SMB Community Podcast

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 effect...

My friend Ryan Morris (from Morris Management Partners) normally hangs out on the Killing IT Podcast. But today he joined me here to talk about our industry from three different perspectives: Vendor, Distributor, and Partner. Obviously, we spent most of our time on the Partner side of the equation. Ryan is a 25+ year veteran of the IT channel. He has lived and worked in the channel from practicall...

Amy Babinchak is back, this time to question the relevancy of RMM and PSA tools with Amy Luby, founder of SMB Managed Services Community. The technical landscape is constantly evolving, specifically in terms of security; it's not always a given that our existing tools are still right for the job. More about Amy Luby: Amy is a successful leader and entrepreneur in the IT Services Channel, with an e...

I was happy to catch up with Mike Michalowicz, author of Profit First , Surge , The Pumpkin Plan , and his newest release Clockwork . By his 35th birthday, Mike had founded and sold two companies - one to private equity and another to a Fortune 500. Today he is running his third multi-million dollar venture, Profit First Professionals. He is a former small business columnist for The Wall Street Jo...

Catch Amy's Q&A with MSP owners Leon Black and John Zanazzi on her recent whitepaper: How to Build a Valuable Local LinkedIn Network. Get clarity on who to target, how often to post and more. Find Amy's whitepaper here: https://www.smbbooks.com/How-To-Build-A-Valuable-Local-LinkedIn-Network-p/bab02.htm About our guests: Leon Black has been in the IT Industry for over 17 years, from enterprise supp...

This week we had Small Biz Thoughts employee Dylan Dahlquist (Quest) on the show. Dylan is certified in Google Adwords and has been supporting the Small Biz Thoughts brands since 2019. Listen in to hear how he gets paid offering free services to qualifying non-profits. Dylan Quest is a creative scientist with a passion for communicating complex ideas in innovative ways. His career started in mater...

Had a great talk with C.J. Ezell who launched his newest business, CrossBay Digital Marketing in January. His offerings include web design/hosting, reviews, and local SEO. We also talk about working specific verticals and developing a niche. C.J. launched his first company in 1998. Twenty-two years later, he is still starting new ventures and inspiring others to do the same. He is a frequent speak...

I was very pleased to catch up with Amy Babinchak - One of the new hosts for this podcast - and talk about employee training. This podcast grew out of a series of private emails we exchanged, which grew from an unrelated topic. Here Amy spells out how she helps employees gain knowledge on new technologies while helping to create consistent processes across all technicians. She also talks about the...

I always like to catch up with Chip Reaves from Bigger Brains. Here we're talking about Online Training as a Service. Chip is a 30-year IT channel veteran who has built five MSP or related businesses and sold four. He's best known as the founder and CEO of Computer Troubleshooters USA, the world's largest IT services franchise network. In 2012 Chip created the channel's first end-user training pla...

Featured Guest: Joseph Landes I talked with Joseph Landes from Nerdio about the specifics of moving clients to the Azure cloud - and the special tools Nerdio employs to make sure you know what it will cost. They also have some cool tools for reducing the cost of running client operations on Azure. Joseph worked at Microsoft for almost 25 years before joining Nerdio to help MSPs learn how to build...

My guest this week is my friend Scott Millar from IT Rockstars and MSP Video Academy. Scott is the founder of IT Rockstars. He has an extensive career spanning both IT and marketing. As systems engineer at heart, Scott saw an opportunity at a young age in generating leads to his break-fix computer repair business using online marketing techniques. This evolved into the managed service space where...

IoT Playbook - Part of the ChannelPro Network I interviewed Mark Smith from ChannelPro Network and IoT Playbook. Smith has been in IT for more than 25 years. He was the founder of Windows NT Magazine, a global media company that helped over 1M IT professionals. Mark is the Host of IoT Playbook, part of the ChannelPro Network. IoTPlaybook is on a mission to find the early IoTMSP pioneers and get th...

I interviewed Alan Conboy of Scale Computing a few days ago. Alan is the CTO office at Scale Computing. With more than 20 years of experience, he is an industry veteran and technology evangelist specializing in designing, prototyping, selling and implementing disruptive storage and virtualization technologies. Prior to Scale Computing, Conboy held positions at Lefthand Networks, ADIC, CreekPath Sy...

