SMB Community Podcast

Harry Brelsford

In this SMB Community Podcast, Harry Brelsford from SMB Nation gives us an update on the latest and greatest from his world.

Highlights include the Spring SMB Tech Talks (Topics include Blockchain and Bitcoin), Life-long learning, new analytics courses from Microsoft, and an update on "Pivot" marketing program.

Harry finishes off with a quick summary of his hottest five tips for marketing online in the SMB Community.

Links Mentioned:

Web Site: www.smbnation.com

SMB Tech Talks: http://unbouncepages.com/msptechtalkspring2018/

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This interview is 30 minutes.

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If you've attended an ASCII Success Summit in the last few years, I'm sure you've run into Herman Pool from Vertical Axion (www.verticalaxion.com).

If you haven't attended an ASCII Sucdess Success Summit – You Should! Visit asciievents.com for more info.

Vertical Axion helps Managed Service Providers with a variety of marketing programs, including building customized web sites. They also provide syndicated content for your web site – and promote those posts on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. They also help with SEO. In this interview, Herman talks about some of the pitfalls small businesses find with SEO.

Herman also has a great book called One Hour Marketing. I've linked to his site so you can find out more.

Best advice snippet: Don't build your Internet presence on Facebook!! That's like building on rented land. :-O

Links Mentioned:

Web Site: www.verticalaxion.com

Herman's Personal Web Site: www.hermanpool.com

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This interview is 30 minutes.

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I had a great chat with my friend Dave Sobel, Senior Director of MSP Evangelism at SolarWinds MSP. We covered a broad range of future-looking topics – and how they might affect us in the small business space. Dave is an author and former managed service provider.

Note: This is NOT a vendor-centric podcast. Dave is a tremendous thought leader in our community and I'm always happy to catch up with him and talk about where he sees the world of technology headed.

Enjoy the video – and see why Dave has the title Senior Director MSP Evangelism! Also, connect with Dave on social media. All his links are on his about.me page at www.davesobel.com.

Links Mentioned:

Web Site: www.davesobel.com

Article: The Perpetually Valuable MSP – www.solarwindsmsp.com/resources/wp-perpetually-valuable-msp

Book: Flash Foresight by Daniel Burrus

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This interview is 30 minutes.

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I caught up with Michael Siggins, founder and Publisher of ChannelPro Magazine. In addition to covering a bit of the history of ChannelPro magazine, Michael gives us some great information about the ChannelPro events and other resources.

Two cool topics we touched on include the State of the Channel research that was recently released (see link below) and the new IoT Playbook (also linked below). One cool stat from the State of the Channel report is that 44% of MSPs are bringing in more revenue than they did in the previous year. Folks are also broadening their scope and making money with security, IoT, and other offerings.

The IoT (Internet of Things) Playbook is a new resource from ChannelPro to help you learn about the Internet of Things and figure out how to profit from IoT. After all, $1.4 Trillion is expected to be spent on IoT. That's so big, it can't all be in the enterprise. There's plenty of money in the SMB space: How will you get your share?

Side Note: I am doing a three out event before the ChannelPro SMB Forums. I'm bringing my SMB Roadshow to the ChannelPro pre-day. Check out the ChannelPro links below or visit www.smbroadshow.com.

Links Mentioned:

Web Site: www.channelpronetwork.com

ChannelPro Events – www.ChannelProForum.com

2018 State of The Channel Research – www.channelpronetwork.com/article/2018-state-channel-survey-stepping-toward-future-it

IoT Playbook – www.iotplaybook.com

Other great publications from EH Media, the publisher of ChannelPro:

• https://www.cepro.com
• http://www.channelpronetwork.com
• https://www.commercialintegrator.com
• https://www.securitysales.com

Check out the interview here:

This interview is 30 minutes.

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Joshua Liberman is a well known member of the SMB IT Community. In addition to writing for ChannelPro and other magazines, you may recognize him as the guy taking pictures at several shows, including ASCII and SMB Techfest.

Josh owns Net Sciences in Albuquerque, NM. They are an MSP with a strong focus on security. Luckily, Josh also makes presentations to IT Pro conferences. I've seen him present in the U.S. and Australia. That's when I decided I should interview him.

Here Josh talks about the challenges and opportunities for installing, configuring, and upselling firewalls. (Hint: Starting in the mid-range can be a great place to start.)

Josh's team has a thorough checklist for firewall setups. If you need help, he is willing to assist. Contact him at NetSciences.com.

Best Comment: If you're in this business, you're in security, whether you realize it or not.

Link:

Web Site: www.netsciences.com

Check out the interview here:

This interview is 30 minutes.

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In this SMB Community Podcast, I interviewed Jennifer Fields and Elizabeth Vanover from EMC – Executive Marketing Collective – on IT Marketing Strategies. Each of them had a successful marketing business. Then they merged into a bigger, better company focused on helping Managed Service Providers do effective marketing.

They help MSPs find clients and convert them through an amazing variety of techniques. They help you find leads, set appointments, and even help you use the news media to promote your business. If you need telemarketing or custom content, they do that as well!

Marketing is one of the biggest pain points for IT service providers of all sizes. Because they offer such a large variety of services, EMC has a price point for everyone.

Most unexpected info: You can have donuts hand-delivered to your hottest prospects. Talk about a personal touch!

Link:

Web Site: www.executivemarketingcollective.com

Check out the interview here:

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This interview is 30 minutes.

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In this SMB Community Podcast, I am joined by Justin Esgar. He runs an MSP business in New York City called Virtua Computers. They focus primarily on Apple computers.

