SMB Nation Podcast: Recent Episodes
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Through this podcast we spread the knowledge of SMB technology trends to the small and medium business (SMB) channel partner, reseller, consulting, and VAR community.
GUEST: Tony Anscombe, Chief Security Evangelist at ESET
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
Cyber Crime has had an 894% increase in brute force attacks on Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) servers during the pandemic. These attackers have exploited remote login credentials, as many employees have worked from home as a necessity to do their job. Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Tony Anscombe at ESET to share the threat landscape and what MSP’s should be encouraging their customers to do to protect their businesses.
Watch the Interview @ SMBNation.com
GUEST: Ben Baker, Your Brand Marketing
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
As we head into fall Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Ben Baker to find out what he is hearing, seeing, and predicting for the close of 2022. Ben and Harry touch on the great resignation, what companies are currently doing with their funds, the recession and the potential opportunities it will bring and much more in this brief podcast.
Watch the Interview @SMBNation.com
GUEST: Stefan Voss, N-able
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation chats with Stefan Voss at the N-able Empower conference about Cove Data Protection. Backup is essential, but it’s only the start. True data protection requires a cloud-first solution for today’s cloud-first world. With ransomware threats looming, you need more than cloud tacked onto the same-old image backup . Cove offers a better way to protect servers, workstations, and Microsoft 365 data. Listen as Harry and Stefan chat to learn more about Data Protection.
Watch the Interview @SMBNation.com
GUEST: Sachi Thompson, Curvature
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
Covid-19 restrictions and their lingering after-effects have been creating disruption around the availability of goods for the past few years. These effects have hit most industries across the world including IT. While many industries have normalized significantly, indicators show that the IT industry may be affected long into 2023. Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Sachi Thompson of Curvature to discuss the networking space constraints around supply chain and how it may affect your business.
Watch the Interview @SMBNation.com
GUEST: Danny and David Brown, Twins Talk it Up
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
We never know for sure what lies ahead, however, one thing we know is that many do not plan for the future. Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Danny and David Brown of Twins Talk It Up about how leaders, business owners, members of the C suite, all have legacies that they are building for the next generation. During this episode they talk about great legacies, bad legacies, and five simple exercises you could do to help build your legacy when you think about the next generation.
Watch the Interview @SMBNation.com
GUEST: Michael Cullen & David Weeks, N-able
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation meets up with Michael Cullen and David Weeks at the N-able Empower Conference in Las Vegas to chat about what is coming out of the conference. From Cloud adoption to recession proofing and learning from others, this conference covered the gamut of ways to grow and succeed. Listen as Harry, Mike, and David touch on their key learning from the conference, and what we can expect from N-able in 2023.
Watch the Interview @ SMBNation.com
GUEST: John Hill, TechSage Solutions
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
With the 2022 Conference schedule in full swing, and 2023 just around the corner Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with John Hill of TechSage Solutions to discuss how the end of the conference season is wrapping up and what conferences you do not want to miss.
Watch the Interview @ SMBNation.com
GUEST: R. Stefan Deeran, Vendelux
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
In 2022 we have seen more events returning to in person as more and more people feel comfortable gathering indoors with large groups of individuals. This is great to hear, as events provide the opportunity to network, stay up to date on the latest trends and educations, build your brand and finding new business. With networking being critical to your career and professional development, it is important to identify the kinds of networking events you want to attend. Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Stefan Deeran of Vendelux to discuss what events to attend, and why in person events are so powerful.
Watch the Interview @SMBNation.com
GUEST: John Pagliuca, N-able
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with John Pagliuca at N-able’s Empower conference in Las Vegas to discuss the recession. John Pagliuca doesn’t believe that anything is recession proof, however, he does believe the MSP industry is recession resilient. Listen to this podcast and learn what partners can do to recession proof their business and weather an economic downturn that could be on the horizon.
