Nothing Happens by Itself
Copyright © 2022 Karl W. Palachuk
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Greetings!
Just a quick note this week as those of us in North America prepare to gobble some turkey. It's a short week for most of us.
Our company is closed Thursday and Friday.
We've settled into a fun routine. My daughter hosts a Thanksgiving dinner where we all get together. Then each of us separately participate in "Friendsgiving" dinners. I'm lucky in that I enjoy my family AND my friends.
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Apprenticeships in IT
I have been pondering - in my spare time - about how apprenticeships in IT might work. In a very general sense, I believe we need apprenticeships for a few reasons. But I'm not sure where we get started. So I'll throw out a few thoughts and welcome your feedback.
Note: This will also be a topic on the two-webinar series listed below.
Our industry has never had a clear "path" for people to take. Most people get into "computer consulting" because we're technical and we start helping people fix things, or set up online systems. Interestingly, this often includes documenting how our parents or neighbors log in and achieve what they want. I say interesting because so many people lack documentation once they have a successful business.
Another group gets formal education. This might be community college courses based on CompTIA certifications, or it might be a Computer Science degree. Of these, the community college route is more relevant to running an IT business.
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And, I'll note for the record, very few of us took any business courses along the way. I know I didn't.
Some people start with Summer jobs or working in a parent's IT company. Some take entry level jobs and find out they like it. Many teach themselves whatever it takes to pass exams in Microsoft, Cisco, and other technologies. Then they look for a job with lots of training but no real experience.
ALL of these are legitimate ways of getting into IT consulting. And all of them will always exist for a very simple reason: When there is no formal path, each person builds their own path.
Our industry (SMB IT) is right in the neighborhood of forty years old. Today we are faced with a massive personnel shortage that won't go away for a long time. We need more people. So perhaps the time is just right for an apprenticeship program.
What might that look like? I don't have the answer, but here are a few thoughts.
First, who are the players? At a minimum, there are apprentices, businesses who hire them, educators, and various support systems to help put all this together. These support systems might include the likes of CompTIA and the NSITSP.
Second, what are the components? Thankfully, there are many other apprenticeships we can learn from. The primary components are:
- A program at the employer committed to finding new talent and agreeing to a long-term employment program, consisting of . . .
- A decent wage while the apprentice works their way through the program, committing time to both education and service delivery.
- On the job training. This is perhaps the defining element of an apprenticeship. We need to make sure that the system is not abused to underpay people and just have them work in a sink-or-swim environment. Training is an important element.
- Recognized milestones. This is more than completing a class or completing an exam (although those are important). Milestone mean that professionals acknowledge that an apprentice has mastered certain skills, which might be a specific as TCP/IP networking or as general as troubleshooting.
- Advancement in title and wages. As an apprentice works through the program, their wages should increase. Eventually, they will work their way out of the program and into being well-trained professional.
- Standardized national or international requirements. It is too early to speculate what these requirements are, but they should be general enough to hold up through the evolution of technologies that move very fast in the world of IT. It is NOT too early to start having the discussion.
The good news is: All of these elements exist at some level. That's actually a great sign that our industry is ready for a more formal apprenticeship program. Large companies have always hired people with a certain level of training and aptitude and trained them for the new technologies they are developing. Some small companies have always relied on internship program to "grow their own" talent.
Sometimes, when all the elements are in place, you can't stop an industry from moving to the next level. I think that's where we're at with apprenticeships in IT.
Feedback welcome.
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Please Take This Survey!
In preparation for the webinars discussed below, I want to gather as much information as possible about the state of employment in SMB IT - as you see it!
I gave a Bit.ly link last week and, for some reason, it doesn't work for some people. I suspect their security software doesn't like redirects. This long URL should work fine.
The questionnaire should take only 5-10 minutes. I want to gather information on your hiring practices and where you think your company is going in the next year. You can answer completely anonymously. If you wish to receive a copy of the results, you'll need to provide your email address, of course.
Deadline November 30th - be please don't delay.
Note: Registration for the 2-webinar series is separate. See below.
Thank you for your help!
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Tackling the Employee Challenge
Do Not Miss This!
I'm putting on a special two-part webinar series to tackle the biggest problem SMB IT folks are having today: Finding and keeping good employees.
Finding and Keeping Great Employees in 2023 is part webinar and part conversation about the realities of our current employment environment, with some thoughts about long-term and short-term strategies. With a bit of employment philosophy thrown in.
NO Vendor Sponsor - I'm calling this No Vendor December.
Webinar 1: Dec 7, 2022 at 9:00 AM Pacific
Webinar 2: Dec 14, 2022 at 9:00 AM Pacific
One registration for both.
For both webinars, I'm planning to leave time within the 60 minute slot to answer questions. But I'm also planning to go to 90 minutes if the questions keep coming. Some folks will drop after 60 minutes to get to their next meeting, but I'll stay as needed.
We have 40 registered so far. Only 460 slots left! Join us. And spread the word!
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Lots of events added to the calendar this week. Keep sending me your updates.
Thank you for your support. Please share this newsletter!
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Revised Class starts Tomorrow!
Cloud Services in a Month
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Cloud Services in a Month - Applying the Book
You’re guaranteed to learn something that will make or save you the price of admission!
Taught By: Karl W. Palachuk
Newly Revised Course
- Five Tuesdays: Nov. 22 - Dec. 20
Based on the best-selling book Cloud Services in a Month, this course will give you the information, forms, processes, and motivation to move full force into providing Cloud Services. Much of the focus is on designing and developing a package of services you can sell to every single client. As Karl describes it: The core technologies that every client needs.
Tuition for this course includes the ebook version of Cloud Services in a Month. That includes all the downloads from the book as well.
