SMB Community Podcast

Host Karl sat down with Pete to talk about promoting IT businesses.

Pete started his own MSP in 2011. For the next near decade that business grew, hit and exceeded the magic £1m turnover mark (one million pounds revenue), grew to 16-staff, strong and the business brand itself became well known locally as something for other MSPs to aspire to.

In early 2020 Pete exited the business to pursue other interests, including Video, and helping other MSP Owners!

In this conversation, we start with a discussion of mergers and acquisitions and that flows into a general discussion of business success. One big question: What's your number? Pete completed the sale of his business as the pandemic shutdown was taking place. So that's a great story.

Before selling the business, Pete invested in video (YouTube) production. His big challenge was: How do you use YouTube videos to promote your IT business? Pete kept the YouTube channel - and you can find it at youtube.com/petematheson.

Pete gives some great examples of the videos he produced as an IT consultant. These are client-facing. From there, he moved to helping IT pros figure out videos for their business.

Sites:

• petematheson.co.uk
• youtube.com/petematheson
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/petematheson/
• https://twitter.com/petematheson

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with Dylan Dahlquist dylanquestdigital ( at ) gmail.com

Google's Advertising platform is versatile, far-reaching, and pretty confusing. Sometimes getting a clear return on ad spend can feel closer to wizardry than science, but that's why Dylan has spent years figuring out methods for businesses and organizations to grow with Google Ads. He has success managing Ad Accounts for a variety of businesses and non-profit organizations. Dylan is also a Digital artist as well as a published Scientist. Wow!

"I just searched my business and I saw...."

This is the statement many digital marketers/advertises hear from clients moments before disaster strikes. Google-ing your name/business is an outdated way of measuring your online presence, and a great way to distract yourself from actually helpful tools that could grow your business/brand online.

Interested in Google ads?

Email DylanQuestDigital ( at ) gmail.com

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I caught up with Richard Tubb near the end of November. In addition to a general catch-up, we recorded a podcast on Marketing Tips!

We did this after an experience we shared that resulted in extra bonus marketing for Richard - because he was prepared. It got me thinking about how being ready to take advantage of opportunities goes a long ways.

In this conversation, Richard shares some great ideas for IT professionals who want to krank up continuous marketing - which is a great idea!

Note: One tool Richard mentioned in the interview is Text Expander: https://textexpander.com/.

I mention a blog post I did on Richard recently. You can find that here: https://blog.smallbizthoughts.com/2020/10/meet-richard-tubb-true-community.html

The easiest way to connect with Richard is via his primary web site: Resources for MSPs - https://www.tubblog.co.uk/resources/

I particularly encourage you to sign up for his weekly newsletter - MSP Insights - https://www.tubblog.co.uk/nl

You can check out his blog over on my blog roll, or go direct to https://www.tubblog.co.uk

Richard also has a fun podcast for IT Consultants called TubbTalk - http://tubb.co/TubbTalk

. . . and a YouTube (TubbTube) channel at http://tubb.co/TubbTube

And last, but not least, Richard has written several books, which you can explore at https://www.tubblog.co.uk/books/

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Karl interviews co-host James Kernan on his new book, Tech Up or Lose Out. James is the editor and publisher of the book. And, of course, he wrote a good deal of it.

James calls this book the Entrepreneurs Guide to IT. The target audience is small business - not just IT businesses. You might, for example, give this book to clients to educate them on why they need tech support.

The basic goal is to show business owners how they can leverage technology as a competitive advantage in your business.

James Kernan is the CEO of Kernan Consulting, Inc. an international award winning management consulting company. They have become one of the most successful consulting firms in the country, primarily serving Information Technology Value-Added-Resellers or MSP's. Its core competencies include Coaching, Advising and Mentoring programs like the Mastermind CEO Peer Groups, Leadership, Sales Training and its One-on-One Consulting Programs. Since 2006, over 500 businesses in six different countries have successfully been coached through their programs.

The book is a collaborative effort with 11 of the brightest tech experts in North America. This team has come together to provide entrepreneurs an outline of how they can leverage technology as a competitive advantage in their business. From Cloud to Business Intelligence, this book has the tech basics you need to succeed.

Related Web Sites, etc.: - www.KernanConsulting.com - https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-kernan-varcoach/ - https://www.facebook.com/james.kernan

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Sponsor Note: Gatekeeper from Calyptix Security Introducing Gatekeeper from Calyptix Security: zero trust access securing RDP and SSH connections with two factor authentication without open ports to the internet, client installs or VPN. Two years of partner driven development brings audit friendly access across all types of devices. Reduce stress and implement proper safeguards as advised by the FBI, NSA and DHS, all in a purpose-built solution for small businesses. Interested? Learn even more by visiting calyptix.com/gatekeeper, and when you do, tell them Karl sent you.

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Host James Kernan interviews Sarah Hansen on Social Media Marketing.

Sarah runs Hansen Collective, a firm that uses online marketing expertise to help both international and domestic clients, while also fostering a community and educating her audience on creating effective social media strategies for personal brands and businesses alike.

Hansen Collective combines modern social media marketing strategies with custom content to boost your business's online presence. Our mission is to help your brand better communicate with your audience, and in doing so, create profitable social platforms.

The greatest weakness Sarah find with social media strategies is that many companies use a cookie-cutter approach that doesn't feel natural online. She prefers a more natural, organic, and therefore successful approach.