Watch the Interview @ SMBNation.com
GUEST: Chip Reaves, Bigger Brains
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
ChannelCon 2022 was a chance to reconnect and reinvigorate your business and your career through networking, and educational sessions. Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Chip Reaves of Bigger Brains to discuss this three day event.
Watch the Interview @SMBNation.com
GUEST: Lisa Shorr, Secure Future Tech Solutions
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
Despite global efforts the number of cyber attacks get worse each year. While the statistics seem dreadful, nearly every industry has had to embrace new solutions and prepare for the future. Although many have embraced cyber security, it is still the number one concern for many business owners today. This concern puts MSP’s in a great position to address these apprehensions, and add cybersecurity services to their offerings. Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Lisa Shorr to discuss mastering the skills for selling Cyber Security.
Watch the Interview @SMBNation.com
GUEST: Larry Meador, DataStream Cyber InsuranceHOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
As a business owner you face many risks from property damages and injuries to loss of product and much more. But did you know your business also faces risk when it comes to using technology. With the rate in security hacks, breaches, and cyber-attacks, the risk of data loss has increase exponentially causing businesses to lose money every day. To protect against those risks many businesses are adding cyber insurance to their portfolio of insurance coverages. Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Larry Meador of DataStream Cyber Insurance to discuss the increasing demand for Cyber Security, and the risk for not having the correct policies in place.
Watch the Interview @ SMBnation.com
GUEST: Ted Hulsy, IronPath
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
In today’s ever changing landscape of cloud computing, cybersecurity threats, labor shortages and the emergence of new technologies many MSP’s are examining what they want for their business, and how they are going to obtain being masters of so many diverse technologies. Rather than try to master such a diverse portfolio of offerings in house, many MSPs are looking to mergers and acquisitions to expand their offerings, and join in joint ventures. Luckily global mergers and acquisition activity has surpassed pre-pandemic levels, with no slow down in sight. Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Ted Hulsey to discuss the current state of the IT channel and how mergers and acquisitions may affect it.
Watch the Interview @SMBNation.com
GUEST: Dave Sobel, MSP Radio
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
At the CompTIA Channelcon 2022 Conference CEO Todd Thibodeaux announced the launch of a new program to foster more careers in technology. With the need for jobs in most sectors of the economy CompTIA is looking to supercharge individuals to be ready to launch full force into the IT industry. Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Dave Sobel to discuss this new initiative as well as the CompTIA Channelcon Conference
Watch the interview @ SMBNation.com
GUEST: Nicholas Ashford, Fordhouse
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
In the past few years, mergers and acquisition (M&A) activity has continued to increase across many industries.In this video, Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Nicholas Ashford to discuss all things acquisitions. They discuss the 3 stages of MSP Acquisitions, recurring revenue, how investors value MSP Business and get their return on investment, and what to expect during and post-acquisition.
Watch the Interview @SMBNation.com
GUEST: Paul Higgins, Cloud Consultants Collective
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
If you are a Cloud Consultant, tech reseller or tech consultant who is looking for inspiration, motivation and education to scale your Cloud Consulting business – you should be listening to The Accelerate Sales Podcast with Paul Higgins. Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Paul Higgins of Cloud Consultants Collective to discuss how Paul is helping Cloud Consultants (CC) to scale, and the communities you need to join.
Watch the Interview @ SMBNation.com
GUEST: Lisa Hendrickson, Call That GirlHOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
Windows 11 has arrived, and was designed with you at the center. With a world who is heavily reliant on using PC’s, Microsoft has focused on delivering an OS that makes your life easier, more secure, connected, all while helping you get things done faster. Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Lisa Hendrickson of Call That Girl to discuss Windows 11 tips, tricks, and what not to do.
Watch the Interview @ SMBNation.com
GUEST: Alex Fields, IT ProsHOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
Marketing during the pandemic was a shift for many businesses, as we went from in person handshakes to digital marketing and communication. With these fluctuations it probably comes to no surprise that consumer behavior shifted during the pandemic, with businesses shutting their doors, and face to face interactions becoming nearly nonexistent. Now that the world is opening up many businesses are looking back at the long term implications of the pandemic in terms of how they market themselves. Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Alex Fields of IT Pro, as he shares some of his secrets for marketing after the pandemic.
