innovation, insights and outcomes.”</p><p>The expansion into HPE GreenLake with CTO capabilities falls under D&H’s Modern Infrastructure initiative, a sub-category of its new Modern Solutions Business Unit. The unit offers a consolidated team helping channel partners better meet the rapidly developing needs of the marketplace, supporting the deployment of hardware, software, services, financing, and more from end-to-end. D&H will explore the details of its Modern Solutions and Modern Infrastructure offerings, the HPE GreenLake platform and CTO offerings at its Mid-Atlantic Hershey THREAD partner event, scheduled for June 15, 2022, at the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania. Partners can email ModernInfrastructure@dandh.com for more on this category, or visit <a href="http://www.dandh.com/thread" target="_blank">www.dandh.com/thread</a> for event information.</p><p>D&H solution providers can also visit <a href="http://dandh.com/modernsolutions" target="_blank">dandh.com/modernsolutions</a> or browse the distributor’s Facebook and Twitter feeds, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DandHDistributing/" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/DandHDistributing/</a> and @dandh. Call 800-877-1200 to speak to an account representative. </p><p><br /></p><p><b>About D&H Distributing </b></p><p>D&H Distributing supports resellers and MSP partners in the corporate, small-to-midsize business, consumer, education, and government markets with endpoints and advanced technologies, as well as differentiated services. D&H is ready to fill new market needs created by consolidation in the marketplace. Now heading into its 105th year, its vendors and partners can be confident in its ability to provide a wealth of enablement resources, multi-market expertise, credit options, and consultative services. D&H is agile in response to the needs of its VAR and MSP partners, demonstrating resilience through decades of industry mergers and market disruption, overcoming everything from wars and recessions to pandemics. </p><p>The company works to expand the competencies of its partners in areas such as cloud services, ProAV, collaboration, UCC, mobility, esports, digital displays, smart home automation, video surveillance, digital imaging, and server networks across a range of markets. Its value proposition includes highly lauded training opportunities and partner engagement events, dedicated Solutions Specialists, certifications, professional marketing resources, and an expanding digital Cloud Marketplace. </p><p>The distributor is headquartered in Harrisburg, PA, in the U.S. and Brampton, Ontario, in Canada with warehouses in Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Fresno, CA; and Vancouver, BC, Canada. Call D&H at (800) 877-1200, visit <a href="http://www.dandh.com" target="_blank">www.dandh.com</a>, or follow the distributor’s Facebook and Twitter feeds, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DandHDistributing/" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/DandHDistributing/</a> and @dandh</p><p>#</p><div>:-)</div><div><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b>Feed: <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk">http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk</a></b>
All material Copyright (c) 2006-2021 Karl W. Palachuk unless otherwise noted.</div>Karl W. Palachukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10854725002875547297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-19383621159320905822022-06-08T11:08:00.000-07:002022-06-08T11:08:32.004-07:00Aite-Novarica Group Report Explores New Managed Security Solution for MSPs Seeking Growth<p>I received this press release from my friends over at Field Effect . . .</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWzqTS_Tez4JJ97i-atiKrjHzgjQYPnMiLmo7zdP9-qGGqDHwzW6nTguJs2P0Rm8le9zVSCLjH31VlNWaZZWpstJX2CxnK1--QfWZm1u7cv9kh9MmNq-bvFklK4V1YfNYhF6J6bAt1HwuxETtLNw2QXiqsob69m--LXS-FSOKl0u44PT19PJ8/s534/Field%20Effect%20Logo%20-%20Colour,%20Dark.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="163" data-original-width="534" height="98" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWzqTS_Tez4JJ97i-atiKrjHzgjQYPnMiLmo7zdP9-qGGqDHwzW6nTguJs2P0Rm8le9zVSCLjH31VlNWaZZWpstJX2CxnK1--QfWZm1u7cv9kh9MmNq-bvFklK4V1YfNYhF6J6bAt1HwuxETtLNw2QXiqsob69m--LXS-FSOKl0u44PT19PJ8/w320-h98/Field%20Effect%20Logo%20-%20Colour,%20Dark.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><b>Aite-Novarica Group Report Explores New Managed Security Solution for MSPs Seeking Growth</b></p><p>The firm found MSPs see tremendous growth in managed security services with a hybrid MDR solution.</p><p><br /></p><p>OTTAWA, ON, June 2, 2022 – Global advisory firm Aite-Novarica Group has published a white paper exploring how MSPs are differentiating their managed security services with the right cyber security solutions and partners. The report, Hands-Free Cybersecurity for SMEs: A Roadmap to MSP Growth, found that hybrid MDR—a solution that protects the entire IT environment—is the best go-to-market strategy for small and mid-sized MSPs building a managed security service. </p><p>“Managed security is table stakes in differentiating your MSP business and finding success in a crowded market. However, between changing client expectations and an expanding threat landscape, MSPs are stretched thin,” said Tari Schreider, Strategic Advisor for Aite-Novarica Group. “With the North American MDR market estimated to exceed US$5 billion by 2025, hybrid MDR is the key to unlocking new growth potential.”</p><p>The report, commissioned by global cybersecurity company Field Effect, is based on discussions with five North American MSPs about the impact hybrid MDR has on business growth. </p><p>“MSPs need a hands-free MDR solution that makes it easy to market, sell, and deliver their managed security service—and Field Effect’s Partner Momentum Program fills that need,” said Matt Holland, Field Effect’s Founder and CEO. “Our partners are able to offer their clients the industry’s most complete cyber security solution, priced and built for smaller businesses, with 24x7 access to our team’s expertise.”</p><p>Aite-Novarica Group has made this white paper publicly available. To learn more about their research, methodology, and findings, download the full report here: <a href="https://get.fieldeffect.com/aite-novarica-msp-growth-white-paper/" target="_blank">https://get.fieldeffect.com/aite-novarica-msp-growth-white-paper/</a>.</p><p>Field Effect is also hosting a complementary webinar on June 8, 2022, at 11 am EDT. Tari Schreider will speak with executives from two MSPs—Arrowhead Technologies and OT Group—to explore how adding a hybrid MDR solution increased their revenues, simplified operations, and accelerated growth. Register for the live webinar here: <a href="https://get.fieldeffect.com/hands-free-cybersecurity-webinar-sign-up/" target="_blank">https://get.fieldeffect.com/hands-free-cybersecurity-webinar-sign-up/</a>.</p><p>###</p><p><b>About Field Effect</b></p><p>Field Effect, a global cyber security company, is revolutionizing the industry by bringing advanced cyber security solutions and services to businesses of all sizes. After years of research and development by the brightest in the business, we have pioneered a holistic approach to cyber security. Our complete Managed Detection and Response (MDR) solution, flexible simulation-based training platform, and expert-led professional services form a unified defense that results in superior security, less complexity, and immediate value. We build solutions that are sophisticated, yet easy to use and manage, so every business owner can get the hands-free cyber security they expect and the sleep-filled nights they deserve. </p><p><br /></p><p><b>About Aite-Novarica Group</b></p><p>Aite-Novarica Group is an advisory firm providing mission-critical insights on technology, regulations, strategy, and operations to hundreds of banks, insurers, payments providers, and investment firms—as well as the technology and service providers that support them. Comprising former senior technology, strategy, and operations executives as well as experienced researchers and consultants, our experts provide actionable advice to our client base, leveraging deep insights developed via our extensive network of clients and other industry contacts.</p><p>:-)</p><p><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b>Feed: <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk">http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk</a></b>
All material Copyright (c) 2006-2021 Karl W. Palachuk unless otherwise noted.</div>Karl W. Palachukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10854725002875547297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-74799425699063455982022-06-06T07:33:00.002-07:002022-06-06T07:33:42.307-07:00Attend ChannelCon FREE on Me! <p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">I am a member of CompTIA and have been on various councils and forums for years. THE event of the year is </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;"><b>CompTIA's ChannelCon</b> event.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">Now you can attend for free, compliments of Small Biz Thoughts!</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.snoball.it/p/I9xl/t" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://snoball-production.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/5Q1VVBEsmCV5ERKkvKwFXXqiZ4uxXJ.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-size: large;">Please <b><a href="https://i.snoball.it/p/I9xl/t" target="_blank">Click Here to Register</a></b>.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">( <a href="https://i.snoball.it/p/I9xl/t">https://i.snoball.it/p/I9xl/t</a> )</span></p> <h5 style="background: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-weight: normal; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">And use the code</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"> </span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="color: #3ab54a;">CC22SmallBiz</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"> to register free.</span></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></h5> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>ChannelCon 2022 </b>is your chance to get back in the groove—an opportunity to reconnect and reinvigorate your business and your career. ChannelCon serves up a great playlist of information, tools, and networking opportunities. Join other tech innovators and thought leaders live for three days of learning, collaborating, and skill development.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Check out the whole agenda here: <a href="https://connect.comptia.org/channelcon/agenda" target="_blank">https://connect.comptia.org/channelcon/agenda</a> (still under construction, so check back).</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Be a guest of Small Biz Thoughts</b></p><p class="MsoNormal">CompTIA ChannelCon 2022</p><p class="MsoNormal">August 2-4 in Chicago.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>MEET US at booth 517!</b></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.snoball.it/p/I9xl/t" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="100" data-original-width="300" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgveYgbAFbeIy3gxfAx1zZ0kGf4GDpIJTIomZQqSA_lq-k1uPpO1vUZ2rX2MG3EH7eZv_lvsBCtseqy2dtXIhA9Yq0edIozHudqDlme0COmmABpL1SUiWjmF98T8e_-3liXKLBXklIRLH3HrNiXK23QsOpUvf5D_27PafB0XoBM3dfAOmna4k/s1600/Register%20Now%20Glossy%20button%20300x100.png" width="300" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Register now and I’ll see you at ChannelCon.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">:-)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b>Feed: <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk">http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk</a></b>
