Nothing Happens by Itself
Copyright © 2021 Karl W. Palachuk
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Does Your Auto Responder Help or Hurt? |
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I have many friends who "hide out" from time to time.
And I admit: I do, too.
First, let's look at this strategy and why you might adopt it. Second, let's look at HOW you might implement it.
Hiding Out - a Strategy for Success
By hiding out, I simply mean that you quietly go off the radar. This can take several forms. you might simply avoid making appointments one day a week. Or perhaps block out 8-9 AM every day.
Another simple tool is to leave one- and two-hour blocks in your schedule. These allow time for you to catch up on work that took longer than expected. Or, you might use the time to prepare job quotes or other work that takes a certain level of focus. Maybe you'll even write a newsletter or blog post.
We all need to escape the calendar and try to work "in the flow" from time to time. But you know my motto: Nothing happens by itself. Time will never magically appear on your calendar. You have to block out time to work on your business. This is an example of another maxim I live by: Slow Down, Get More Done.
I'm sure you've heard the old saying, "Work expands to fill the space available." It's true. There will always be more work. There will always be a crisis. There will always be things to fix. And if you have staff, they will fill your calendar with endless tasks that may not necessarily represent the highest priority tasks before you.
This has been made worse in the last year by the explosion of Zoom meetings. They all take up the entire hour, and tend to be stacked back to back. If you don't force a break, no one else will give it to you! See my recent blog post on the Relax Focus Succeed blog.
I hope you will start finding time in your schedule to do focused work. Now a note about how you implement that.
It Matters How You Secure Focused Time
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There are two basic approaches for "disappearing." One is to broadcast this to the world. The goal is to make people aware of your policy so they know you're unavailable.
The other method (which I use) is to say nothing and simply do it. I'll tell you my secret here. With very few exceptions, I do not schedule anything on Mondays. Things come up, of course. And if someone really needs to meet, I will. But, generally speaking, I have an average of six hours of unscheduled time per Monday. In a 50-work-week year, that's about 300 hours.
I also try to keep Fridays for two very specific types of meetings. I have Zoom calls with each of my key employees or outsourced resources. I also schedule "mastermind" meetings on specific Fridays. My Fridays are generally busy, but at a slightly slower pace. There are blocks of time for opportunities to show up. And, of course, there are opportunities to get focused work done.
I prefer the strategy of not officially blocking off this time or broadcasting it because I find that almost no one is every paying attention to me. So, it's easy to simply close email, open a Word document, and start working.
I have talked to several people, generally in larger companies, that openly resent getting autoresponder messages that announce: "I don't work on Mondays, and I don't schedule appointments on Friday." My suspicion is that these people resent finding out that others CAN control their calendars, turn off outside distractions, and take control of their work life. Many corporations make that impossible.
This may give a clue to why some of us prefer to be self-employed. ;-)
Note: The Broadcast method has the added benefit of potentially spreading the word and subtly evangelizing people into adopting similar policies. I'm not sure how effective that is, given the discussion above, but I endorse it.
Give me your thoughts! Do you do something similar to this?
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Hack_It!
Please do yourself a favor and check out our new advertiser: Huntress is hosting a great event they started last year: hack_it 2021.
Please look through their agenda.
I appreciate your support - and welcome any feedback!
Tell them Karl sent you.
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Newsletter Feedback Update
We got some good responses to our quick survey about this newsletter. Thank you to everyone who took the time.
If you ever have feedback on what I present here, or how I can make it more useful to you, please send me an email.
The Results (If nothing is listed, value is zero). When one choice is overwhelmingly popular, it is in bold text.
Newsletter Length
- Too Short = 0% (No surprise there)
- Just Right = 33%
- Too Long = 18%
- I don't care. I poke around and read what I want = 49%
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Content - Personal Notes
- Very Valuable = 49%
- Valuable = 46%
- Meh = 5%
Content - News
- Very Valuable = 28%
- Valuable = 59%
- Meh = 10%
- Not Valuable = 3%
Content - Commentary
- Very Valuable = 36%
- Valuable = 59%
- Meh = 3%
- Not Valuable = 3%
Content - Upcoming Events
- Very Valuable = 23%
- Valuable = 39%
- Meh = 31%
- Not Valuable = 8%
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Content - Promotions for Classes, etc.
- Very Valuable = 18%
- Valuable = 34%
- Meh = 34%
- Not Valuable = 13%
Content - Articles Unique to Newsletter.
- Very Valuable = 44%
- Valuable = 41%
- Meh = 15%
Content - Picture of the Day
- Very Valuable = 24%
- Valuable = 32%
- Meh = 37%
- Not Valuable = 8%
Content - Calendar of Events
- Very Valuable = 26%
- Valuable = 21%
- Meh = 42%
- Not Valuable = 5%
- Waste of Time = 5%
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The final question is more lighthearted: How much love do you have for the newsletter?