Watch the interview @ SMBNation.com
GUEST: Denis Wilson, DWP Information Architects Inc.
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
In times when people are still working remotely, the need to stay connected has become more important than ever. With in person meetings limited, video conferencing systems have become the lifeline to organizations everywhere. Microsoft Teams is one of the leading video conferencing platforms on the market today. With its robust, reliable remote meeting solutions for team collaboration and communication, Microsoft has made it easy to communicate and collaborate with others. Through its chat and voice calling features, team sharing, editing files in real time and shared virtual workspace, Teams has made collaborating with others seamless . Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Denis Wilson to discuss the recent updates to Teams.
Read More @ SMBNation.com
GUEST: Susan Bradley, AskWoody
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
Windows 11 is the newest version of Microsoft Windows OS, and has some handy new features along with several changes. With the new release you are probably contemplating if Windows 11 is worth the upgrade, and if you should take that leap. If you are wondering if Windows 11 is right for you, you won’t want to miss this podcast where Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Susan Bradley to discuss the pros and cons of Windows 11 and what you should do.
Watch the interview @ SMBNation.com
GUEST: Nigel Postings, bizcise
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
Customers are the core of your business, so it is vital you keep generating new customers, as well as continue to retain your existing customers. Whether you are a startup or an established business it is essential to identify your customer base, recognize these customers and build a strong relationship with them. After all these are the people who keep your business going. Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Nigel Postings to discuss the importance of building your customer base, and how he is helping businesses find their target audience.
Watch the Interview @ SMBNation.com
GUEST: Danny and David Brown, Twins Talk It Up
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
When someone says public speaking, some people love it, and others are terrified of the thought. Although you may have a fear of public speaking, at some point in your career you will be called upon to do some sort of public speaking. It may be to a board room of colleagues, or onstage at a conference, but at some point you will need to speak up. Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Danny and David Brown to discuss strategies for public speaking, and how they can help you advance your career.
Watch the interview at SMBNation.com
GUEST: Joshua Liberman, Net Sciences, Inc.
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
Conferences and events are back and in full swing. With new education, new vendors, and many networking opportunities, Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Joshua Liberman of Net Sciences, Inc. to discuss the hot shows and what they have to offer.
Watch the Interview @ SMBNation.com
GUEST: Ben Baker, Communicate Your Way
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
Podcasting is a booming industry with an estimated 2 million active shows, and about 70% of US citizens aware of podcasts. Although, podcasting has been around for awhile the popularity has grown and is predicted to continue to grow. With the growth in podcasts there are many things podcasters need to focus on in order to keep their audience coming back for more. Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation and Ben Baker sit down to discuss the three things podcasters need to focus on.
Watch the Interview @ SMBNation.com
GUEST: Lisa Hendrickson, Call That Girl Microsoft Outlook Expert and Office 365 Consultant
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
The SMB IT community has morphed and changed over the years from starting as a groovy co-op to seeing incredible growth in the last few years. With the growth in the community we are seeing a rise in mergers and acquisitions. Despite the everchanging world with the pandemic, concerns of high interest rates, inflation, and limited resources, companies are looking to the future by digitizing, merging, and building strong marketing strategies. Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Lisa Hendrickson of Call That Girl to discuss recent mergers and acquisitions in the industry and their predictions for the future.
Read More @ SMBNation.com
GUEST: Tim Taylor, TaylorWorks, and Tim Taylor ConsultingHOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Tim Taylor author of How to Start and Run a Successful I.T. Company Without Losing Your Shirt to discuss the fundamentals of how to actually start your own IT company. Tim started out from scratch and built a successful business, listen and let Tim help you create a successful business by learning from his mistakes.
Learn More @ SMBnation.com
GUEST: Anthony Oren, Nero Consulting Inc.