All material Copyright (c) 2006-2021 Karl W. Palachuk unless otherwise noted.</div>Karl W. Palachukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10854725002875547297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-13879166737587454442022-06-04T09:21:00.000-07:002022-06-04T09:21:46.167-07:00All Games in Business are "The Long Game"<p> I was re-listening to Mitch Joel's book <b>Six Pixels of Separation</b> recently (via Audible). Early on, he throws out an important statement and then scurries on to make a bigger point. But the key statement really struck a chord with me: Effective marketing takes time.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhCufoPE5JHeebdkH9RRy1LroSrdt-UAZ6N469xaDlg3j9ndru66Um3FSzvrLbkZ45_R15Fv7LiuWiytV5gSJ9svQtcvOtUEsFcWJPeJ5OKTZDVm52ym1PYhItl_xOJtPOiLbv6fKDSR5TdL3e7o2mmRm-dWU242KKoGoQ9i3kyxUFbJWAtHI/s1500/tortoise%20hare.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="503" data-original-width="1500" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhCufoPE5JHeebdkH9RRy1LroSrdt-UAZ6N469xaDlg3j9ndru66Um3FSzvrLbkZ45_R15Fv7LiuWiytV5gSJ9svQtcvOtUEsFcWJPeJ5OKTZDVm52ym1PYhItl_xOJtPOiLbv6fKDSR5TdL3e7o2mmRm-dWU242KKoGoQ9i3kyxUFbJWAtHI/w400-h134/tortoise%20hare.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />Okay. I know that sounds obvious. So why did it stand out to me?<p></p><p>Well . . . A lot of people come to me for advice. And very often they have one thing in common: <b>They're in a hurry.</b></p><p>- How do I get a new client today?</p><p>- Where can I spending marketing dollars to make the phone ring today?</p><p>- How can I buy ads that get fast results?</p><p>- How do I turn around my company right now, because we've been losing money for years?</p><p>Similarly, I ask people why they invest in SEO schemes that cannot possible lead to sales (see <a href="https://www.cheekysalescoach.com/2021/02/the-truth-about-seo-cheeky-sales-coach-episode-15/">The Truth about SEO</a>). The answer is that they want to get people to click on their site or visit their web page . . . and the assumption is that those people will magically become clients.</p><p>I know everyone's in a hurry all the time. It's the way of the world. But success ultimately consists of <b>consistent behavior repeated forever</b>. With rare exceptions, no one becomes "suddenly successful." Success takes skill and experience. Both of those take time.</p><p>You may have heard the advice:</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b>The best time to start building your marketing program is five years ago.</b></div><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b>The second best time is right now!</b></div></b></h3><p><br /></p><p>And it's not just true for marketing. Building a successful business takes time. Building a good culture takes time. Building a brand takes time. Building good client relationships takes time. Building a great team takes time. </p><p>The really great news is - <b>It's never too late to start</b>. Here are a few things to remember as you proceed.</p><p><b>First, plan for the long haul</b>. In other words, plan for years of work ahead. Some people find that overwhelming or even depressing. But it's reality. You have to do what you can do today and this week. But you also have to have the long view. </p><p>This is literally what a vision and mission are about. What will your successful future look like? That's your vision. How will you get there? That's your mission.</p><p>Most businesses can survive without a vision or mission. In fact, most do. But there's a big difference between survive and thrive. Very few businesses thrive without a vision or mission. And that brings us back to the long haul: The sooner you start working on the long-term goals, the sooner they can come true.</p><p><b>Second, do not treat exceptions like the rule</b>. Time and time again, people like to argue about everything by pointing to some example that's far from normal. I often hear small business owners argue that they have to answer their phone at all hours of the day and night because a system might fail at midnight on Sunday. My answer is always, "If you build systems that fail all the time, you are probably in the wrong business." </p><p>In reality, any given business-class system might have one important problem in a year. With luck, it's less. But you should not operate your entire business as if the world is about to end.</p><p>The same is true with marketing. Some one at some event told the story of advertising on Google or Twitter or Facebook and getting three new clients in a month. First of all, that story was probably a vast exaggeration. But, second, it was at least exceptional. Yes, in a normal distribution, someone is in the top one percent of performers. But 99% are not! In fact, by definition, 98% are within two standard deviations from the middle.</p><p><b>Third, the best way to approach the long haul is with a wide angle lens</b>. In other words, consider "marketing" or "team building" very broadly. You can do a large variety of things for team building. You can give your team opportunities to get to know each other; you can create a working environment that enhances the team aspect of work; you can put out an internal newsletter. But if you <i>something</i> all the time, you will eventually have a team with self identity.</p><p>The same is true with marketing. You might do some email campaigns, some postal campaigns, hold in-person events, or sponsor a local recycling drive. Each of these is different, but they all contribute to doing <i>something </i>to promote your business.</p><p>Big corporations can spend hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars on each of these. And they might even be able to measure short-term results. But small companies can't do either of those things. The programs are smaller, they take lots of time, and the results are only measures after years of consistent effort.</p><p><b>Fourth, everything takes time</b>. Lots of time. You need to be patient with yourself, your team, your marketing, etc. Be glad with positive results, but remember that "the game" is a lot more like Cricket than miniature golf: It takes a LONG time, and no one really understands the rules.</p><p>The reality is, we all know that it takes years to build great clientele, great businesses, great marketing, etc. That is, we know it intellectually, but we often act as if we'll suddenly have everything we need. The way I look at it is:</p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Yes, you might win the lottery,</b></div><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b>but you should have a retirement fund just in case.</b></div></b><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Personally, I enjoy the never-ending planning that comes with business. I enjoy trying new things. I keep what works and discard what doesn't. I constantly push forward on marketing, sales, team building, and client relationships. With luck, none of these will ever end.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The bottom line is: Relax - and start building your future today. You need to set and maintain a <b>sustainable pace</b>. You cannot run a series of non-stop marathons. You physically cannot. But you can walk, jog, or run for an hour every day. For some of you that's a mile or two and for some it's ten miles. In either case, <i>your </i>pace will be sustainable for years.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The tortoise wins the race because it goes at a sustainable pace.</p><p style="text-align: left;">:-)</p><p><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b>Feed: <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk">http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk</a></b>
All material Copyright (c) 2006-2021 Karl W. Palachuk unless otherwise noted.</div>Karl W. Palachukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10854725002875547297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-43717118105382521972022-05-29T09:23:00.000-07:002022-05-29T09:23:44.423-07:00Fun New YouTube Features<p>My daughter made an interesting observation about social media yesterday. We were talking about how TikTok is currently for "younger" people while Facebook is more for "older" people. But someday, TikTok will be for old people - because all those smarty-pants kids are going to grow up!</p><p>My daughter's observation was that YouTube will survive through all of this! Why? Very simply, YouTube continues to be everything to everyone. You can have six-second videos, or three-hour documentaries. In addition, they are a medium for broadcasting. The closest analogy is to old-school broadcast TV - in which YouTube is the atmosphere through which every station broadcasts.</p><p>There are several ongoing debates around social media that revolve around the question: Are you a <b>content creator </b>or a <b>platform?</b> The answer to that question affects discussions of regulation and liability. On this question, YouTube is very solidly a platform on which millions of people create content.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMCYjoabW3rNf_Vve0i1IdUX5VjL30adb_oWmTDswG7XmSFooJVznhZCd63D9Bnx6hvKSX_A_DzBdK4JRDkhkm2Wy3-8azTnetE2OT7hbsa6RcXEDlKoc99zTXVY8GkU5Ww1xq3Yr3PNnOZYAbaHEmbyKo0NnHNy3XhBw16CVZR1L5xQQNU3o/s996/YT%20%20features.