SMB Community Podcast

Check out the “Killing IT Reading List” at https://killingit.smallbizthoughts.com.

Topic 1: Virtual Events -- what you want to see

A different kind of discussion here. Would you rather rush out from quarantine to a channel-focused event, or maybe a sporting event, a social event, or even a concert?

We are still waiting for a "killer app" for online events.

Topic 2: The Economy

Where are we? Note: Wild speculation ahead!

We are clearly on our our way to recession. How soon will we start to move out of it?

How paralyzed are you by the statistics? What are the implications for business when there is so much uncertainty? In the previous topic we talked about the specifics of dealing with this regarding conference events. What about the rest of our economic interactions?

And the big question: What is the best approach for your business to take to guarantee survival in this environment?

Topic 3: Technology after the Pandemic - Office space after the Pandemic

You have to dig a bit . . . but there’s a mention of voice-activated elevators. Dave’s favorite interface!

Related Link:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/04/23/offices-after-coronavirus/

-- -- --

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:-)

Host Karl Palachuk meets up with Justin Esgar to talk about the ACES Conference 2020: The Prequel - a free conference for all small to medium business owners, to help them survive and thrive in a post-Covid world!

Justin is the owner of Virtua Consulting Group, a NYC-based company that helps not only clients with IT, but other consultants as well. Virtua Computers helps those companies with Mac-Based inventory, Virtua XYZ provides software to help MSPs succeed, Virtua Consulting offers 1 on 1 consulting with MSP owners to help grow their business, and Virtua Conferences, owners of the popular ACES Conference - a business conference for IT professionals and MSPs.

Additional Links:

https://virtuaconsultinggroup.com https://acesconf.com

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Topic 1: CX Rules - Amazon makes it a little more difficult to buy - so you won’t be disappointed.

Amazon has made several subtle changes in response to the current economic environment. Specifically, their delivery times and inventory are no longer as reliable as they used to be. One example: They have reduced the “people also bought this” option so they are not automatically pushing items that might be out of stock or take longer to fulfill.

They are also pushing Kindle versions of books, which never go out of stock.

The goal is to minimize bad Customer Experience and maximize the positive Customer Experiences they can. Their assumption is that people are keeping track of who serves them well and who disappoints them during these unusual economic times.

Related Link:
https://www.inc.com/chris-matyszczyk/amazon-is-changing-its-website-to-do-something-truly-unimaginable.html

Topic 2: Good Communication is critical in these unusual times.

Here we highlight a disagreement between an IT department and the people they serve. IT is more critical than ever to every organization - and they need to learn how to work with people!

Links:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/online-learning-sputters-again-in-fairfax-as-proof-mounts-that-district-was-warned-of-issues/2020/04/20/e9d2042a-830f-11ea-a3eb-e9fc93160703_story.html

The School Board tried to blame IT… and IT struck back and got their letter in the WaPo:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/context/sbts-s-april-19-2020-letter-to-fairfax-county-school-board/4a5941a3-7e50-47f4-8818-3396a4097c06/?fbclid=IwAR00u5qY7lM6WdzbOdfcrTOVxabZP0f_WEPBpaSqOIt0b7CTutuHTDg5K70

Topic 3: Technology after the Pandemic - Cutting edge technologies to help keep the food chain safe.

IT - and blockchain in particular - will change the way we keep food safe.

Key quote:
“Gartner predicts that 20% of the Top 10 grocers worldwide will be using blockchain by 2025 to improve food safety and traceability by creating a secure ledger documenting its production, quality and freshness.”

Link:
https://diginomica.com/critical-role-it-assuring-food-safety-pandemic-times

:-)

Host Amy Babinchak talks with Janet Schijns about how to generate demand, social selling, tactics to use when times are bad and community based IT marketing - you won't want to miss this.

Janet Schijns is CEO and Co-Founder of JS Group, a go to market consultancy dedicated to achieving results in the channel. Janet was the 2019 Channel Influencer of the year and is a known expert on go to market.

Additional Links:

https://jsgnow.com twitter @channelsmart linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetschijns/

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Topic 1: Community Rant - Helping your clients with finances.

We cannot believe that there are "experts" recommending that you lower your rates, forgive debts, and be the financial support for your clients in the rough times ahead! Just because someone bought time on a webinar does not mean that you should be taking their advice.

There are ways to cut costs by offering different services. Please do not create a "loss leader" service in a recession! Cash remains king.

Please do not simply charge less and give the same level of service: That breaks the value chain.

Topic 2: Education and Online Learning - How much opportunity is here?

Sending all the student home has made clear that there are systemic problems with "universal" online education. Many students do not have the Internet connectivity or resources to simply switch to online education.

In addition, there are lots of teachers who have never used online tools to deliver education. And if all the colleges go online, they will compete in ways they have never competed before.

Yes, there's "opportunity" here, but the world is more complicated than that simple statement implies.

Topic 3: Technology after the pandemic - Robots Welcome to take some jobs

We were struck by the article below on how robots are being accepted instead of feared, at least in one specific example. There have been commentaries for years about the fear of robots taking jobs. But in this strange pandemic context, we're finding that robots are welcome to do certain jobs that humans aren't interested in doing.

Link:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/10/business/coronavirus-workplace-automation.html?referringSource=articleShare

:-)

Host James Kernan interviewed Tim Taylor.

Tim is the Founder and President of TaylorWorks, Inc., a leading Managed Service provider in Central Florida. For over 20 years, TaylorWorks has provided companies with proactive IT consulting and support services. Tim has successfully guided his company over the past several years to 300% growth rate. Tim also has a consulting practice, www.timtaylorconsulting.com, where he helps MSPs grow their practices and become more profitable.

