SMB Community Podcast

1.) MSP Question of The Week Is there an opportunity there for MSPs to resell consulting service around copilot? --- 2.) Notes on The News Windows features disappearing in 2024: https://www.pcworld.com/article/2285358/10-windows-features-disappear-soon-2024.html Google looking to purchase Hubspot: https://www.crn.com/news/cloud/google-parent-alphabet-eyes-hubspot-acquisition-report United States C...

1.) MSP Question of The Week Is it worth the time to track MDF/Rebates from your vendors partners if you are a small MSP? --- 2.) Notes on The News April fool's joke? Gmail announced 20 years ago today: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/20-years-ago-people-thought-googles-gmail-launch-was-an-april-fools-day-joke Microsoft copilot released today: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/copilot-for...

Host Amy and James are back! 1.) MSP Question of The Week: Should you force remote workers back in to the office? And do workers prefer weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly payment? --- 3.) Notes on The News N-able 2024 MSP Challenges and Opps – CEO article: https://www.channele2e.com/perspective/n-able-ceo-pagliuca-2024-msp-challenges-opportunities How the top MSP business owners are using AI in their b...

We follow Karl Palachuk as he makes his way through Channel Partners Expo 2024! Thank you to our guests (in order): Dave Seibert of SMBTechFest https://www.linkedin.com/in/daveseibert99 https://www.smbtechfest.com/index.asp Michelle Ragusa McBain of Sonicwall https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleragusamcbain https://www.sonicwall.com/leadership/michelle-ragusa-mcbain/ Mikey Pruitt of DNSFilter http...

Karl interviewed Stephen Thomas from Asigra. Thomas oversees global revenue and shapes the sales and customer success strategy. He is an accomplished executive With over 25 years of experience in building and guiding sales and customer success teams within the rapidly expanding sectors of Enterprise SaaS. With over 25 years of experience in building and guiding sales and customer success teams wit...

Host James sits down with Christophe Reglate of SXIPHER. Look out for the PROMO for 20% off in the month of March! https://www.sxipher.ai/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/christophe-reglat-7360b0141/ Call: (386) 479-4074 Email: sales@sxipher.ai — Our upcoming events: AUSTIN TX – MASTERMIND LIVE (March 28-29th) http://bit.ly/kernanmastermind https://kernanconsulting-mastermind.mykajabi.com/mastermind-e...

Yes, another opener about the weather. ;) 1.) The MSP Question of The Week How can small MSPs compete with larger firms in the same market? https://www.msptoday.com/topics/msp-today/articles/458682-msps-must-focus-strengths-not-be-afraid-partner.htm --- 2.) Notes on The News The AT&T outage results in $5 credit to all affected users. ...And the Media Industry suffers in the face of social media ne...

We are back after the long weekend with great hair... 1.) MSP Question of the week: How do you qualify an opportunity so you don't waste your time? Check out Amy's whitepaper: https://www.thirdtier.net/product/whitepaper-how-to-build-a-valuable-local-linkedin-network/ --- 2.) Notes on the News and Our Favorite Social Media Apple Vision Pro is out: 1st new product in 7 yrs – VR headset $3499 https:...

Host James sits down with Val King. Val is the CEO of Whitehat Virtual Technologies and responsible for day-to-day-operations, as well as leading the company's product development and technology strategy. Val has 20 years of experience in technology, compliance, and security in regulated industries, particularly in financial services and healthcare. Currently Val serves in a dual role as CIO for a...

1.) MSP Question of The Week How important is work culture as it relates to acquisition or merger? and Why everything boils down to customer experience... See: https://www.channele2e.com/native/customer-experience-is-everything 2.) Five minutes with a Smart Person - Val King of Whitehat Technologies Val is the CEO of Whitehat Virtual Technologies and responsible for day-to-day-operations, as well...

1.) MSP Question of The Week How do busy MSP business owners deal with stress? Host Amy and Host James discuss their strategies. --- 2.) Five Minutes with A Smart Person - Eric Anthony Host James sits down with Channel Vet, podcaster, and Director of Community at EGNYTE Eric Anthony. Learn more about Eric: https://www.linkedin.com/in/esanthony/ Eric's Customer Experience video: https://youtube.com...

Host Amy and Host James catch up and catch a tan. 1.) MSP Question of The Week What is the best business structure for new MSPs? See: https://www.toptal.com/finance/interim-cfos/c-corp-vs-s-corp#:~:text=Compared%20to%20traditional%20S%20or,it's%20taxed%20as%20a%20corporation --- 2.) More Tech Layoffs? EY Announces Layoffs in Response to Economic Struggles See: https://www.channele2e.com/news/ey-an...