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="676" data-original-width="996" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMCYjoabW3rNf_Vve0i1IdUX5VjL30adb_oWmTDswG7XmSFooJVznhZCd63D9Bnx6hvKSX_A_DzBdK4JRDkhkm2Wy3-8azTnetE2OT7hbsa6RcXEDlKoc99zTXVY8GkU5Ww1xq3Yr3PNnOZYAbaHEmbyKo0NnHNy3XhBw16CVZR1L5xQQNU3o/w400-h271/YT%20%20features.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>New YouTube Features</b></h3><p>Like all social media, YouTube rolls out new features from time to time. On a few occasions, they make a big deal about it. Other times, they just quietly show up. And some times, they only show up for some people. So you might tell a friend to try something, but they don't see it yet.</p><p>Here are three new features you may have missed . . . because they snuck up while you weren't looking. I am presenting them from least-cool to most cool:</p><p><b>1. Download</b>. You can now download almost any YT video. Even old videos are now part of the new common license. This one seems odd to me. Just like downloading all the music on earth, it seems a bit odd to download videos when I know they're going to be on YouTube anyway. I'm sure there's a rare use case, but I don't expect to use this feature much.</p><p><b>2. Thanks</b>. Here's a fun one. I think this was a response to Patreon. For some channels, you can click the Thanks button and make a donation to the creator. Just be aware that YouTube keeps 30% as a finders fee/transaction cost. So your $2.00 donation becomes a $1.40 payout. Still, that's a $1.40 the creator didn't have before.</p><p><b>3. Clip</b>. This one is pretty cool. You can now share a key clip from a video. Here's an example. I love the channel <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/smartereveryday" target="_blank">Smarter Every Day</a></b>. And one of my favorite themes on that channel is the <a href="http://www.princerupertsdrop.com/" target="_blank">Prince Rupert's Drop</a>. Destin, the creator, just added another video. And just so you can see how cool it is, I've created this clip for you: </p><p><a href="https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxhUrEWKUh5FfLWQoJ4vro6iq2Jy9YxqVY" target="_blank">https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxhUrEWKUh5FfLWQoJ4vro6iq2Jy9YxqVY</a></p><p>NOTE: Blogger and YouTube are both owned by Google, but Blogger doesn't yet have a way to post a thumbnail of a YT clip. So it's either the whole video or nothing. That's why I just posted the link. Oh well.</p><p>Basically, what you're looking at is a specific kind of exploding glass trapped inside Epoxy resin, filmed at more than 250,000 frames per second. And, of course, there's science behind all this.</p><p>When you click on that clip, it puts my title on the tab at the top of the browser and then plays the short clip in a loop. Over on the right is a big button to Watch the Full Video.</p><div>Anyway: I think the Clip Feature will become very popular. </div><p><b>4. Save</b>. This is my favorite new feature. Unlike download, I expect that I will use "Save" a lot. When you click the Save option, you are given a list of playlists to add the video to. For example, </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Watch later</li><li>Any playlist you've created on your account</li><li>Create a New Playlist</li></ul><div>I created a new playlist just entitled Karl Favorites. Once you create a playlist, you can set it to be completely private, public, or unlisted. With unlisted, anyone who has the link can see your new playlist.</div><div><br /></div><div>I imagine this feature will be very handy for teachers of various ilks. </div><div><br /></div><div>And, best of all, I now have instant access to "Walk Like an Egyptian" anytime I want! Here's my favorite clip: Debbi Peterson whistling like an Egyptian . . . </div><div><a href="https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxC5crFi4Hqblz70yzpRnJbMS-g6UsxxNb">https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxC5crFi4Hqblz70yzpRnJbMS-g6UsxxNb</a></div><div><br /></div><p></p><p>...</p><p>Check out the new features on YouTube. Play around. If my daughter's right, this will be the social site that you can count on in the long run.</p><p>:-)</p><p><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b>Feed: <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk">http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk</a></b>
All material Copyright (c) 2006-2021 Karl W. Palachuk unless otherwise noted.</div>Karl W. Palachukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10854725002875547297noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-52956328764442340492022-05-26T12:50:00.000-07:002022-05-26T12:50:09.736-07:00IT Channel Vendors: Please Join Us - The NSITSP Vendor Partner Program - Meeting June 15th<p><b>The National Society of IT Service Providers</b> has a new <b>Vendor Partner Program</b>!</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Channel Vendors: Please Join Us - Literally.</h3><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYpduiorT4vH9YWVdzeOgW69bbrKqYpzyap" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1200" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg62tn6nh2EcjSVJNMYu2QzbAilo-z8AeJ9TkxFFElbBosup7S-R_1Ec-fiWNOdisMHDO5GwOZFtdwdegXvhgYbBku_E3wdLrznYC5Nzb7H8XaGuSn3Xbb8keACh6cquh3bS8_APY74EBsfnxuT0Xrc-ODdJYA8kK7CNYPRxRd5VG9ry4n1Rgw/w400-h210/NSITSP%20VPP%201200x630.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b>Amy Babinchak </b>(NSITSP Board President) and I are hosting an online meeting for all IT Channel Vendors to learn about the NSITSP Vendor Partner Program.<p></p><p><br /></p><p>Please join us to learn about the role vendors can plan in the NSITSP.</p><p><b>June 15th Meeting – 9 AM Pacific/Noon Eastern</b></p><p><a href="https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYpduiorT4vH9YWVdzeOgW69bbrKqYpzyap"><b>Register for the live Zoom Meeting here.</b></a></p><p><br /></p><p>NSITSP is a member-driven and member-centric organization committed to raising the professionalism and integrity of the IT Service Provider industry by creating a trade association for professionals, their employers and vendors. Our community is made up of a large collection of individuals, companies, and organizations.</p><p><br /></p><p>We have a very brief agenda:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Quick Intro to the NSITSP</li><li>The roles vendors can play</li><li>The VPP - Vendor Partner Program</li><li>Questions and Answers</li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p>This broad community includes manufacturers, distributors, software developers, and a wide variety of companies that are generally referred to as “vendors” in the SMB IT community.</p><p>Vendors play many critical roles in the IT community. In addition to giving partner products and services to sell, they educate partners, support them, and create an environment where partners can grow and be successful. The vendors are critically important to the IT Service Providers, just as the ITSPs are important to the vendors.</p><p>Vendors are encouraged to support the NSITSP as a professional association that strives to improve the overall professionalism of IT consultants.</p><p>I hope to see you there! Please join us.</p><p>-- Karl W. Palachuk, Executive Director, NSITSP</p><p><a href="https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYpduiorT4vH9YWVdzeOgW69bbrKqYpzyap">Register Now!</a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYpduiorT4vH9YWVdzeOgW69bbrKqYpzyap" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="55" data-original-width="100" height="55" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgewIa-wgZQu-SHSLU0pQOLF0GUOvGaSwzxUz2q4PiyRTfWHsZmg778oKaXRrX9qP7IAtV1E4vP8S-Pr-qWWymwnXsAz1hwDb0epQDQclb6sQNw-iEIr4hawik5taJIPIk26r_IZYuB06-IzFMOSM0Tf311s8Id8EFc-LTLajIhHvgmHG-Nv1s/s1600/register-now.jpg" width="100" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>:-)</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b>Feed: <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk">http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk</a></b>
All material Copyright (c) 2006-2021 Karl W. Palachuk unless otherwise noted.</div>Karl W. Palachukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10854725002875547297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-41702610534357551382022-05-25T12:11:00.000-07:002022-05-25T12:11:55.041-07:00We Are Under Attack - And Businesses Know It<h3 style="text-align: left;">Our industry is under attack on several fronts - and your clients know it!</h3><p>Yesterday, I attended a meeting of the California Society of Association Executives - Cal SAE, a part of the American Society of Association Executives. I went as Executive Director of the National Society of IT Service Providers. </p><p>(See <a href="https://www.nsitsp.org">https://www.nsitsp.org</a>.)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbSuqolfd5AV8Cyfo6vFpZTvCipOqIUBNRhRr1RhZXmeDqF9wpMYekqzc5Cx8EG8RXk2kdJZWzZi9zHe4YyNgbf7sB66lxCUPE5an6jnRHrt9BO4mql-Nrj8Y6tC2mraxR_DeM0H8JZivmtVUsVILmR0tbOFKC3UtiIizSv6LzeqhTk5umo7I/s1200/We%20are%20Under%20Attack%201200.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1200" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbSuqolfd5AV8Cyfo6vFpZTvCipOqIUBNRhRr1RhZXmeDqF9wpMYekqzc5Cx8EG8RXk2kdJZWzZi9zHe4YyNgbf7sB66lxCUPE5an6jnRHrt9BO4mql-Nrj8Y6tC2mraxR_DeM0H8JZivmtVUsVILmR0tbOFKC3UtiIizSv6LzeqhTk5umo7I/w400-h210/We%20are%20Under%20Attack%201200.png" width="400" /></a></div>Pretty much everyone at the meeting was either an Executive Director, Assistance Executive Director, or CEO of a nonprofit association. As "associations," the members represent a variety of professions, such as physicians, libraries, restaurants, pest control companies, and so forth.<div><br /></div><div>They were business people and represented business people.<br /><div><br /></div><div>As I introduced myself around, the key question was either <b>what </b>does your organization do or <b>why </b>does your organization exist. (I think Simon Sinek would be delighted that so many conversations started with the "why" question.)</div><div><br /></div><div>As a technical person who has run technical companies for a few decades, I am very used to people not really understanding what we do. You've been there: If you say, "We design, build, and support secure networks for small businesses," someone will respond that their cousin makes graphics for SnapChat. Okay. Whatever.