Happily, Much Love is 54% and Some Love is 46%.
Thank you for your feedback!
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Final Notes
We've added one new event to the calendar - Black Hat USA in Vegas. See July.
The last time I spoke at a conference in Vegas (2019), Black Hat was across town. There was much fun speculating about how safe it was to use wi-fi anywhere in town that weekend. Of course, that's just a reminder that it's never safe!
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I think that's all the news for now.
I hope your February is going great.
Have a great week.
-- Karl W. Palachuk
:-)
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Newly Revised Class for 2021
Position Your IT Firm for Growth or Sale
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You only missed one class . . . It's recorded!
Sign up Today
Position Your IT Firm for Growth or Sale - Totally Revised for 2021
5W19
Taught by Rayanne Buchianico, Author and Coach
- All classes start a 9:00 AM Pacific
You're guaranteed to learn something that will make or save you the price of admission!
As your business matures, you want to take control of profits and your financial house. You invested the time to set up your chart of accounts, align income with COGS for easy measuring, and organize your reports and service desk. You have the information you need; this course teaches you how to use it.
This class provides unique content from a unique teacher! Rayanne is a managed service provider from Tampa, FL. She is also an accountant and an Intuit Certified ProAdvisor. In addition to her MSP business, Rayanne helps I.T. consultants to take control of their finances and understand their own business at a deeper level.
Topics for this class include:
- Create KPIs specific to your company
- Benchmark against your peers
- Detailed cash flow management and measure debt against income
- Measure service-level profits and improve profitability
- Identify red flags in your business, make changes before they become problems
- Prepare your company for growth, sale or merger
- Use margins to price your services for profit
- Income Tax Planning and Projections
- Action plans for success
... And More!
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Weekly Agenda
Week One
- Plan
- Organize
- Documentation
Week Two
- Valuation Methods
- Working Capital
- Tracking EBITDA
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Week Three
- Build KPIs
- Develop Trends
- Labor Costs
Week Four
- Cash Flow Forecasting
- Debt Reduction
- Controlling Costs
Week Five
- Workshop - Bring is together
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Only $299 per student
Delivered by Rayanne Buchianico, Accounting Professional and QuickBooks Advisor. Rayanne has been an MSP - managed service provider - for many years and advises MSPs on how to get the most out of their QuickBooks and PSA integrations.
Includes five weeks of webinar classes with related handouts, assignments, and "office hours" with the instructor.
This course is intended for business owners and managers. It is particularly useful for the Service Manager or Operations Manager.
A Few Details . . .
- Each course will be five one-hour Zoom webinars
- There will be handouts and "homework" assignments
- Class webinars will be recorded and made available to paid attendees only.
- All calls start at 9:00 AM Pacific Time
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All the Resources That Are Fit to Print |
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Recent Blog Posts, Podcasts, and Videos |
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Small Biz Thoughts Blog:
Relax Focus Succeed:
SMB Community Podcast - New episodes drop every Thursday
The Killing IT Podcast - New episodes drop every Tuesday
The Cheeky Sales Coach Podcast / Video - New episodes drop every Wednesday
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SOP: Local Docs, My Docs, and Company Files |
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Selected Recent Videos and Webinars:
Note: We started auto-posting the podcasts to YouTube. Those are not listed here as YouTube Videos since they're listed under the podcasts above.
A quick guide to my Playlists:
- Total: More than 700 videos on the Small Biz Thoughts channel
- 275+ SOP videos
Plus . . .
- Training, Courses, Seminars on Managed Services
- Product Reviews
- and more
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Small Biz Thoughts Community News
SmallBizThoughts.org
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Great Monthly Get-Together! |
The big all-member meeting on Thursday was excellent. As usual, we had wide-ranging topics. They included:
- Upcoming events/classes and new resources
- Where to go for “screwball tech questions” in terms of *useful* forums?
- Joel seeks advice on his launch to managed services after twenty years of B/F
- Advice on how to avoid the “race to the bottom”
- Avoid losing clients in the process
- Considering a 4-day workweek in SMB IT
I am pleased to say that, every time we have one of these meetings, it is a great discussion about how to be successful in IT consulting in small business. This week is a great example of that. From the struggles of daily operations to speculations about great ideas for the future: We cover it all!
The recording is posted. Members check the "Member Calls" group for the notes and recording.
This week is a normal member meeting. Then, on March 4th we have the monthly First-Thursday SBT Roundtable. Our guest will be Janet Schijns from the JS Group. Don't miss it! Link is at the top of your Dashboard.
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Remember to Download the New Sales Materials!
