SMB Community Podcast: Business Advice for Small MSP Owners

Special Note: This week's podcast is brought to you by our friends at Third Tier. For more information, visit www.ThirdTier.net.

Topic 1: IBM and Amazon get out of facial recognition

Major companies are backing away from developing and working with facial recognition technology. Issues include both the racial bias and the fact that they are working with police agencies.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/08/ibm-gets-out-of-facial-recognition-business-calls-on-congress-to-advance-policies-tackling-racial-injustice.html

And then there was another shoe that dropped on the facial recognition topic.
https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/10/21287101/amazon-rekognition-facial-recognition-police-ban-one-year-ai-racial-bias

Other, older, related links:

https://www.wired.com/story/algorithms-recognize-masked-face/

https://www.biometricupdate.com/202002/victim-identification-officer-says-clearview-facial-recognition-biggest-breakthrough-chicago-to-review-use-by-cpd

Topic 2: Let's Ban the term “New Normal”

Everything changes all the time. We discuss whether the term "new normal" is actually useful at all. Hint: In a tech-centric world, this term just isn't very useful.

We welcome your comments and feedback.

Topic 3: Life after the pandemic -- The 4-Day Work Week

This is a thread we’ve touched on in terms of the way people will work after the pandemic . . . but with more specific details and recommendations.

Here's a recent article from a Canadian writer.

https://theconversation.com/the-day-is-dawning-on-a-four-day-work-week-139587
:-)

Topic 1: Facebook Shops

Will you (should you) set up a shop on Facebook? We give our perspective.

Related Link:
https://stratechery.com/2020/platforms-in-an-aggregator-world/

Topic 2: Lobbying by and for the IT Community

Should we be lobbying on behalf of the IT Community? What does that look like?

We discuss some of the major issues and what we think the (near) future might look like. Who should speak for us?

Topic 3: How will we be affected by the current events and unrest, once the dust settles.

Again, just our opinion. But we feel that we need to say something.

Your feedback is always welcome!

:-)

James Kernan meets up with Matt Solomon and Natasha Boyko discuss the evolution of ID Agent and how serious they are about supporting their vendors.

ID Agent provides Dark Web Monitoring + Phishing Simulation & Security Awareness Training, identity & Access Management

Matt Solomon is an experienced sales professional with over 15 years in B2B, B2C and B2G environments. Past sales experience includes copyright, licensing, research and government consulting and advisory services. Matt joined Kaseya via ID Agent, with a wealth of experience working with managed service providers, large law firms, government contractors, non-profits and Fortune 500 organizations. He was the first employee of ID Agent and helped grow the business to 2,600+ MSP partners worldwide. He currently leads Kaseya's business development team, working with managed services providers, channel partners and strategic partners. He has continued his role on the executive team of ID Agent.

Links:

www.idagent.com https://www.itcomplete.com/ www.linkedin.com/in/mjsolomon/

--

Natasha has over a decade of experience in both technology sales and customer success. Previously in education technology, she is passionate about leveraging great technology to drive businesses forward. Natasha launched her career at ID Agent as the first Partner Success Manager and helped build the program that empowers our partners to use Dark Web ID to provide critical protection for their clients and drive new recurring revenue.

Natasha holds a Bachelor's degree from Towson University. She is actively involved in her local community and loves to travel.

Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natasha-boyko-a890506/

About the SMB Community Podcast: Weekly business advice for small MSP owners from Amy Babinchak and James Kernan of the Small Biz Thoughts community — MSP sales, MSP pricing and agreements, hiring and leading an MSP team, MSP operations, selling your MSP, and AI for small MSPs. Produced by MSP Radio. More for MSP owners at smallbizthoughts.com.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Karl meets with Susanne Tedrick about her new book: Women of Color in Tech: A Blueprint for Inspiring and Mentoring the Next Generation of Technology Innovators. Susanne also gives great advice about how young women of color can get started with a career in tech.

Susanne Tedrick is a technical specialist for a leading Fortune 50 technology company. Fiercely committed to increasing participation of women and people of color in STEM educational and professional opportunities, she is a career mentor for the Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) Initiative and a volunteer workshop technical assistant for Black Girls Code, a non-profit that empowers girls of color to develop in-demand IT skills and prepare to advance careers in tech.