</div><div><br /></div><div>I didn't have that problem yesterday. When I said that we are a collection of technology consultants who are facing tough challenges and want to make sure that our side of the story is heard, the most common response was, "Oh. You folks are under attack." People in small business actually know that we (IT consultants) are fighting a war on ransomware and cybersecurity. They can name Colonial Pipeline and Solarwinds, even if they can't give any details. They know cyber insurance is going through the roof, and they know that government agencies are looking to regulate us.</div><div><br /></div><div>Literally, for the first time in my life, I introduced myself and people had a very good idea of what I was up to.</div><div><br /></div><div>I find it very ironic that many people in our own industry do not yet see the same thing. </div><div><br /></div><div>Right now, today, as I write this, I am preparing notes to record a podcast on the recent announcements from NIST, CISA, and the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council. Regulation is everywhere. Check <a href="http://Wired.com" target="_blank">Wired.com</a> or your favorite news channel and there's probably a cybersecurity news report from the last day or two. And, obviously, insurance rates and requirements are being overhauled for all businesses.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Good News </b>is: I believe your clients understand some of what you're going through. All businesses and industries discuss cybersecurity and cyber insurance rates on a regular basis. And while regulation might not be top of mind, business owners are regularly clicking on articles about cybersecurity and insurance only to find that they're also reading about the regulation of our industry.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic4VqeJ_1eSCCSTVC3JPFieMU3gNrUpdHwbKtJ4mI9Pn77x46SoPHXjdoXyc3L6DvIdyv9oah0ZI-7-AOn7wqgM864sZa_XTGIpQcmpcjy2z3Bwm5cKHU5DyzUUpvHi91BHHxuMLzVN5UpvwG6rbaPNjJfmzwD_Zaok9-gfahBIxoc3BupSUQ/s512/elephant.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="512" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic4VqeJ_1eSCCSTVC3JPFieMU3gNrUpdHwbKtJ4mI9Pn77x46SoPHXjdoXyc3L6DvIdyv9oah0ZI-7-AOn7wqgM864sZa_XTGIpQcmpcjy2z3Bwm5cKHU5DyzUUpvHi91BHHxuMLzVN5UpvwG6rbaPNjJfmzwD_Zaok9-gfahBIxoc3BupSUQ/w200-h200/elephant.png" width="200" /></a></div><br />If you are not discussing these topics with your clients <b>you should be</b>. You don't have to make it political. You don't have to take a stand. Just talk about the elephant in the room.</div><div><br /></div><div>Your clients are talking to anyone who will listen about their insurance rates, and their cybersecurity policy - if they can get one. If nothing else, listen to them and sympathize. Have the discussion.</div><div><br /></div><div>Obviously, it's easier to talk about ransomware and cyber threats. But here, too, listen to your clients. What are their real challenges, from their perspective? Consider how you might help.</div><div><br /></div><div>Remember, your relationship with your clients should never be an "us" vs. "them" environment. You and they are in this together, in a symbiotic relationship that is part of the larger small business ecosystem. You and your clients are going through these challenges together. </div><div><br /></div><div>Just be aware: Many of your clients are tuned in. They understand what's going on. And I'll bet they sympathize with the challenges your business faces today.</div><div><br /></div><div>-- -- -- </div><div><br /></div><div>Side note: One woman spoke at great length about the challenges they have with cloud services and letting people spread company data all over the place with various services that are not part of the officially sanctioned corporate cloud service. Many people nodded their heads in agreement.</div><div><br /></div><div>This is another example where business owners understand the challenges you deal with. I believe they are eager and ready to have meetings with you about how they can address these challenges. It's a great time to <b>be a consultant</b> and not just wait for something to break so you can remote in and fix it. </div><div><br /></div><div>It's a great time to nurture your role as a technology consultant and not just a fix-it company.</div><div><br /></div><div>:-)<br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b>Feed: <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk">http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk</a></b>
All material Copyright (c) 2006-2021 Karl W. Palachuk unless otherwise noted.</div>Karl W. Palachukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10854725002875547297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-91022353948300961762022-05-24T11:20:00.000-07:002022-05-24T11:20:00.082-07:00Class - Highly Successful Project Management for Small Business - Starts May 31st<p>Class - Highly Successful Project Management for Small Business </p><p>- Based on the book Project Management in Small Business</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://www.itspu.com/all-classes/classes/highly-successful-project-management/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="690" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRx7uLyVTdtwlMWHvhZJeuGPSJUPv4XLz1kNav_UfBNoU9sXfxpZ9F24nrt1qxTGLrQKk9dp1goO6ZstSrfi8wWe3vTicxI-A4d9_-IJ3GNpPMh7XxdskKh0AIWgbRQLEQgZczPmhk2csbYwgjbheEuMA0m_MK1lU2hOQrrky6opb8udf0HgE/w400-h233/5W04%20Splash%20690x400.png" width="400" /></a></div>Taught By: Karl Palachuk, author and coach<p></p><p>- Five Tuesdays </p><p>- May 31st - June 28th</p><p>- All classes start a 9:00 AM Pacific</p><p><a href="https://www.itspu.com/all-classes/classes/highly-successful-project-management/">Register Now - Only $299*</a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.itspu.com/all-classes/classes/highly-successful-project-management/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="100" data-original-width="300" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdaZUupLGCi5rGx80UYHx70dlLVPaHFUI0j0_kaXbM0of719Lz9g3bL4-3xFDqJntOzniVS9HJCJZUrM3RJ6MZVB27TH_A7WQ0pro0x5jX-OAHeN8fm0ShCQc1OqaWhvxgMNs4plHqEeSmQ4z_4TeYoGZJoudaGskK4ah1mvDj5ujQL9tgz5k/s1600/Register%20Now%20Glossy%20button%20300x100.png" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Not project should EVER:</b></p><p>- Be late</p><p>- Be over budget</p><p>- Lose money</p><p>- Drag on forever</p><p><b>Join us and we'll show you how! Really.</b></p><p><br /></p><p>This course will cover the most important aspects of project management for small business. It is intended for computer consultants, VARs, and managed service providers. Whether you sell projects on a Time-and-Materials basis or flat fee, it is critical to manage them successfully.</p><p>Successful projects are more than simply profitable. Successful projects make you look good. They make the client more productive and potentially more profitable. They help you build a positive relationship.</p><p><b>Tuition includes the book in PDF format along with all associated downloads.</b></p><p>This course is intended for consultants who are new to project management as well as those who have been running projects for years and would like to take a serious step up to the next level of professionalism and profitability.</p><p>This is an intensive webinar course over a five-week period. All assignments are voluntary, of course. But if you want feedback on assignments, please complete assignments during this course and email them to the instructor.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Topics to be presented include:</b></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Different kinds of project management; What’s best for this job?</li><li>Tools to Use for managing your projects</li><li>Documentation at all stages</li><li>Pre-Discovery Process</li><li>The Discovery Process</li><li>Documentation and Communication</li><li>After the Project</li><li>Checklists of all kinds</li><li>Project Planning, Quoting, and Selling</li><li>Why Projects Go Wrong</li><li>The Scope is Everything</li><li>Closed Loop Project Management</li><li>How an Ant Eats an Elephant</li><li>Managing Projects in Your PSA</li><li>Microsoft Project</li><li>Client Training</li><li>The Evaluation Process</li><li>Managing Time / Managing Employees</li><li>Outsourcing Options</li><li>Creating Repeatable, Successful Projects</li><li>Building an Action Plan that works</li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Specialist Certification Pathways</b></p><p>Meets Certification Requirements for:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Management</li><li>Technician</li><li>Service Manager</li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p>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.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Course Outline</b></p><p>Unit 1<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Setting the Stage – What is a Successful Project?</p><p>Unit 2<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Project Planning, Quoting, Selling<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p><p>Unit 3<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Closed Loop Execution</p><p>Unit 4<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Staffing and Repeatable Success<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p><p>Unit 5<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Implementing Your PM Process</p><div><p><a href="https://www.itspu.com/all-classes/classes/highly-successful-project-management/"><b>Register Now - Only $299*</b></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.itspu.com/all-classes/classes/highly-successful-project-management/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="100" data-original-width="300" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdaZUupLGCi5rGx80UYHx70dlLVPaHFUI0j0_kaXbM0of719Lz9g3bL4-3xFDqJntOzniVS9HJCJZUrM3RJ6MZVB27TH_A7WQ0pro0x5jX-OAHeN8fm0ShCQc1OqaWhvxgMNs4plHqEeSmQ4z_4TeYoGZJoudaGskK4ah1mvDj5ujQL9tgz5k/s1600/Register%20Now%20Glossy%20button%20300x100.png" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p>:-)</p><p><br /></p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b>Feed: <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk">http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk</a></b>