Social Media Cheat Sheet - This asset is intended to help you spread the word effectively on social media – and to get assistance from your friends and business partners to spread the word even faster.
Security Sales 2021 - workshop and workbook. Everything about the threat landscape has changed during the past five years - except, perhaps, the way you sell security. It's time to update that.
White Paper: Sales in the Era of Zoom - Written by Carolyn Heinze exclusively for member of the SBT Technology Community. This document will help you build and execute a remote sales process for 2021 and beyond.
Updated Technology Roadmap - with 2021 supplemental questionnaire. Designed to help you start the conversation with your clients. What is their plan for getting back to the office (or shutting it down)? Will it be all at once or in stages? Do they need additional technology? Will they be moving more resources to the cloud?
Best place to see all of this is in the What's New section.
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If you haven't seen the February News video yet, please check it out.
As always, our goal is to help you to be as successful as possible!
If you need something, please post a question in a forum or email Kara (your Community Manager) or me.
:-)
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Root Beer flavored Peeps
I'm not sure this should be legal. Just sayin.
:-)
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What's Here?
This calendar lists two kinds of things: LIVE in-person events from any organization that focuses on the SMB consulting community; and MY events, whether live, webinar, etc.
If you have live events on your calendar that may be useful to others in the SMB Community, please let us know. We'd be happy to list them.
Of course: Everything here is subject to change based on Covid. Click the links for the latest details. Please send updates so we can post them.
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February
If you know of in-person events we should list, please let us know.
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March
XChange +
March 7-9 / Live + Virtual event
Orlando, FL
Register now and don't miss my presentation!
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April
If you know of in-person events we should list, please let us know.
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May
ChannelPro SMB Forum - Hybrid Event
May 6, 2021
Chicago, Il
SMB Roadshow - Vancouver
May 11th
Tentative . . . but count on it!
Join me Live!
SMB Roadshow - Toronto
May 13th
Tentative . . . but count on it!
Join me Live!
SMB Roadshow - Montreal
May 18th
Tentative . . . but count on it!
Join me Live!
ASCII Success Summit
May 19 & 20
Bethesda, MD
SMB Roadshow - Providence, RI
May 20th
Tentative . . . but count on it!
More info: https://www.smbroadshow.com
Join me Live!
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June
ChannelPro SMB Forum - Hybrid Event
June 9, 2021
Houston, Tx
ASCII Success Summit
June 16 & 17
Cincinnati, OH
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July
ChannelPro SMB Forum - Hybrid Event
July 8, 2021
Raleigh, NC
ASCII Success Summit
July 21 & 22
Chicago, IL
Black Hat USA
July 31-August 5
Las Vegas, NV
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August
SMB Roadshow - Manchester, UK
August 10th
Tentative . . . but count on it!
More info: https://www.smbroadshow.com
Join me Live!
SMB Roadshow - Cardiff, UK
August 12th
Tentative . . . but count on it!
More info: https://www.smbroadshow.com
Join me Live!
SMB Roadshow - London, UK
August 17th
Tentative . . . but count on it!
More info: https://www.smbroadshow.com
Join me Live!
ASCII Success Summit
August 18 & 19
Raleigh, NC
SMB Roadshow - Amsterdam, NE
August 19th
Tentative . . . but count on it!
More info: https://www.smbroadshow.com
Join me Live!
SMB Roadshow - Berlin, Germany
August 21st
Tentative . . . but count on it!
More info: https://www.smbroadshow.com
Join me Live!
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September
ChannelPro SMB Forum - Hybrid Event
Sept 2, 2021
Boston, MA
ITBOG (Business Owners Group) Cruise Conference
Sept. 3-6
Departs Miami
ASCII Success Summit
September 22 & 23
NY / NJ area
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October
ChannelPro SMB Forum - Hybrid Event
Oct 6, 2021
Atlanta, GA
SMB IT Professionals National Conference - Australia
Oct 15-16
Surfer's Paradise
Join me Live. I'm going to do my best to be there!
ASCII Success Summit
October 27 & 28
Orlando, FL
I'm hoping there's a trip to the Gold Coast in my future. Stay tuned.
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November
ASCII Success Summit
November 3 & 4
Houston, TX
ChannelPro SMB Forum - Hybrid Event
Nov 4, 2021
Los Angeles, CA
ChannelPro SMB Forum - Hybrid Event
Nov 16, 2021
Los Angeles, CA
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December
ASCII Success Summit
Orange County, CA - December 8 & 9
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If you know of in-person events we should list, please let us know.
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Note: If you know of any in-person event for SMB Consultants, please send info to [email protected]. |
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Small Biz Thoughts is a subsidiary of Great Little Book Publishing Co., Inc. |
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