Additional Relevant Information http://www.timtaylorconsulting

Links:

Podcast https://twitter.com/ttaylor614 Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TimTaylorConsulting/ Web http://www.timtaylorconsulting LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylorworks/

:-)

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We start with a nerdy technology catch-up.

Topic 1: The Channel Gets a Boost

We all know that there's been a spike in spending as the first response to the big stay-at-home orders. So most tech companies have seen a good influx of cash. We recommend that you consider this a short-term boost. CRN thinks it will be a longer term up-tick. We discuss.

Related Link:
https://www.crn.com/news/cloud/coronavirus-driving-massive-surge-in-tech-purchases-the-channel-company-research

Topic 2: Should you lower rates in response to economic downturn?

(No. Here’s why.)

We agree that this is definitely NOT the time to lower your rates. Raise value, but don't lower rates. Create new offerings, if you need to, but always be strategic about it.

When you rely on recurring revenue, dropping rates is a critical error because it echoes across the months ahead!

Topic 3: Technology after the pandemic - Changes to cities

Once everyone moved "home" in response to the pandemic, some of them may not go back to the office. How extensive will this be?

Many people will go back to business as usual, but we also think there will be a lot of permanent changes. This includes restaurants, commercial offices, and many of your clients.

Feedback welcome!

:-)

Interview: Harry Brelsford from 420MSP

Harry joins us for the one year anniversary of the launch 420 MSP (www.420MSP.com).

Harry released How to Be an MSP - vertical edition focused on the cannabis industry last year at this time. His community has grown significantly. If you listen carefully, he digs right into the technology of the cannabis vertical.

Perhaps the biggest thing going on right now in the industry is the growth of legalization. Harry talks about the challenges of this along with the culture of the industry vertical. One piece of that is the acceleration of legalization in response to the "quarantine" orders regarding the current virus pandemic.

Several states have listed cannabis outlets as "essential" businesses during this very strange era. As a result, Harry believes that legalization will move from a five-year horizon to perhaps at two or three year horizon. That's speculation, of course, but gives a strong argument about the growth of this industry during the economic downturn we're about to experience.

We covered lots of other great territory as well. This is a great business-focused discussion.

Primary site: https://420msp.com/

Book: https://420msp.com/2020/01/how-to-be-an-msp/

Conference info:

June 1-5, 2020 Online https://420msp.com/answers-20-20-conference/

:-)

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Intro chit-chat is all about baseball and getting back to "normal."

Topic 1: 3D Printing Comes to the Rescue

We had earlier said that 3D printing was no longer interesting. Well, now it's interesting again! Several groups have grown up around the use of 3D masks and spare parts in response to the current virus problems. Once you start following these links, you'll certainly find more.

Links:
https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/3d-printing-medical-devices/faqs-3d-printing-medical-devices-accessories-components-and-parts-during-covid-19-pandemic

https://www.google.com/search?q=3d+printing+covid&rlz=1C1GCEU_enUS819US819&oq=3d+printing+covid

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/science/coronavirus-masks-equipment-crowdsource.html

Topic 2: Is it Okay to Start Selling to Clients?

(Short answer: yes.) Yes, of course - but don't be a jerk about it. Your clients need you. And they need you now. And they will need you for the duration of the "social distancing."

A few people are saying that it's bad form to be marketing and selling right now. We take a different perspective: If you are selling the right thing to help clients and make their business better, then they will be grateful that you helped them in their time of need.

Related Link:
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.linkedin.com_pulse_when-2Dcan-2Di-2Dstart-2Dselling-2Dagain-2Dgeoffrey-2Dmoore&d=DwIFaQ&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=wwaawyLzdk_8mPNRNnoCuz12EPsQnJMw8kElehTu348&m=YWUi-DK-VYG82DrovBLKdjiO9LCPKbKqMmYKnFz-HEs&s=1fWII21f5dVyMPARA-sReDIOtCXHDlnP7vehGSCOYJw&e=

Topic 3: Life After Pandemic - Telemedicine:

Come with us now . . . to the future. When all this hub-bub is over, how will the future world be changed by things we are doing in the middle of this unique point in history. Today we look at changes in telemedicine that we think will last forever.

Link:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/bijankhosravi/2020/03/29/post-coronavirus-how-telemedicine-could-upend-the-healthcare-system/#4df12dc2d03f

and always keep an eye on . . . The Medical Futurist:
https://medicalfuturist.com/category/telemedicine/

Stock mentioned (this is not an endorsement): TDOC.

:-)

Host James Kernan interviewed Yoram Baltinester for this show.

Yoram has been coaching and leading seminars since 1989. His fast, fierce and focused approach has earned him the nickname "The Personal Development Samurai."

While developing a successful high-tech career for large companies Yoram created and refined the LifeDesign Method and the Decisive Action Protocol. These tools facilitate effective leadership, high-quality decision-making, and purposeful engagement with business to create meaningful success without sacrificing life balance and burning-out.

Yoram was involved in multiple startups since 1985, in Personal Development and in the software, hardware, and I.T. industries. He started a Managed I.T. Services company right after September 11th, which he grew and sold in 2013.

In his free time, Yoram loves to travel. In 1992, Yoram and his wife spent a year backpacking around the world, spending most of that time in China, crossing the Gobi Desert into Tibet and then the Himalayas into Nepal and India.

Everything Yoram accomplishes is done using the principles of the LifeDesign Method and the Decisive Action Protocol.

Today, Yoram works with high-performing leaders and professionals and teaches them how to use the Decisive Action Protocol and LifeDesign Method to bring their leadership, teams, and businesses to the next level of success.

Links:

• http://bit.ly/mslp2020
• http://yourultimateworkshop.com/
• http://HeyYoram.com
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/yorambaltinester/

:-)

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