All material Copyright (c) 2006-2021 Karl W. Palachuk unless otherwise noted.</div>Karl W. Palachukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10854725002875547297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-79795069491762018412022-05-18T16:28:00.003-07:002022-05-18T18:07:16.500-07:00ChannelPro Network Announces 2022 ChannelPro SMB Forum Event in Dallas June 6-7<p>My friends over at ChannelPro dropped this in my inbox . . .</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Calling all Texas MSPS: The ChannelPro Network Announces 2022 ChannelPro SMB Forum Event in Dallas June 6-7</b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://events.channelpronetwork.com/channelpro-smb-forum-2022-southwest-dallas" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="196" data-original-width="400" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj44OgymMo-5wme4TgNktpb4Q0Rtls4NGfnYlyzyFXzgNtbemsATMFHEn04K9_5a31jbyiV2p1EIkBm6udVhePefe3sLtq9ebv6ZV0VG3exRvwZU2OlzqUv1qm6-JBsizlbe-UvZtmIPf8EHr3hYzVDKmM8XTKln-DsjnwEM0aShqFV_r-l20w/s320/CPForum_generalLogo.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />ChannelPro’s in-person event in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex offers IT integrators, managed service providers, consultants, and VARs two days of educational content designed to help drive business growth. <p></p><p><br /></p><p>The all-new 2022 ChannelPro SBM Forum tour taking place in-person in six cities throughout the U.S. is stopping in Grapevine, TX on June 6-7 at the Courtyard by Marriott DFW Airport. The ChannelPro Network’s two-day event series features workshops and educational sessions presented by industry-leading experts and channel professionals designed to provide actionable, business-building advice for integrators and managed IT service providers.</p><p>New this year are hands-on workshops for attendees. On the pre-day on June 6, Titanium sponsor Dell Expert Network will be conducting a sales and marketing workshop that will include a Dell Solutions showcase of the latest technology and a $1,000 cash giveaway, and Gold sponsor Trend Micro will be offering a security workshop designed to help solution providers transform their business while increasing value to customers.</p><p>Managed IT service providers and IT integrators are welcome to register and attend for free. Please use promo code KPVIP when you register at this link: <a href="https://cvent.me/8r0AXR?RefId=kp" target="_blank">https://cvent.me/8r0AXR?RefId=kp</a></p><p>The main day on June 6 will feature a social media workshop led by experts from channel legend Janet Schijns’ JS Group. Attendees will learn proven, practical techniques used by social selling masters, and get free access to an extensive series of online follow-up lessons.</p><p>The line-up of educational sessions during the day addresses the top issues MSPs care about—recruiting and hiring, security, growth strategies, and making money with Microsoft Azure. The sessions will be delivered in interactive, informative, and fun-filled formats attendees will not find at any other industry event.</p><p>The ChannelPro SMB Forum speakers include a powerhouse of MSP business owners and channel advisers sharing insights and best practices. Speakers for the Chicago event include:</p><p>Seana Fippin, CEO of Red Box Business Solutions; Charles Henson, managing partner of Nashville Computer; and Joanna Mirov, CEO of MXOtech will take the stage in a “Dating Game” format. In ChannelPro’s version, The Employee Recruitment Dating Game, the three panelists will see if they have what it takes to find, woo, and win the best tech talent out there. </p><p>Azure experts Stephen Monk, CEO of Noverus Innovations, and Luis M. Alvarez, president and CEO of Alvarez Technology Group (ATG), will share their tips in a peer-to-peer session on how to build and grow a services business based on Microsoft’s public cloud platform.</p><p>Security pros James Carroll, principal at Hacket Cyber; Lawrence Cruciana, president of Corporate Information Technologies; and Heath Adams, CEO and founder of TCM Security, will thrill and chill attendees with their true-life stories of incredible hacks, unforgiveable customer errors, and high-stakes incident responses. In this “security slam” session, consultant Jayson Ferron will determine which panelist tells the most instructive tale that will help attendees protect their clients more effectively.</p><p>Finally, in a “Survivor” style format, top managed services consultants Rayanne Buchianico, owner of ABC Solutions; Allen Edwards, president of Eureka Process; and Shawn Walsh, CEO of Encore Strategic Consulting, will field tough questions from attendees about the M&A strategy, product strategy, and growth strategy today’s MSPs need to survive in a changing market. They will then pick the sole survivor among the participants! </p><p>In the Dallas area and at every event throughout the year, attendees will be able to browse the vendor expo and network with peers. All events kick off with an evening reception after the pre-day workshops.</p><p>“As always, we’ve built this year’s events around the biggest, most important issues in the SMB channel, and assembled an outstanding lineup of MSPs, solution providers, and industry experts to speak about them,” says Jeff O’Heir, event content director and community manager for The ChannelPro Network. “Our Chicago area audience is sure to have plenty of great new business-building ideas at their disposal when they return to the office.”</p><p>If you are an IT integrator, managed services provider, consultant, or VAR, this event is for you! </p><p><b>Complete June 6-7 ChannelPro SMB Forum event information </b>and a registration page can be found here: <a href="https://events.channelpronetwork.com/channelpro-smb-forum-2022-southwest-dallas" target="_blank">https://events.channelpronetwork.com/channelpro-smb-forum-2022-southwest-dallas</a> </p><p>Managed IT service providers and IT integrators are welcome to register and attend for free. Please use promo code KPVIP when you register at this link: <a href="https://cvent.me/8r0AXR?RefId=kp" target="_blank">https://cvent.me/8r0AXR?RefId=kp</a></p><p>###</p><p>:-)</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b>Feed: <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk">http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk</a></b>
All material Copyright (c) 2006-2021 Karl W. Palachuk unless otherwise noted.</div>Karl W. Palachukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10854725002875547297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-61458347819065672422022-05-17T06:00:00.013-07:002022-05-17T06:00:00.238-07:00GreenLink Networks Announces New Faxing Solutions Designed for Remote Workforce<p>From my friends at GreenLink . . .</p><p>-----</p><p>Addison, Texas – May 17, 2022 - <b>GreenLink Networks</b>, a channel-only provider of Business VoIP services, is pleased to announce the release of two highly anticipated enhancements to their existing fax offerings. Designed for the remote workforce, Outbound Paperless Fax and Hybrid Fax Solutions are easy to deploy, flexible options to accommodate the modern labour force.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7zvHszRGRzPBhKTH3UCRMxD1M4iFIhS38c6V2WHnIRhLQt30ii2CNmu9Vgb6vFqxEFg996KhaRsmX0JkEY9NHPOO9MjJmL_SrqqZrld9XjXX8iU6qTA6TgpcHvLb7tyGIdLxjqMFIVdwgglisDpHkAP1RWS_TSHqdnKQ0mwjhjUBN7vBPhxo/s293/Greenlink.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="132" data-original-width="293" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7zvHszRGRzPBhKTH3UCRMxD1M4iFIhS38c6V2WHnIRhLQt30ii2CNmu9Vgb6vFqxEFg996KhaRsmX0JkEY9NHPOO9MjJmL_SrqqZrld9XjXX8iU6qTA6TgpcHvLb7tyGIdLxjqMFIVdwgglisDpHkAP1RWS_TSHqdnKQ0mwjhjUBN7vBPhxo/s1600/Greenlink.png" width="293" /></a></div><br />As office work environments continue to change, many businesses have embraced electronic faxing while others are continuing to keep analog lines at the office; however, analog lines are not only expensive, but they will be phased out in the future. <p></p><p>With GreenLink Outbound Paperless Fax service, customers can send electronic faxes and include a cover page from the GreenLink Customer Portal without the need for an analog line. An ideal solution for staff working from home or from different locations, this service includes additional features such as access controls and a fax log to track status. Furthermore, GreenLink provides a brand-new number or can transfer a fax number from a previous service. </p><p>The Hybrid Fax Solution includes the outbound paperless fax capabilities and adds the ability to use a physical fax machine. In addition to sending a fax from the GreenLink Customer Portal, users can also send, receive, and print faxes on a fax machine. </p><p>“GreenLink is committed to providing its partners and customers with services that fit today’s evolving work environment. With the inclusion of these new fax solutions, this will allow them to configure their systems the best way possible to meet their varying business needs,” said Jhovanny Rodriguez, Vice-President, and Co-founder, GreenLink Networks.</p><p>“I was eager to be one of the first to try out GreenLink’s new fax offering and was thrilled with the easy plug-in set-up. To have the option of email faxing come out on both the physical fax machine and the portal is invaluable,” said Walter Huff of Huff Technologies. “I didn’t have to make one phone call to Support because something didn’t work correctly.”</p><p>The fax solutions from GreenLink are monthly service plans and the inbound and outbound fax setup is fully customizable for your business needs. </p><p>For more information, please visit <a href="http://www.greenlinknetworks.com" target="_blank">www.greenlinknetworks.com</a>. </p><p><br /></p><p><b>About GreenLink Networks</b></p><p>Founded by Managed IT Service industry veterans Mayron Herrera and Jhovanny Rodriguez, GreenLink Networks is a channel-only provider of Business VoIP Services with a generous partner program. The portfolio of VoIP services includes Cloud Business Phone Service (Hosted PBX) and SIP trunking. GreenLink Networks is compatible with multiple handset brands, offers flexible procurement options including purchase, rentals or use of existing IP enabled phones. For more information visit <a href="http://www.GreenLinknetworks.com" target="_blank">www.GreenLinknetworks.com</a>. </p><p>-30-</p><div>:-)</div><div><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b>Feed: <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk">http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk</a></b>