Justin runs a conference called ACES that will be held in Baltimore, MD May 9-10, 2018. More information at http://www.acesconf.com/karl.

The ACES conference evolved because Justin realized that the technology conferences he was attending we focused on technology more than business. So he got together a bunch of IT professionals for a conference. And while it started out primarily among Mac consultants, the content is very business focused – so the hardware is really not relevant.

Note: Justin is offering a 10% discount on registration. Use the link above and enter the coupon code "karl" at checkout. Early Registration pricing ends March 1st. The coupon code is still good after that, but the base will be higher.

Big unexpected advice you need to listen to: When you attend a conference, finish your coffee! Listen to learn why.

Link:

Web Site: http://www.acesconf.com/karl

Check out the interview here:

Watch the video podcast:

This interview is 30 minutes.

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In this SMB Community Podcast, we talk to James Kernan of Kernan Consulting about selling managed services. James is a sales coach and the author of the 36 Month Millionaire program.

I got an email a few weeks ago from someone looking to hire a sales person. I answered that email – but immediately thought about James. What advice would James give to a sole proprietor who is looking to hire a sale person?

So I scheduled a call with James and asked him what advice he has.

In case you haven't heard of James, trust me: He knows what he's talking about. He has built a few businesses. In fact, he bought one business that was selling about $300,000 per year and grew it to $12,000,000 in thirty-six months. Hence the 36 Month Millionaire program that he developed for Robin Robins.

This is a very educational interview. James gives a ton of great advice. And, as you'll see, he has great business advice in addition to sales advice.

Stuff Mentioned:

Web Site: www.KernanConsulting.com

Phone: 888-Var-Coach

Check out the interview here:

Watch the video podcast:

This interview is 30 minutes.

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New Year's means one thing in business: Tax Season! My good friend Rayanne Buchianico joined me to talk about "all things tax" for 2018. We started off talking about 1099s and other reporting requirements. One of the interesting points Rayanne made is that some pieces of the process are not really required – at least not the way most of us think.

This 30 minute interview covers taxes for sole proprietors, s-corps, and lots of related issues.

Rayanne owns ABC Solutions in Clearwater, FL. She is an enrolled agent: A tax professional who is licensed to represent you before the IRS. She is also and MSP and and she specializes in helping other MSPs get their finances straight – and keep them that way.

As strange as it sounds, we spent a lot of time talking about 1099 requirements. Basically, 1099s are good for YOU because they allow you to deduct those expenses from your taxes. But in order for you to do that, someone else (whoever receives the 1099) must then declare that money as income on their tax return.

Quote of the Day: "If you only have one 1099, that means you don't have a business. You have a job."

There are also dramatically different 1099 rules for corporations. You have to send a 1099 to any vendor you have paid $600 or more. And here's a great safety tip: Never pay a new vendor until after they return their W9!

Rayanne's favorite question (which I asked her): "If I'm a sole proprietor with no employees, can I get a tax payer ID to use instead of my Social Security Number?"

. . . And then we talked about S-corps, C-corps, changing tax rates, 20% reductions in taxable income for 2018, and SO MUCH MORE . . .

. . . And more and more. I am amazed at how much good information you'll find in this 30 minute interview. Without typing a transcript, there's no way to cover all the good stuff here. Just listen.

Stuff Mentioned:

ABC Solutions: https://abcsolutionsfl.com/

Rayanne's Blog: https://abcsolutionsfl.com/blog/

–> Follow-up blog post on Rayanne's Blog – Filing 1099-MISC – https://abcsolutionsfl.com/obligations-1099-misc/

Classes Rayanne teaches at Great Little Seminar: http://www.greatlittleseminar.com

Check out the interview here:

Watch the video podcast:

This interview is 30 minutes.

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My friend and one-time business coach Josh Peterson has agreed to run a new set of Peer Teams – based on the "Managed Services in a Month" approach to managed services.

I hope you're not too surprised to learn that Josh and I have very similar ideas about most things. Many of you have seen Josh speak at conferences or taken his classes from Bering McKinley or over at Great Little Seminar.

This 30 minute interview covers the concept of Peer Teams, "opening your numbers," and business improvement generally.

Learn about what makes these groups Managed Services in a Month Peer Teams vs. any other peer group. What would an entire year of working on this philosophy look like?

NOTE: Josh and I have also scheduled a Live webinar on January 17th to answer all your questions about the Managed Services in a Month Peer Teams. Register for that here: Live Q&A Webinar Registration.

Stuff Mentioned:

Bering McKinley web site: www.beringmckinley.com

Bering McKinley Big Game Sales and Service Retreat: https://beringmckinley.com/bering-mckinley-las-vegas-retreat/ — Use code Karl777 to get the discount mentioned in the call!

Live Q&A Webinar January 17th: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_EHZxiaCgQo6k7-Xz3TenJg

Note: I also interviewed Josh about peer teams back in August. See that podcast here.

Find out more and sign up for MSIAM Peer Teams Here.

Josh Stuff:

Bering McKinley is a Management Consulting firm specializing in IT Solution Providers. They have over ten years experience in consulting owners and staff of IT Firms. They proudly provide Blue Chip consulting to small business. Since they only focus on one industry, they have in-depth expertise in all three business units: Sales, Service, and Finance.

Josh Peterson has more than 14 years of management consulting experience. He has run Bering McKinley for five years, focusing very heavily on the most important challenges facing managed service providers.

Josh is also very active as a Peer Team leader. Bering McKinley Peer Teams focus on accountability and constant improvement. He has helped over a thousand companies move to a higher level of success.

Check out the interview here:

Watch the video podcast:

This interview is 30 minutes.

Audio Listen to the Podcast.

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