Web Sites, etc.: - www.hansencollective.com - www.instagram.com/hansencollective - www.linkedin.com/hansensarah21 - www.facebook.com/hansencollective

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Karl interviews Manuel Palachuk, author and coach.

Manuel is introducing a new kind of interactive event call The IT Confidential. See https://theitconfidential.com.

The new venture is a bit like a webinar/podcast with a major twist: A live audience. The goal is to take a hard look at some issues that others are not talking about in the channel. Plus, he got a cool look and feel for the web site.

One other fronts:

We start by checking in on how things are going during the pandemic. So far, our industry seems to be doing pretty well. There are exceptions, of course, but the overall picture is pretty positive.

We also look at the bigger picture and what the "next normal" will look like when the pandemic is over. Next year might be a lot like this year. But Manuel suspect 2022 should be much closer to the old normal.

AND Manuel is announcing a new training series call Agile IT Service Delivery. Like "agile" in software development, Agile Service Delivery is a self-improving service delivery process based on continuous incremental improvement.

You can find out more about that at https://agileservicedelivery.com/.

In general, you can learn more about Manuel at ManuelPalachuk.com, and you can contact him at "manuelpalachuk" on all the social media.

:-)

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Karl caught up with Chris Timm from Sondela Consulting. Chris has a long history in the SMB IT community. He is a former MSP owner and spent a few years at Autotask.

Today Chris is a coach and thought leader around making the most of your PSA. He runs a podcast with Rayanne Buchianico at http://psaimpact.net/. Check it out!

But our focus here is Chris's new book! PSA Profitability is available on Amazon and Kindle. The Amazon.com link is https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1838111301/.

Here Tim gives us some great advice about picking the right PSA for your business. Like many software packages, the right tool for one company is not the right tool for all companies. A good PSA with be customizable for your procedures and processes.

Chris is a huge advocate of tracking all time in the PSA. But, at the same time, he says that you shouldn't buy a PSA if all you need is a ticketing system. If you need a ticketing system, go buy one. A PSA is a much bigger-picture tool. Yes, it includes a ticketing module. But it's a lot more than that.

Overall, a great conversation.

Related Links: - Web: www.sondelaconsulting.com - Podcast: psaimpact.net - Book: www.psaprofitability.com

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Using LinkedIn to Generate Leads for MSPs with Nathaniel Freedman, Tech Pro Marketing

Karl interviews Nathaniel Freedman, CEO of Tech Pro Marketing.

As Nate says: You don't want marketing help from just anyone — you want it from someone who is focused exclusively on using MSP Marketing to help MSPs generate leads. Tech Pro Marketing is dedicated to delivering predictable, quality leads to Managed Service Providers and help fill their sales pipelne.

Karl and Nate explore ways you can do better with your lead generation, specifically with LinkedIn.

Related Resources:

• https://www.techpromarketing.com
• https://smartermsp.com/author/nate-freedman/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/natefreedman/

:-)

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Karl caught up with coach Erick Simpson (www.ericksimpson.com). He works with a lot of partners, and we talk about what partners are experiencing as the extended "work from home" world evolves.

Luckily, many IT service providers are thriving and doing well helping their clients to be successful. That is a great example of technology that used to be "nice" and is no critical. So that has turned into an unexpected opportunity.

But we are also faced with an unexpected challenge: Selling remotely. Erick talks about how we can use the extended functions of Zoom (or Teams or whatever) to help you deliver a killer sales presentation.

From there, we dive into some specifics. How do you do qualifications and meeting setups remotely? Be prepared. Make the technology invisible.

Plus lots of other great tips and information!

Web site: www.ericksimpson.com

:-)

Sponsor Note: Gatekeeper from Calyptix Security Introducing Gatekeeper from Calyptix Security: zero trust access securing RDP and SSH connections with two factor authentication without open ports to the internet, client installs or VPN. Two years of partner driven development brings audit friendly access across all types of devices. Reduce stress and implement proper safeguards as advised by the FBI, NSA and DHS, all in a purpose-built solution for small businesses. Interested? Learn even more by visiting calyptix.com/gatekeeper, and when you do, tell them Karl sent you.

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

Karl interviews Ben Niernberg from MNJ Technologies. MNJ is an MSP that also helps other MSPs resell phone services and Internet connectivity.

Ben currently oversees all sales, marketing, services and vendor management relations for MNJ Technologies. Before joining MNJ, he spent a decade at Canon Solutions America, a subsidiary of Canon USA Company, where he was in a variety of management and executive roles. At MNJ, Ben remains focused on working with new and existing customers to solve their technology and services business issues that they deal with every day. Ben is thrilled about the future of MNJ Technologies and the exciting growth that has already been realized.

For many organizations, connectivity is a key financial, administrative and usability pain point. Legacy solutions like MPLS may be adding unnecessary expense. Traditional circuit/bandwidth services and newer SD-WAN offerings are typically sourced from different providers, making it difficult to optimize spend as well as forcing IT teams to manage multiple bills and complicating troubleshooting. Slow connections frustrate employees (especially those now working from home) while also hampering productivity.

Managed services provider MNJ Technologies is solving those problems for mid-market customers by consolidating all telecom services under one roof through its role as both a Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) and SD-WAN provider.

Web Sites: https://www.mnjtech.com/

:-)

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