All material Copyright (c) 2006-2021 Karl W. Palachuk unless otherwise noted.</div>Karl W. Palachukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10854725002875547297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-4388690573987870842022-05-12T08:47:00.001-07:002022-05-12T08:47:30.665-07:00NSITSP Update: Elections, Vendor Partners, Logo Contest, and more . . . A report on the big meeting<p> I'll repeat this and more on the NSITSP blog (<a href="https://www.nsitsp.org/news/">https://www.nsitsp.org/news/</a>), but this blog has more readers, so reporting here makes sense.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.nsitsp.org/meetings/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1200" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihrIgNYwTvOziEjUhGgcDL_M1DL7Z9ps0oEwerF0GwltI3jq3on7CJaW-MV18G476F3JNfXHWI9r2zQ4yme_jmpn_mnO2LMK6WExlt2vR8UR4sx3oD08jrD0-Yz23C50aTJkinLYQA_X1CkZ8_SM_twnfXOAZtQLRRXhG98NXRLu15SVfW4jo/s320/May%2011%20-%201200x630%20Recording%20Posted.png" width="320" /></a></div>The <b>National Society of IT Service Providers</b> had their big quarterly meeting this week. You can view the meeting, read the transcript, and catch all the shared chat links at <a href="https://www.nsitsp.org/meetings/">https://www.nsitsp.org/meetings/</a>.<p></p><p><b>The </b>place to start for "all things NSITSP" is the web site at <a href="http://www.nsitsp.org">www.nsitsp.org</a>. Resources you'll find there include:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Volunteer opportunities</li><li>Meetings (recorded)</li><li>Committee reports - minutes from various committee meetings</li><li>Founding documents and history</li><li>Forums</li><li>Mission, vision, values</li></ul><p></p><p>I point out the obvious landing page simply because we are constantly changing it to keep up-to-date with changes in the organization. A few current things to keep track of include:</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Logo Contest</b></p><p>We have a logo. It is literally something I came up with as a "placeholder" last year. Some people like it. Some don't. The Marketing Committee has therefore come up with a contest! All the details are on the contest page: <a href="https://www.nsitsp.org/logo-contest/">https://www.nsitsp.org/logo-contest/</a>.</p><p>We want to gather as many design ideas as we can. The Committee will selection three options and those "winners" will each win some prize money. As for the vote, we'll have a two-part vote. First, we'll ask the question of whether to keep or replace the current logo. If "replace" wins, we'll then count the votes for the contenders.</p><p>All of these decisions must ultimately be accepted by the Board. For details, see the contest page.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Elections</b></p><p>One of the big announcements from the meeting is that we have agreed on an <b>election process </b>and timing. Elections will be held in September, and campaigning will take place in August. Details will be published on the NSITSP site and blog as the pieces of the process fall into place.</p><p>Here are a few notes about the election, as defined by the Governance Committee (formerly the Formation Committee):</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>To the extent possible, the process for Board and Committee elections will be as similar as possible to each other</li><li>The fall elections will be officially announced on July 1st - with all the details</li><li>Candidates will file for office during August </li><li>Each candidate may run for only one office</li><li>Voting will take place in September</li><li>Some members will be elected for two years, some for one year<br />(Note: After this initial election, all elections will be for two-year terms.)</li></ul><p></p><p>Again, the pages are being built out and we'll keep you informed.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Vendor Partner Program</b></p><p>We are about to post a page for the Vendor Partner Program. In order for our broader community and this organization to thrive, we need vendors to be involved. The Board has been very clear on this point and we have worked hard to get vendor members onto various committees.</p><p>But we also need larger contributions in order to grow faster and reach our longer-term goals.</p><p>Vendors need strong partners. And, at the same time, vendors have legitimate concerns about how their operating environment is affected by state and federal legislation and regulation. We would love to have vendors come to us and work together so that all members of our community can work together to build a strong ecosystem. This includes manufacturers, programmers, distributors, MSPs, tool companies, and all the many combinations out there.</p><p>It's no exaggeration: We are in this together!</p><p>Stay tuned for an announcement. We'll put together a Vendor Partner Program "launch" webinar with a short presentation and lots of time for Q&A. In the meantime, you can always email me at karlp@nsitsp.org if you wish to schedule a call. I'm happy to talk to anyone about this program.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>. . . That's the Tip of the Iceberg!</b></p><p>Our committees include Legislative, Governance, Finance, Marketing, and Membership. Most of them are seeking new members and all of them are building volunteer lists. See the web site.</p><p>PLEASE join as a professional member! It's only $100 for the year. If you're in this industry, you can afford that. And we honestly need every member. We need dollars to stay alive, and we need numbers so that we can honestly claim to represent IT Service Providers. See the web site.</p><p>. . . If you missed that meeting, please make time to view it . . .</p><p>And join today!</p><p>:-)</p><p><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b>Feed: <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk">http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk</a></b>
All material Copyright (c) 2006-2021 Karl W. Palachuk unless otherwise noted.</div>Karl W. Palachukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10854725002875547297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-44775302098024057462022-05-05T06:00:00.026-07:002022-05-05T06:00:00.207-07:00The ASCII Group Announces New Initiative to Membership Community with Sandler Partners<p>My friends at ASCII slipped this under the door . . .</p><p>-- -- -- </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifZF2h23XngNGrkD92kfFC_lc8Qv2Ve2xFrewl4GW-9HJpJEioNNOkLm_hzgp3HLzw7hA6c6y3Ke4nXUtm099QWJ1897ZJCNjRG4xNqvwjy4ms8KRfc-4Dzwd5lyZ5KtuXK3Mjtyc--MRzLZlMTTHGT9IL9SgeiZUZxRHKlBpIsDQADJzPuyQ/s706/asciigroup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="262" data-original-width="706" height="119" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifZF2h23XngNGrkD92kfFC_lc8Qv2Ve2xFrewl4GW-9HJpJEioNNOkLm_hzgp3HLzw7hA6c6y3Ke4nXUtm099QWJ1897ZJCNjRG4xNqvwjy4ms8KRfc-4Dzwd5lyZ5KtuXK3Mjtyc--MRzLZlMTTHGT9IL9SgeiZUZxRHKlBpIsDQADJzPuyQ/s320/asciigroup.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Bethesda, Maryland – May 5, 2022 – The ASCII Group, a large membership-based community of independent North American MSPs, MSSPs and Solution Providers, is pleased to announce a new initiative with Sandler Partners, a leading distributor of Connectivity and Cloud services.<p></p><p>By collaborating with Sandler Partners, ASCII members will have access to their unique, and competitive portfolio of telecom, technology, and Cloud solutions. This engagement will allow ASCII members to broaden their technology portfolios with over two hundred telecom and Cloud Provider solutions, while further increasing their ability to serve their clients. </p><p>“We are pleased to be working with Sandler Partners and recognize the emerging synergies between the telecom and IT industries,” said Alan Weinberger, Chairman & CEO, The ASCII Group. “We are delighted to present another benefit to members of the ASCII community that will yield additional revenue opportunities for their businesses.”</p><p>“Being independent and private, we can work a little differently than most technology distributors,” states Alan Sandler, Founding Partner. “We’re free to concentrate on the relationships we build with our community –educating and empowering technology professionals with impartial solutions, not driven by quota’s or agendas, providing ironclad contracts, and support that allows customer service, everyone’s holy grail, to always be the first and last consideration. We are grateful to welcome The ASCII Group to our community, the Sandler Partners team is ready to help you succeed.” </p><p>The ASCII Group is committed to helping its members meet the increasing demand for telecom solutions for their SMB clients. This new initiative with Sandler Partners will provide members an additional opportunity to expand their service offerings.</p><p>To learn more about becoming a member of The ASCII Group, please visit <a href="http://www.ascii.com" target="_blank">www.ascii.com</a>. </p><p><br /></p><p><b>About The ASCII Group, Inc:</b></p><p>The ASCII Group is the premier community of North American MSPs, MSSPs and Solution Providers. The Group has 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 to grow their businesses. For more information, please visit <a href="http://www.ascii.com" target="_blank">www.ascii.com</a>. </p><p><br /></p><p><b>About Sandler Partners</b></p><p>Sandler Partners is America’s fastest-growing technology solutions brokerage and distributor of connectivity and cloud services. In 2021, Sandler Partners was included on the Inc. 5000 list of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies for the 12th straight year. Over the years, they’ve expanded beyond their telecom roots to deliver best-in-class cloud, colocation, mobility, continuity, and security solutions from 200+ suppliers through a network of 9,000+ expert technology sales partners — agents, VARs, and MSPs — to thousands of small, medium, and enterprise organizations nationwide.</p><p>-30-</p><div>:-)</div><div><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b>Feed: <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk">http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk</a></b>