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You will learn:
- Everyone's a Cloud Service Provider
- Tip Toe Into the Clouds?
- The Latest Tools and Options
- Cloud Computing in the Small Business Space
- Right Sizing Your Offering
- What is the Cloud?
- Assessing Client Networks
- Money-Making Homework - Network Assessments
- Create a Cloud Service Offering
- Sneak Peek: The Cloud Service Five-Pack
- The Absolute Basics
- Plan Changes and Updates
- Transactions, Customers, and Clients
- Price Strategies
- Managed Services and Cloud Services
- Building a Bundle that Works
- Break/Fix and Hybrid Models
- Create A Three-Tiered Pricing Structure
- Migrating to the Cloud
- One Service at a Time
- Managed Service Tools and the Cloud
- Storage Migration
- Email Migration
- Microsoft Office
- Money-Making Homework - Migration Plans
- Backups, DR, and Continuity
- Basic Backups
- BDRs
- Business Continuity
- Running Your New CSP Business
- The Right Tools for the Job
- Your Standard Offerings (Your Catalog of Services)
- Staff Requirements for Cloud Services
- Client Onboarding
... And More!
This class is filled with great advice and tips on running your I.T. company and moving into the world of recurring revenue with cloud services.
Includes five weeks of webinars with related handouts, assignments, and "office hours" with the instructor. All classes are recorded for download.
This course is intended for business owners and managers. It is particularly useful for the Service Manager or Operations Manager.
ITSP University Certification:
Meets Certification Requirements for:
- Management
- Service Manager
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.
Class Content
Unit 1 Setting the Stage for Cloud Services in Small Business
Unit 2 Introducing the Cloud Five-Pack Formula
Unit 3 Implementation, Sales, and Variations
Unit 4 Cloud Migration Strategies and Procedures
Unit 5 Maintaining, Evolving, and Integrating Cloud Services Over Time
Note: * Members of the Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community attend at no additional charge. See details in the Community
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All the Resources That Are Fit to Print |
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Recent Blog Posts, Podcasts, and Videos |
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Small Biz Thoughts Blog:
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Plus . . .
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Community News
SmallBizThoughts.org
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December Roundtable Will Be Awesome! |
Entertainer and Mentalist Paul Draper returns to the SBT Roundtable on December 1st.
This appearance will NOT be recorded, so please plan to be there live. Paul appeared last year as part of our December "Holiday Party" in the middle of the pandemic. He shared how he transformed his business online.
And, of course, he did some cool "magic" for us. This year should be just as good.
The link to attend is always in your member dashboard inside the Community.
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Exclusive to the Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community: Paul Draper returns to the SBT Roundtable December 1st!
Mentalism, Mystery, and More!
Paul was on our Holiday Zoom meeting last year and was a huge hit! So we're having him back for an encore performance.
SBT Roundtables are exclusive to Community Members. You can join us and then join us December 1st for this excellent show.
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We meet on Zoom every Thursday at 9am Pacific / Noon Eastern. Join us!
Thank you!
:-)
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We want to be cute . . . but the lawyers got involved.
:-)
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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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December
Cybersecurity & Cloud Ezxpo
Dec. 1, 2022
London, England
Microsoft 365 Conference
Dec. 4-9, 2022
Las Vegas, NV
Blackhat Europe 2022
Dec. 5-8, 2022
London, UK
More info: https://www.blackhat.com/eu-22/
Cisco Live!
Dec. 6-9, 2022
Melbourne, Australia
Karl Webinar: Finding and Keeping Great Employees in 2023 - Part 1
December 7 - 9AM Pacific
Join me online!
James Kernan's Millionaire Mastermind Quarterly
Dec. 8-9
Las Vegas, NV
Karl Webinar: Finding and Keeping Great Employees in 2023 - Part 2
December 14 - 9AM Pacific
Join me online!
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January
Send me your events !!!
Karl's 14th Annual State of the Nation Address for SMB IT
January 11th - 9:00 AM Pacific
Join me Live Online!
:-)
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February
Cisco Live!
Feb 6-10, 2023
Amsterdam
MSPExpo
Feb 14-17, 2022
Fort Lauderdale, FL
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March
CloudExpo Europe
March 8-9, 2023
London, UK
Gartner CIO Leadership Forum
March 14-15, 2023
Londong, UK
James Kernan's Millionaire Mastermind Quarterly
March 30-31
Orlando, FL
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April
HIMSS
April 17-21
Chicago, IL
CyberSecurity Expo
April 20, 2023
Bristol, UK
The IT Sales And Marketing Boot Camp
April 11-14, 2023
Nashville, TN
RSA Conference
Apr. 24-27, 2023
San Francisco, CA
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May
2023 SMB Online Conference!
May 17-18
Zoom
Online - Stay Tuned for Details - but mark your calendar now.
Join Me Live Online!
:-)
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June
Cisco Live!
June 4-8, 2023
Las Vegas, NV
IT Nation Secure
June 5-7, 2023
Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center
Orlando, FL
Infosecurity Europe
June 20-22, 2023
London, England
James Kernan's Millionaire Mastermind Quarterly
June 29-30
Denver, CO
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July
CyberSecurity Expo
July 13, 2023
Manchester, UK
:-)
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August
Send me your events !!!
:-)
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September
James Kernan's Millionaire Mastermind Quarterly
Sept 28-29
Omaha, NE
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October
Acronis #Cyberfit Summit 2023
Oct. 16-18
Miami, FL
dattoCon 2023
Oct. 2-4, 2023
Miami, FL
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November
Send me your events !!!
:-)
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December
James Kernan's Millionaire Mastermind Quarterly
Dec 7-8
Phoenix, AZ
:-)
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Note: If you know of any in-person event for SMB Consultants, please send info to karlp@greatlittlebook.com. |
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