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
The Russia-Ukraine war is driving elevated concerns for cyber security risks worldwide. While the current climate is unpredictable, cybersecurity experts are warning organizations to prepare for a potential in increased cyber- attacks by updating software, making sure patches are up to date, use multi factor authentication, and strengthen your passwords. As MSP’s you need to help reduce the impact and shorten duration should an incident occur to one of your customers. Harry Brelsford sits down with Anthony Oren, Nero Consulting Inc. to discuss the current cyber security situation and what you can do to prepare.
Watch the Interview @ SMBnation.com
GUEST: Dan Albaum, Market Impact
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
A big part of driving marketing is connecting and creating engagements with your target audience. As MSPs you have a tremendous opportunity to be come more effective at marketing your business to drive growth through building effective connections with your customers. Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Dan Albaum of Market Impact to discuss the importance of connections and positive impacts.
Watch the Interview @ SMBNation.com
GUEST: Bill Cate, ZebraHOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
Zebra recognizes the challenges SMB companies face in today’s economy, and have built the SMB Specialization Program to help provide resellers the tools and support they need to build a strong pipeline and close deals in a highly competitive market. Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Bill Cate of Zebra to discuss this SMB Specialization Program for North America and how it enables PartnerConnect partners to compete more effectively in the SMB market.
Watch the Interview @ SMBNation.com
GUEST: Denis Wilson, DWP Information Architects Inc.
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
During the pandemic PC sales posted their fastest growth in 20 years, as the world prepared for remote work and learning. Although the PC sales spiked in Q1 2021, Q1 2022 global PC shipments is down according to Gartner. announced that “it estimates that PC shipments decreased 7.3% on an annual basis to 77.5 million units.” Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation meets with Denis Wilson of DWP information Architects on what the drop in PC sales means for MSPs.
Watch the Interview @ SMBNation.com
GUEST: Aaron R. Warner, ProCircular Inc.
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
Technology is moving faster than ever before. From robots responding to customers, AI anticipating orders before they are placed, and the ability to stream music, share cars, and have groceries delivered at the touch of a button is being driven by the latest technology innovations. With technology transforming daily it has opened up opportunities for cybersecurity attackers to use new technology for their advantage meanwhile defenders are trying to keep up. Harry Brelsford sits down with Aaron Warner to discuss security and how the pace of technology is effecting it.
Watch the Interview @SMBNation.com
GUEST: Lori Tisinai, Computer Concepts USA
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
Global Cyber Security has been threatening the world for the last 20 years, however, in the last couple of years we have seen businesses working overtime to gain an edge on these cyber threats. According to a recent report by Check Point Research the number of attacks on corporate networks increased by 50 percent in 2021 compared to 2020. With cyber-attacks on the rise Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Lori Tisinai of Computer Concepts USA to discuss what she is doing to fight cyber security and what recommendations she is giving her clients.
Watch the Interview @ SMBNation,com
GUEST: Ted Hulsy, Ironpath
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
Small and Medium businesses are already balancing the cost of doing business and the margins continue to get thinner. Between the unpredictable supply chain raising costs, labor cost on the rise, and finding talent, small and medium businesses are having to make hard decisions when it comes to pricing. Harry Brelsford sits down with Ted Hulsy to discuss how inflation is changing the dynamics of business for MSPs.
Watch the Interview @ SMBNation.com
GUEST: John Hill, TechSage Solutions
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
The growing dependency on technology has resulted in a increasing number of cyber security threats. As the cyber security landscape changes, it is becoming more important than ever for business owners to look at and understand cyber security, as well as their business risks, vulnerability and how it can affect their business should they be attacked. Understanding the business risks, will help businesses make informed decisions on data and asset protection, as well as how exposed their business is. Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with John Hill writer of Why Your Business Must Have Cybersecurity Risk Assessments: Learn the Reasons WHY From 14 Cybersecurity Experts to discuss the importance of Cybersecurity Risk Assessments.