All material Copyright (c) 2006-2021 Karl W. Palachuk unless otherwise noted.</div>Karl W. Palachukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10854725002875547297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-78306507932436186232022-04-27T01:00:00.002-07:002022-04-27T01:00:00.186-07:00NSITSP Announces May 11th All-Member Meeting<p><b>Mark your calendar . . . Everyone Welcome!</b></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9TeJmphwt7M8Q4-i2EnQeLw2-FflF915V42VMjUSrI_g2L2Rg2qcqy8H_EXOtSHg0KOoErtpR0MQL9_Npe80q20QGZ8feFDjzbTYFTGM7P0zvfuzXZEt4IGruQuf6qaihIx_Ls1lrEyUkRysTj6OvOlQC691TQiWqbUn8CoAQ3EXxa-U1ULE/s1080/May%2011%20-%201080x1080.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9TeJmphwt7M8Q4-i2EnQeLw2-FflF915V42VMjUSrI_g2L2Rg2qcqy8H_EXOtSHg0KOoErtpR0MQL9_Npe80q20QGZ8feFDjzbTYFTGM7P0zvfuzXZEt4IGruQuf6qaihIx_Ls1lrEyUkRysTj6OvOlQC691TQiWqbUn8CoAQ3EXxa-U1ULE/w400-h400/May%2011%20-%201080x1080.png" width="400" /></a></div>The NSITSP has set May 11th for the the next all-member meeting.<p></p><p>9AM Pacific / Noon Eastern</p><p><br /></p><p>I know a lot of activity has been going on quietly, but our committees have been very busy building the “bones” of the association.</p><p>Please register now:</p><p><b><a href="https://bit.ly/nsitsp-may11">https://bit.ly/nsitsp-may11</a></b></p><p><br /></p><p>Please register and begin sharing, inviting, etc.</p><p><b>Agenda items include:</b></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Updates on the Code of Ethics taskforce</li><li>Committee charters and news/reports</li><li>September Elections and calendar/schedule</li><li>Budget report</li><li>Vendor Partner Program news</li><li>Member Program for 2023</li><li>Open Forum</li></ul><p></p><p>More!</p><p>Please mark your calendar. Register today. And spread the word!</p><p>See you May 11th.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Help Spread the Word!</b></p><p>Grab these graphics and share on your social media!</p><p>Sample Social Media Post:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><b>Registration is open - NSITSP Member Meeting - Everyone Welcome. Lots of news. Open forum. Register now. </b></p><p><b>https://bit.ly/nsitsp-may11</b></p><p><b>#NSITSP #ITConsulting #managedservices </b></p></blockquote><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ugpZ_21u0Sa7Ju34dO-aSRwzDebjneF0qar3JaLPh-rolNWHOBx_15FKUOSvtDGwTNh63XZIzvBpIEWw50rbUwDb-YvmIw488oOUpMdgZ2FqxUl1l1n4IzBISbp1MJY0wq6Ng9I0F2XQab7qPr2gIitpYBT2zJgzJxJRDHx2u1ijDOz-NgY/s1200/May%2011%20-%201200x630%20orange.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1200" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ugpZ_21u0Sa7Ju34dO-aSRwzDebjneF0qar3JaLPh-rolNWHOBx_15FKUOSvtDGwTNh63XZIzvBpIEWw50rbUwDb-YvmIw488oOUpMdgZ2FqxUl1l1n4IzBISbp1MJY0wq6Ng9I0F2XQab7qPr2gIitpYBT2zJgzJxJRDHx2u1ijDOz-NgY/w640-h336/May%2011%20-%201200x630%20orange.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>:-)</div><div><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b>Feed: <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk">http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk</a></b>
All material Copyright (c) 2006-2021 Karl W. Palachuk unless otherwise noted.</div>Karl W. Palachukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10854725002875547297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-26763517754713637292022-04-22T10:44:00.001-07:002022-04-22T10:44:37.122-07:00How To Build A Valuable Local LinkedIn Network - by Amy Babinchak - UPDATED!<p><b>How To Build A Valuable Local LinkedIn Network</b> - by Amy Babinchak, Microsoft MVP and owner of three technology-related businesses.</p><p><br />UPDATED: Version 3 - April 2022</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Long-time community member Amy Babinchak has updated her excellent white paper that shows you her strategy for building a local LinkedIn network that you can use to build your client base - and fill your local events. Amy's strategy will help you make great contacts without making people feel like you're a spammer. And, as a side benefit, you'll improve you LinkedIn Sales score.<p></p><p>Includes Amy hottest four tips for setting up a LinkedIn profile that works!</p><p>Now expanded to 14 pages. Delivered as a PDF document.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://store.smallbizthoughts.com/product/how-to-build-a-valuable-local-linkedin-network-babinchak/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="278" data-original-width="400" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPNunyO2LIGpLlcN5nlrd8rD9AdXe6nJ8UAnvGdxLDTIyfaK9Dao64eSm4TmqJ-6OBO2TKYm4RBY992aTJATQ5nWoKawFFKl7xueL5ToBtdqM7q53pgDPxLPcPTax4NKMPYbPCTj5cV_GyVet-0r3MZ0p9FXqCsmHuWUV3_GawwtkNH-csOQ4/w200-h139/Find%20out%20more%20SBT%20store400.png" width="200" /></a></div><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://store.smallbizthoughts.com/product/how-to-build-a-valuable-local-linkedin-network-babinchak/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="725" data-original-width="725" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrgwCMLhwg2dGYDhP9iX46EHWcP5XZsW__om2g3xxm4GQ15qfkb0ICvk1RB4WUportlPXPOVVDxFfORowXU4QqG_2zRWfd3pjsFBcNJ_VlRhSuhtCk4lI_kHGdK5tkzIufO3gvJNqunPkqq3_BUszjScb_2S6e4p5wWUm5uknggq4RbKadzdI/s320/How%20to%20build%20LinkenIn%20725.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><b>Contents Include:</b></p><ul><li>Make sure that you're connected with your current customers</li><li>How to search</li><li>Customize Your Invitations</li><li>Connect with your customers network</li><li>Make cold connections</li><li>Clearing your unaccepted invitations</li><li>Build a relationship with your network</li><li>Establishing your expertise</li><li>Hashtag it</li><li>Four tips for brushing up your LinkedIn profile</li></ul><div> </div><p><b>About Amy Babinchak</b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidJ44Gt5D_4YnKcspCwIFuLyUBk-S6AqiyfirhzTfmohdeSlSVGPxqcnAtRpSgmzVbkyRNDxc_2hGmAPo0gl2JPwNRP_g983H8j1DfReMnahuKT1BOTw1onY_Npzg2XRrrDCsl1euMMRirRPuosS_qc1Asf5HrECe7EN4jLa22z4rsjxDyrjw/s800/AmyBabinchak.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidJ44Gt5D_4YnKcspCwIFuLyUBk-S6AqiyfirhzTfmohdeSlSVGPxqcnAtRpSgmzVbkyRNDxc_2hGmAPo0gl2JPwNRP_g983H8j1DfReMnahuKT1BOTw1onY_Npzg2XRrrDCsl1euMMRirRPuosS_qc1Asf5HrECe7EN4jLa22z4rsjxDyrjw/w200-h200/AmyBabinchak.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />Amy is the owner of three IT related businesses: Harbor Computer Services, Third Tier and Sell My MSP. She has been working in the small and medium business IT field for more than 20 years. She is a technical person with advanced skills in networking design, management, and implementation. She values technology for what it does for people and the success it brings to business.<p></p><div><p>Amy is also a Microsoft MVP for more than fifteen years. She has received numerous leadership awards and is a valued member of various boards. She has served on the executive council of the Managed Services community at CompTIA, and is currently President of the Board of the National Society of IT Service Providers.</p><p>:-)</p><p><br /></p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b>Feed: <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk">http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk</a></b>
All material Copyright (c) 2006-2021 Karl W. Palachuk unless otherwise noted.</div>Karl W. Palachukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10854725002875547297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-5270550529276124092022-04-21T01:00:00.001-07:002022-04-21T01:00:00.231-07:00Widgetization, Homogenation, and Commoditization in SMBIT - A Primer on Private Equity <p><b>The SMB IT community may not have chosen the path we're on, but we have built it one brick at a time.</b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKjPWJiRU_JmewCcqBRVElbGyW7R39OWNsU5wcnzqCSgZbxolVITKgTZQkynhrV7554N0wYZCkyvUcnKfcLENcZkvkchIktTkw-xqNWg1FAPYotnX0tEZLQtDtP0Faa3Clpzwd2QSGYHTOWfyEynOXjgE4p3DVwZS9RAxW9--Lh9qmx3-H-X0/s1800/IOT%20face.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKjPWJiRU_JmewCcqBRVElbGyW7R39OWNsU5wcnzqCSgZbxolVITKgTZQkynhrV7554N0wYZCkyvUcnKfcLENcZkvkchIktTkw-xqNWg1FAPYotnX0tEZLQtDtP0Faa3Clpzwd2QSGYHTOWfyEynOXjgE4p3DVwZS9RAxW9--Lh9qmx3-H-X0/s320/IOT%20face.jpg" width="267" /></a></div><br />When I ask, "How large is your company?" how do you answer that question? Some people immediately think in dollars. Some think about the number of employees. Some count endpoints.<p></p><p>And while endpoints is not the first thing that pops into our minds, for most of us, it is no longer an unusual request. Fifteen years ago, we asked questions like how many clients you have, or how many clients you have under contract.</p><p>Now, the measure is endpoints. Why? Because it's a great surrogate measure for how large your company is. With a little calculation, I can guess a lot about your company based on whether you service 250 endpoints, 500, 1,000, or 10,000.</p><p>The number of endpoints also gives me an excellent idea of how many RMM agents you have deployed, how many Microsoft licenses you have deployed, and how many anti-malware agents you have deployed.</p><p>This I call the <b>widgetization </b>of our industry. How many widgets do you support?</p><p>But this is also the language being used to homogenize and commoditize our industry. Unfortunately for me, I have to accept some of the responsibility for this. So many people have adopted the basic model laid out in <i>Managed Services in a Month</i> that it has become a blueprint for the modern MSP.</p><p>Standardization has the advantage of <i>creating </i>an industry. It allows us to compare companies. It allows us to know where we stand. It also allows others (perhaps buyers) to know where we fit in the big puzzle. Good or bad, the widgetization becomes a shorthand for measuring the worth of a company.</p><p>So now, we can use endpoints as a rough measure of worth. It's not exact, and almost no one treats it as if it is. But in a very relative sense, it tells us quite a bit about a company. Now potential buyers can look at companies and determine whether to make offers on companies that are 1,000 endpoints or more. Or 5,000. Or 10,000.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://sketchplanations.com/goodharts-law" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Licensed from Sketchplanations" border="0" data-original-height="1495" data-original-width="1764" height="339" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0DBpO6s3G_gfr5OLUCiXV1KX2RzZbJNDA94xMZnC3AlFxu8yeLfVaJJvtmIpel4Xf4sfY8JbmVKx5nK2YsFyw46BiTv_gUqyGowTBKMLMJQ0BZg4ylnzOHjLdbQCg1AHxMHF4JinFsu3YL4J1xl2gvKws9mYTxniRBwi3hDMXTPS7imjPxGU/w400-h339/sketchplanations-goodharts-law.jpg" title="Licensed from Sketchplanations" width="400" /></a></div><br />I love to remind people of <b>Goodhart's Law</b>: When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.<p></p><p>In this case, the surrogate measure will always be a basic, imprecise measure. Again, "everyone" knows that. But a key piece of commoditization is to strip away the details and focus on one or two things you CAN measure. Then pretend that the measure has meaning.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>This is how Private Equity sees our industry</b>.</p><p>Companies are bought when a deal can be swung for enough endpoints. Valuation has to be agreed upon, but the conversation begins with the number of endpoints. Until money becomes the commodity of choice, endpoints are the commodity of choice.