Had a great impromptu chat with Dave Sobel from MSP Radio and The Business of Tech (and the Killing IT podcast). Dave has spent his time as both an IT Service Provider and a vendor. Now he is jumping into a new venture as an analyst and new reporter. If you haven't checked it out already, head over to MSP Radio and subscribe to The Business of Tech - his daily five-minute podcast. Great stuff. Dav...

James Kernan: How to build Equity in your business BEFORE you sell - The 8 secrets to increasing the value of your business I had a great chat with fellow coach James Kernan. James is the author of the 36 Month Millionaire Program , and recently published books, Leadership Essentials for Successful Executives and Business Tips . For the past 12 years, James has served as a Principal Consultant for...

In this podcast, I interview Andrew Lassise, a serial entrepreneur who has built Rush Tech Support from his living room in 2014 to a multi million dollar managed services provider. He got sober in 2013 and has an incredible story of triumph over alcoholism and growing and scaling an IT company Andrew also has a podcast, Self Made & Sober. He talks with entrepreneurs who are in recovery and are suc...

I had a lot of fun recording this podcast with Nicholas Ford (Account Executive - Partner Network at SherWeb) and Jacob Wellman (Associate Account Executive at SherWeb). In addition to working together, these guys are friends who have built a great culture in their department. See the photo we discuss at www.smbcommunitypodcast.com . Topics include fun at work, building a fun culture, and figuring...

I interviewed Ahin Thomas, Vice President of Backblaze. He describes himself as "A former bartender, songwriter and hand model." Ahin previously worked as director of eCommerce at Sears Holdings, was the co-founder and CEO of Vintners' Alliance, and was the head of marketing for Symphony Commerce. In this interview, Ahin talks about Backblaze's major products: Computer Backup and Backblaze B2 Clou...

I interviewed Keith Gillette, founder of TaskTrain, a new documentation tool for checklists and procedures. He describes TaskTrain as "A practical tool to scale your business by eliminating avoidable errors & increasing operational efficiency. Keith Gillette is a "process pragmatist" and Founder/CEO of TaskTrain, a process management SaaS application streamlined for SMBs. Keith has more than 25 ye...

I had a great chat with my old friend Nigel Moore from Australia about his new book, Package Price Profit. (You can buy it on Amazon in paperback or Kindle edition .) This book is a great overview of pricing and bundling options in the IT service industry. I particularly love his analogy about so-called All You Can Eat: Everything at the buffet is included. If you want us to make a special dish fo...

I had a great chat with my old friend Nigel Moore from Australia about his new book, Package Price Profit. (You can buy it on Amazon in paperback or Kindle edition .) This book is a great overview of pricing and bundling options in the IT service industry. I particularly love his analogy about so-called All You Can Eat: Everything at the buffet is included. If you want us to make a special dish fo...

This is a great interview with Jennifer Fields of ASTEK Marketing. I have worked with Jennifer for 2+ years now. She's the real deal. ASTEK Marketing is based in Kenosha, WI. They have an office there for doing call-downs and follow-ups on the marketing services they provide. ASTEK specializes in marketing for MSPs: strategic planning, direct marketing, executing call-downs, and more. They have a...

It's always great to catch up with my old friend Vince Tinnirello. Vince Tinnirello Vince is the Managing Director of Anchor Network Solutions, a Denver-based managed IT service provider, founded in 2002. He is the immediate past Chair of the CompTIA Managed Services Community, and very passionate about the IT Services industry and the service Anchor delivers to its clients. Vince lives in the foo...

Since selling his Managed Service Provider business, Richard has helped dozens of MSPs to grow their own companies. He works with the owners of IT businesses to help them free up their time, concentrate on doing what is important and making more money. In his interactive presentations, Richard offers some practical advice on how he would run a great MSP today — including his tips for selling MSP s...

Today's guest is Mr. Tim Taylor, author of How to Start and Run a Successful I.T. Company - Without Using your Shirt , available on Amazon, Amazon Kindle, and Audible. Tim is from Memphis, TN. He has always worked in the IT field. When he was 40, he started his own practice out of the trunk of his car. Today, he runs a multi-million dollar practice in Florida and employs over 15 people. Tim Taylor...