*Due to a small error, we are re-releasing this episode that was originally set for January 19th, 2024. Thanks for understanding. :-) 1.) Should you update your GOALS and OBJECTIVES every year? The short answer? Yes. Email James (james@kernanconsulting.com) for his one page business plan exercise. --- 3.) Notes on The News Is Connectwise a sinking ship? https://www.msptechnews.com/business-news/is...

Host Karl sits down with friend, Jerry Koutavas. As President of The ASCII Group, Jerry Koutavas is responsible for creating resources and services aimed at helping IT and managed service providers better manage their time and their bottom line. Koutavas oversees the creation, implementation, and adoption of benefits at The ASCII Group which services over 1,400 MSPs in North America. A widely-reco...

1.) MSP Question of the week: Will the US economy adversely affect my business? In summation, it will...if YOU let it. And what does tabasco hot sauce have to do with you? --- 2.) Notes on the News Tech lay offs yet again! Google, Amazon and Snap are among latest to announce major layoffs. See: https://www.channele2e.com/news/google-amazon-snap-latest-to-announce-layoffs 3.) Cool Tech Gifts Our ex...

Host James sits down with Venvito's Founder Rob Fegan on partnering with Microsoft. Venvito was formed to teach other Microsoft partners how to harness the scale and reach of Microsoft's field teams. Sharing with other owners, founders, and leaders the messaging, the mechanics, and the mindset necessary to partner with Microsoft, growing your Microsoft practice through mutually beneficial relation...

Today the SMBCP is whole again: Karl is back! 1.) MSP Question of The Week What is the best commission plan for salespeople? --- 2.) What's New in the News OPEN AI – blew up! And ransomware attacks are on the RISE! Ransomware attacks have surged in recent years; this has led to significant financial losses, data breaches and operational disruptions across various sectors. As of 2023, over 72% of o...

In this week's edition of SMBCP, we sit down with the Chief Information Officer of TS Banking Group, Julian Caldwell. We discussed how to get into the door with executives--What are they looking for in MSPs? And hpw to become "Sticky" Long Term strategic partners with your customers? Listen today to see why most MSP's fall short of these expectations... Our upcoming events: Kernan Mastermind Roads...

Host Karl goes down under for the SMB IT Pro Con! In this episode, Karl captures bite-sized interviews with the best in the industry. Featuring (In Order): Dean Calvert of Calvert Technologies Elias Mansour of N-Able Matt Koenig of Nodeware Pablo Munoz of Ninja One Peter Ward of Dijital Team Shaun Witherden of Kaseya Shaun Capps of Pax8 Ted Deane 2Excel Tim Lippa Halo PSA Will Parker HP Elite ---...

Happy Thanksgiving! In this turkey day edition of SMBCP, we have Chip Reaves in the studio! Chip's expertise is in Microsoft software, teaching courses on a variety of apps and iterations from 2010 to the most current Microsoft 365. He has been interviewed on TV and other major media on topics related to small business technology and entrepreneurship, including ABC News, BusinessWeek TV, The Wall...

For this week's episode, we are joined by our co-host Amy Babinchak! --- 1.) The MSP Question of the Week What can you do NOW to increase the value of your business BEFORE you sell? Host James and Host Amy break it down. 1. Business Plan 2. Written Agreements both customer and employee 3. Focus on Core Service 4. Unique Assets 5. Clean Books and record keeping 6. Business Process Bible 7. Diverse...

1.) MSP Question of The Week What do you do when your customer hires one of your employees? Have you prepared with a non-solicitation in your agreement? Did they let you know in advance or hire behind your back? Do you contact them? All the questions answered with Host James! 2.) Five Minutes with a Smart person – Steven Frank of TDSynnex TDSynnex is MUCH MORE than a distributor, they are a partne...

In this episode of the SMBC podcast, we have three special cohost! Host James sits with Alex Farling, Wes Spencer and Kyle Christensen of Empath. https://www.empathmsp.com/ Tune in as we discuss the next big moves for Empath. --- Our upcoming events: Kernan Mastermind Roadshow Dec 7-8th, 2023 in Newport Beach CA – http://bit.ly/kernanmastermind https://kernanconsulting-mastermind.mykajabi.com/mast...

1.) The MSP Question of the Week What is your unique selling proposition? Or your "superpower"? --- 2.) Notes on the News Understanding Your Competitors – SWOT Analysis on your business. https://www.msptechnews.com/business-news/evaluating-business-rivals/ We discuss: - Understanding your competitors is crucial for staying competitive in today's business landscape. - A successful competi...

1.) What's Up with You? One of our favorite topics on the show: What do you prefer--the large events or the smaller events? Let us know and send us message at james@kernanconsulting.com! Host James breaks down the pros and cons of both. --- 2.) MSP Question of the Week Should you have one offering or multiple offerings – AND – what is your recommendation for price per seat? 3.) James's Quick Marke...