</p><p>PE - Private Equity - is different from VC - Venture Capitol. VCs fund a number of projects, often taking a chance on wild ideas, hoping that one in ten becomes a massive success. This causes some odd behavior we're not here to talk about today.</p><p>PE is almost the opposite: They are not interested in gambling with their money. They want a return of "X%" where X is often twenty or thirty or forty percent. This leads to a different kind of odd behavior.</p><p>PE funding works well if you can gather up a bunch of companies and merge them all under one holding. The holding might be invisible to outsiders, or it might be a new company brand. You've probably seen this behavior. It goes something like this: </p><p>- I'll buy your company as cheaply as possible, and tie you into it for a period of time. You might do well if the company thrives. I will limit my risk if it doesn't.</p><p>- I'm most interested in companies that fit the operating model I like (e.g., managed services), and use the toolsets I prefer. RMM. PSA. Widget, widget, widget.</p><p>- Your uniqueness and individuality are irrelevant.</p><p>- Once I gobble up enough companies to reach my target number for endpoints, then I can engage in other activities.</p><p>- The new entity can now be "managed" to reach revenue/margin targets. </p><p> - - The easiest place to cut is personnel since they are the most expensive. Duplicate roles across companies are first. This includes customer service and administration, primarily. In some cases, it includes the bookkeeping and invoicing staff.</p><p> - - If there is a subset of clients who represent a specialty, they might be bundled together and sold off as a unit. Similarly, other bundles of specialty clients might be bought as a unit. I'm buying and selling based on widgets.</p><p>- Eventually, larger collections of companies will be merged into even larger collections of companies. More endpoints and more endpoints, and more endpoints. It's all about the widgets!</p><p><br /></p><p>What's missing in this wonderland of widgetization? Uniqueness. Customer-centric support. Personalized anything. Best practices. Employee-centric culture.</p><p>What's missing is the <b>people </b>part of small business. The relationships. Employees you care about. Clients you care about. Like it or not, life is different when it's all about the widget.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>And the good news is . . .</b></p><p>The endpoint-obsessed MSP of the (not so distant) future will be easy to sell against. They will not give good service. In fact, the larger they are, the <b>less capable </b>they are of providing good service. They will not spend energy or money maintaining culture. Customer loyalty will have disappeared after the first sale.</p><p>The sale of a company inevitably results in a period of confusion and chaos. With a tiny company, this can be short. In a small company it can be relatively short. But the period of confusion grows as the size of the companies grow.</p><p>Whose SOPs will be used? Generally, the larger company wins this one. But when the company grows to a certain point, no one is responsible for keeping the SOPs good and up to date. Customer service is no longer delivered by every employee: Now it's a department. Customer service is now just another expense to be managed - and cut when necessary.</p><p>This is one possible future for our industry. It's one you can certainly compete with. You need to maintain personalization, culture, and a focus on service. And, yes, there will always be clients who only care about the dollars and the pennies. And you might sign those clients. But you will still make a good living on clients who want the personal touch and want good service. </p><p>As large "MSPs" begin to act with the personal touch of Google, Facebook, and Microsoft, there will be plenty of room to be a very successful IT consultant with a strong focus on your clients and employees.</p><p>:-)</p><p><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b>Feed: <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk">http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk</a></b>
All material Copyright (c) 2006-2021 Karl W. Palachuk unless otherwise noted.</div>Karl W. Palachukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10854725002875547297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-6834399392603683422022-04-19T07:34:00.000-07:002022-04-19T07:34:13.279-07:00LIVE 5-Week Course: Managed Services in a Month - Starts April 26th<h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Managed Services in a Month - Applying the Book - Starts April 26th</span></h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.itspu.com/all-classes/classes/managed-services-in-a-month-applying-the-book/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="467" data-original-width="700" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3OyWWgw8SUKFFNcWise5uyN9WieiWc7J3bO9r9eboZcVAcpmmWGiyoLZX4MxCWKtEdlM5QU5ACdbXLWf22xs2YNxtJ7HPrr3sdGoGZwQMI5MR-ZwMacl2qbI_3YSbjPZKYYaza9Gn3G4RaMYrujbTdiuhH5xaKXt3korQOw9nEwHFjdp22RY/s320/5W09---Managed-Services-in-a-Month.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p><b>One of our most popular courses. LIVE</b></p><p>You’re guaranteed to learn something that will make or save you the price of admission!</p><p>Taught By: Karl Palachuk, author and coach</p><p><b>- Five Tuesdays - April 26th - May 24th</b></p><p>- All classes start a 9:00 AM Pacific</p><p><a href="https://www.itspu.com/all-classes/classes/managed-services-in-a-month-applying-the-book/">Register Now - Only $299*</a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.itspu.com/all-classes/classes/managed-services-in-a-month-applying-the-book/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="100" data-original-width="300" height="67" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuzF1muI_Y4o43UbFwYHzkWbBtjNdKxUn8LQEcuNnn_YfrbJd4fb-_uUux_ZzyiI_N5a4IFB7OAwHhPVdOCdP0L7FQO2PL-xxdeDqNhRne2Cek9Ew_WWIFbZGR0nrzI823bhvcyksMSKWV-dlZSCEtfDqNwsEnI9bkrzFdjcheLy0CFjWyfJw/w200-h67/Register%20Now%20Glossy%20button%20300x100.png" width="200" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><b><i><br /></i></b></p><p><b><i>Managed Services in a Month </i></b>is the best-selling guide to turning your “computer consulting” business into a recurring revenue machine!</p><p>This course is designed to walk you through the process outlined in the book. AND your registration includes a free copy of the book in e-format.</p><p>Updated Information on Tools, Cloud Services, Per-User Pricing, Creating Bundles, and MORE!</p><p>For more information on the book, see <a href="http://www.managedservicesinamonth.com">www.managedservicesinamonth.com</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>It’s not too late! YOU can get into Managed Services — in a month. </b>Well, five weeks.</p><p>Even if you decide not to become an MSP (managed service provider), this course will help you establish some great best practices when it comes to running your I.T. business.</p><p>Whether you’re a new “Computer Consultant” or an experienced Managed Service Provider, you need to create successful processes that will propel your company forward. Nothing is more critical to making profit than having the right processes and procedures in place!</p><p><b>You will learn:</b></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Computer Consulting in the 21st Century</li><li>What’s Different About Technology Consulting Today?</li><li>Cloud Computing in the Small Business Space</li><li>The Managed Service Model</li><li>New Consulting Business vs. Existing Business</li><li>Managed Services in a Month</li><li>Integrating Cloud Services</li><li>Making A Plan</li><li>Starting Fresh with No Clients to Convert</li><li>Create A Three-Tiered Pricing Structure</li><li>Bundling Services</li><li>Per-User vs. Per-Device Pricing Models</li><li>Putting Your (New) Business Together</li><li>Weed Your Client Garden and Finish the Plan</li><li>Write a Service Agreement; Have It Reviewed</li><li>Overcoming Objections</li><li>Desktops and Managed Service</li><li>Executing the Plan</li><li>Client Sit-Downs</li><li>After The Sale</li><li>Key Points to Remember for Profit</li><li>Running Your New MSP Business</li><li>The Right Tools for the Job</li><li>Your Standard Offerings (Your Catalog of Services)</li><li>Building an Action Plan that works</li></ul><p></p><p>and MORE!</p><p><a href="https://www.itspu.com/all-classes/classes/managed-services-in-a-month-applying-the-book/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="100" data-original-width="300" height="67" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuzF1muI_Y4o43UbFwYHzkWbBtjNdKxUn8LQEcuNnn_YfrbJd4fb-_uUux_ZzyiI_N5a4IFB7OAwHhPVdOCdP0L7FQO2PL-xxdeDqNhRne2Cek9Ew_WWIFbZGR0nrzI823bhvcyksMSKWV-dlZSCEtfDqNwsEnI9bkrzFdjcheLy0CFjWyfJw/w200-h67/Register%20Now%20Glossy%20button%20300x100.png" width="200" /></a></p><p><b>LIVE CLASS STARTS: APR 26, 2022</b></p><p><br /></p><p>ITSP University Certification: Meets elective requirement for:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Management</li><li>Front Office</li><li>Technician</li><li>Service Manager</li></ul><p></p><p>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.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Class Content</b></p><p>Unit 1 The Managed Service Business Model</p><p>Unit 2 Defining Your Business from Every Angle</p><p>Unit 3 Define Your Plans</p><p>Unit 4 Executing the Plan</p><p>Unit 5 Running Profitably with Managed Service</p><p><br /></p><p><b><a href="https://www.itspu.com/all-classes/classes/managed-services-in-a-month-applying-the-book/">Register Now - Only $299*</a></b></p><p><a href="https://www.itspu.com/all-classes/classes/managed-services-in-a-month-applying-the-book/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="100" data-original-width="300" height="67" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuzF1muI_Y4o43UbFwYHzkWbBtjNdKxUn8LQEcuNnn_YfrbJd4fb-_uUux_ZzyiI_N5a4IFB7OAwHhPVdOCdP0L7FQO2PL-xxdeDqNhRne2Cek9Ew_WWIFbZGR0nrzI823bhvcyksMSKWV-dlZSCEtfDqNwsEnI9bkrzFdjcheLy0CFjWyfJw/w200-h67/Register%20Now%20Glossy%20button%20300x100.png" width="200" /></a></p><p>Note: * Members of the Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community attend at no additional charge. See details in the Community</p><p>:-)</p><p><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b>Feed: <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk">http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmallBizThoughtsByKarlPalachuk</a></b>
All material Copyright (c) 2006-2021 Karl W. Palachuk unless otherwise noted.</div>Karl W. Palachukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10854725002875547297noreply@blogger.com0