Watch the interview @ SMBnation.com
GUEST: Jordan MacPherson, Park Place Technologies
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
Network Monitoring is the practice of identifying components within the network that are in need of help or problem solving. These components can include but are not limited to components, availability, latency and reachability in the network. By monitoring your network using a monitoring software it can provide real time information to the network administrator to help the network run optimally, proactively determine needs, and optimize efficiencies. Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Jordan MacPherson to discuss Park View Network Management services.
Watch the Interview @ SMBNation.com
GUEST: Dan Foote, DanTech
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
You may have already heard the general release of Microsoft’s New Commerce Experience (NCE) which expanded to include M365, Dynamics 365, Windows 365, and Power Platform, took place earlier this year. This is the third phase of a multi-stage transformation to offer a unified experience to both partners and customers. In this third phase of the journey Microsoft focused on delivering a new experience in the Partner Center to provide partners with more flexibility and growth. Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Dan Foote to discuss the Microsoft’s New Commerce Experience (NCE).
Read More @ SMBNation.com
GUEST: Alex Farling, Lifecycle Insights
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
Maintaining, being efficient with resources, improving security, compliance, and having an insight into your businesses evolving IT asset needs are vital in maintaining your business. Proper practices of IT asset lifecycle management encompasses these key practices, while allowing your company to extend asset lifespans, reduce the cost of maintenance, and make the asset more reliable. IT asset lifecycle management starts with planning and continues all the way through the life of the asset. Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Alex Farling of Lifecycle Insights to discuss the importance of IT asset lifecycle management and how it can help your business.
Watch the Interview @ SMBNation.com
GUEST: Jimmy Hatzell, Quickpass
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
Cyber hygiene is the cybersecurity concept of personal hygiene. It refers to the fundamental best practices an organization takes to maintain their health. Just like personal hygiene there are three basic principles a company should use to protect their health, using products and tools that fit your needs, performing these hygienic tasks correctly, and establishing a routine. Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Jimmy Hatzell of Quickpass to discuss the importance of cyber hygiene.
Watch the Interview @ SMBNation.com
GUEST: Lisa Shorr, Secure Future Tech Solutions
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMBNation
Building a successful company is about more than hiring the right talent. While hiring is important, it is just as, if not more important to help employees grow into valuable contributors to the team. Empowering employees is an important part of boosting the culture, morale, and employees value within the company. There are many ways to empower your team so that they feel permitted to become leaders. Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Lisa Shorr to discuss empowering your team and boosting the culture and morale.
Watch the Interview @ SMBNation.com
GUEST: Bob Coppedge, Simplex-IT
HOST: Harry Brelsford, SMB Nation
Although cyber attacks have been around for years, in the last year we have seen a new era of cyber attacks. These attacks are more sophisticated and have cost companies billions in recovery expenses, fines and lost revenue. As companies look to protect themselves with technology, employee training, and cyber insurance, they might not be as protected as they think. Unlike traditional insurance cyber insurance does not have a standard template for insurance. Each insurance policy is significantly different, and are currently becoming harder and harder to use. Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Bob Coppedge of Simplex-IT to discuss cybersecurity and what the future may hold.
Watch Interview @ SMBNation.com
We are seeing a major shift in cyber insurance as premiums have increased between 30% and 110%. One school district even reported a 334% increase in their cybersecurity policy. As more and more big names are breached or hit with nasty ransomware strains, many are realizing the consequences and financial stresses this can have on their company. Most experts agree its not if your company will get hit its when. As cyber-attacks ramp up threatening data and privacy, cyber insurance companies have had to raise their rates partially due to claim frequency, the severity of claims and the uncertainty of what’s to come. Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Dave Sobel to discuss cyber threats and the rise in insurance.