Cloud Tech Specialist, IBM Author, "Women of Color in Tech"

Link to purchase the book on Wiley.com: Purchase Susanne's book from Wiley

My website: susannetedrick.com

Book's website: webelongintech.com Nonfiction Book Awards Silver Winner

From Wiley promo material:

Women of Color in Tech: A Blueprint for Inspiring and Mentoring the Next Generation of Technology Innovators will help you overcome the obstacles that often prevent women of color from pursuing and staying in tech careers. Contrary to popular belief, tech careers are diverse and fun—and they go far beyond just coding. This book will show you that today's tech careers are incredibly dynamic, and you'll learn how your soft skills—communication, public speaking, networking—can help you succeed in tech.

This book will guide you through the process of cultivating strong relationships and building a network that will get you were you want to be. You'll learn to identify a strong, knowledgeable support network that you can rely on for guidance or mentorship. This step is crucial in getting young women of color into tech careers and keeping them there.

• Build your professional network to get the guidance you need
• Find a mentor who understands your goals and your struggles
• Overcome negativity and stay motivated through difficult times
• Identify and develop the soft skills that you need to get ahead in tech

Read this book to help bring to life your vision of a future in tech. With practical advice and inspiring stories, you'll develop the right tools and the right mindset. Whether you're just considering going into tech or you want to take your current career to the next level, Women of Color in Tech will show you how to uncover the resources you need to succeed.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Susanne Tedrick is a technical specialist for a leading Fortune 50 technology company. Fiercely committed to increasing participation of women and people of color in STEM educational and professional opportunities, she is a career mentor for the Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) Initiative and a volunteer workshop technical assistant for Black Girls Code, a non-profit that empowers girls of color to develop in-demand IT skills and prepare to advance careers in tech.

About the SMB Community Podcast: Weekly business advice for small MSP owners from Amy Babinchak and James Kernan of the Small Biz Thoughts community — MSP sales, MSP pricing and agreements, hiring and leading an MSP team, MSP operations, selling your MSP, and AI for small MSPs. Produced by MSP Radio. More for MSP owners at smallbizthoughts.com.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We have a bit of a theme going through all three of today's topics: Education.

Topic 1: Google Classrooms - too meager?

In case you haven't seen it, here is "Google Classroom."

https://edu.google.com/products/classroom/?modal_active=none

Google Classroom is super low tech. Is it too low tech? How much tech is needed in order to serve the education market? We discuss design, technology, and intended purposes.

Of course this discussion touches on the topic of access to high speed Internet. More and more, true Internet access is becoming a requirement for education.

Old link, but we all downloaded it before it became hard to find:
https://www.subtraction.com/2020/05/19/google-classroom-and-how-spaces-value-people/

Our saved version: https://killingit.smallbizthoughts.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Google-Classroom-and-How-Spaces-Value-People-Subtraction.pdf

Topic 2: HP Refresh / HP LIFE / Google Chrome books / the growing Digital divide

HP has a great program to help get laptops (or desktop computers) into the hands of 1.5 billion students without computers. The HP Refresh software does a military wipe of the hard drive and then installs a Chrome operating system with a Zoom agent.

We discuss the opportunities and challenges associated with bringing this basic technology to all the folks across the U.S. and the world.

HP Refresh = https://www8.hp.com/us/en/solutions/education/refresh.html
HP Life Global = https://www.life-global.org/

Topic 3: Life after Pandemic - Classrooms and Connectivity

We agree that the digital divide is real. And we think it might be getting wider.

Again, we examine opportunities in the emerging environment.

:-)

Host Karl Palachuk meets up with Simon Severino to talk about how a strategy sprint can double your sales conversions - even during this tough sales climate.

Learn what your bottleneck is with a free sales audit from Strategy Sprints - an $800 value at https://www.strategysprints.com/sales.

Simon Severino is the Founder and CEO of Strategy Sprints. Host of the Strategy Show. Expert in Business Strategy, Growth Strategy and Execution.

The Strategy Sprints Team does only one thing: Strategy in Sprints Strategy = Increase your monthly revenue consistently, gain market shares. Sprints = Fast Execution, Short Project Cycles, Motivated Teams.

-

Links

www.strategysprints.com

https://www.strategysprints.com/sales

About the SMB Community Podcast: Weekly business advice for small MSP owners from Amy Babinchak and James Kernan of the Small Biz Thoughts community — MSP sales, MSP pricing and agreements, hiring and leading an MSP team, MSP operations, selling your MSP, and AI for small MSPs. Produced by MSP Radio. More for MSP owners at smallbizthoughts.com.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Recorded LIVE at the SMB Online Conference!

(Conference attendees can see and listen to all four topics in the Conference downloads area.)

Topic 1: Where do we stand on burrito delivery?

Update on our year-old bet: Will your pizza (or burrito) be delivered first by flying drone or driverless car/robot?

Well, that driverless car might have lots of fees attached (see New York Times).

And of course industry news is hard to separate from "pandemic" news right now, but workforce slowdowns will affect the pace of technology adoption.

Relevant links:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/13/technology/driverless-cars.html

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-gm-autonomous-layoffs/gm-self-driving-tech-unit-cruise-laying-off-about-8-of-staff-idUSKBN22Q34W

https://www.reddit.com/r/doordash/comments/8p6rmi/doordash_scam_complete_step_by_step_as_it_happened/

Topic 2: Emerging Technology and Digital Transformation

(Dave’s pet peeve)

Wherein we explore the state of all this change in our industry. Are we there yet?

Link:

https://www.comptia.org/content/whitepapers/the-role-of-emerging-technology-in-digital-transformation

Topic 3: Life After the Pandemic

How much will the IT consultant’s business go back to the old normal?

Roundtable discussion. Karl says our definition of the network will be changed forever.

:-)

Karl sat down with Community Leaders Amy Babinchak and Joshua Liberman to talk about remote work.

Amy runs Harbor Computer Services, which always runs a remote operation. They invite all employees in for a weekly meeting, but the rest of the time, they all work remotely. Josh has personally worked remotely for years, but runs an IT consulting company that is build around in-office work.

We asked them to give their advice about hiring, culture, productivity, security, and more.

In addition to their individual experiences, Amy and Josh give some great tips on trying to hire and manage remote workers. And they gives us some speculation about changes to client offices going forward.

All in all, a good conversation.

Contact info:

Amy Babinchak 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. Amy 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.

Sites: Third Tier – www.ThirdTier.net Sell My MSP – www.SellMyMSP.com Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/thirdtier Facebook Group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/thirdtier Twitter – https://www.twitter.com/thirdtier LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/amybabinchak Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/amybabinchak/

Joshua Liberman is a great community leader and the owner of Net Sciences in Albuquerque, NM. Josh's managed service business focuses on security as the basis for everything they do.

Sites: Net Sciences: www.netsciences.com. Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/joshua.d.liberman Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/NetSciencesInc Twitter - https://twitter.com/JoshuaLiberman LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-d-liberman/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/libermanjoshua/

:-)

About the SMB Community Podcast: Weekly business advice for small MSP owners from Amy Babinchak and James Kernan of the Small Biz Thoughts community — MSP sales, MSP pricing and agreements, hiring and leading an MSP team, MSP operations, selling your MSP, and AI for small MSPs. Produced by MSP Radio. More for MSP owners at smallbizthoughts.com.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Happy "Diamond" anniversary - 60 episodes!

Topic 1: Are we breaking artificial intelligence?

In this era of "pandemic," our behaviors are different from normal. That can be confusing for AI. In fact, it points out some of the weaknesses of AI data gathering, and how the models can wander off in the wrong direction.

https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/05/11/1001563/covid-pandemic-broken-ai-machine-learning-amazon-retail-fraud-humans-in-the-loop/

Topic 2: What happened with VR?

This newsletter articles from Axios asks the question: Did Virtual Reality miss its big opportunity in this era of changing technology?

https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-login-1dd8e53f-b755-4950-b905-7b5560393190.html

And we ask . . . If not this time, should we be ready for the next opportunity? Or will VR's time to enter the mainstream never come?

Topic 3: Technology after the Pandemic - Spying on Employees.

Employers have used technology to keep track of employees for a long time. Now we're taking that to new heights. What lessons will we learn from spying on employees during the new work-from-home movement?

Great quote: “... the new office life is likely to become a pulsating den of surveillance.”

https://www.zdnet.com/article/going-back-to-the-office-new-spying-tools-are-waiting-to-greet-you/

James Kernan meets with Danny Jenkins to discuss how ThreatLocker adds a new and different level of security for MSPs.

ThreatLocker CEO, Danny Jenkins is a technical guru with a deep understanding of corporate IT and cybersecurity. He has an entrepreneurial background and two decades of experience in building and securing corporate networks. Before taking the reins at ThreatLocker®, Danny held CEO and CTO positions at multiple IT companies and founded a few cybersecurity businesses of his own.

Links:

-Website: ThreatLocker.com -Instagram: Threatlockersecurity -Facebook: TheThreatLocker -Twitter: ThreatLocker -YouTube: ThreatLocker

About the SMB Community Podcast: Weekly business advice for small MSP owners from Amy Babinchak and James Kernan of the Small Biz Thoughts community — MSP sales, MSP pricing and agreements, hiring and leading an MSP team, MSP operations, selling your MSP, and AI for small MSPs. Produced by MSP Radio. More for MSP owners at smallbizthoughts.com.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.