Watch The Interview @ SMBNation.com
GUEST: Carl Katz with CKWEST IT Solutions
HOST: Harry Brelsford with SMB Nation
Windows 11 is the newest major release of the Microsoft Windows NT Operating system which was released in 2021. Windows 11 follows Windows 10 which was released almost 6 years ago, and as you know a lot has changed in technology in the last 6 years. In the new version Microsoft updated a handful of features, including improvements to the Taskbar, support for android apps, and updates to the Notepad and Medial Player, along with creating a modern version which has a simple user experience. Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Carl Katz of CKWEST IT Solutions to discuss Carl’s experience with Windows 11.
Learn More @ SMBNation.com
GUEST: Caroline Goles, Vice President, Digital Sales Strategy with Pax8HOST: Harry Brelsford Founder of SMB Nation
After 14 years with Microsoft, Caroline Goles embarks on a new opportunity as Vice PresidentofDigital Sales Strategy with Pax8. With her vast experience in the worldwide channel, she is excited to join the Pax8 team to provide critical insights into the complexities of operating a global operations, as well as share her love and passion for the partner community. Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Caroline Goles to discuss on her excitement in joining the incredible team at Pax8.
Read More @ SMBNation.com
What is Seed to Sale Software? Seed to sale software is a tracking process that records anything and everything to do with cannabis growing, cultivating, and selling. In other words it is the means to gather data and maintain it in one area to help maintain regulatory compliance and laws. Although, most seed to sale software has their own benefits all these programs help state regulators and business owners track the “life story” of every seed from the moment it hits the ground to When it is sold by dealers.
Read More @ TheCannaTechGroup.com
For many marketers 2020 and beyond has changed almost every part of their job. From moving to an overwhelming amount of digital marketing to engaging customers via virtual meetings, the workflow and engagements of marketing have changed forever. Although, many transformations have been made the array of sophisticated technology solutions available to help marketers has flourished. The technologies have help to create stronger campaigns and relations with customers. We meet up with Scott Brinker who published the Marketing Technology Landscape infographic to get his take on the state of marketing.
Read More @ SMBNation.com
For every business there comes a time when you need to consider outsourcing some of your operations, even if they are things you can do. After running businesses for years, and trying to accomplish all of the tasks in house we would run in to obstacles, lack the time, energy, and would put things off for too long. After some time we found we needed to look for resources to solve these obstacles. The decision to outsource your IT comes with understanding your business and generating the most value with your resources. We speak with Alex Fields who recently outsourced an IT project on why he made the decision to outsource and the outcome.
Learn More @ SMBNation.com
When was the last time you bought a product or received a service where you went wow, this is really cool? In today’s ever changing world it have become harder and harder to wow your customers. Wowing your customers goes beyond just caring for customers, it takes more than doing what you promised. This may seem simple and obvious, but in the hustle and bustle of daily work, it's often overlooked. However, we have found that the simple things or personal touches such as hand written notes, or picking up the phone and calling the customer can create a wow experience. We meet with Beatrice Phillips who gives us ideas on how to wow your customers.
Read More @ SMBNation.com
Over the past decade the world of technology has changed, morphed, and been turned upside down with many MSP’s learning they need to change their service model to be more of a proactive service model instead of a reactive service model. In order to be more proactive the management of internal tools in your tool belt becomes one of your most important assets in efficiency in running your businesses. Tools like your RMM, your PSA, your backup and disaster recovery or security stack are key functions to your business, and have become more and more complex over the past decade. With the complexity of these programs the learning curve to make them effectively utilized for your organization is very steep. We meet up with Vikram Khanna who shares with us the need for managed service providers to become more integrated in these tools providing them a more competitive edge over their competitors.
Read More @ SMBNation.com
Longtime community member and MVP Susan Bradley joins us to share information on the technology community AskWoody. AskWoody is a combination of a website with an active community of people who answer questions, as well as a weekly newsletter. As a part of that newsletter, AskWoody has a combination or smorgasbord of things, ranging from windows, to Apple, to Microsoft 365, to free downloads that are still available that is vetted (they make sure that that any free software is vetted out because there's lotrs of strange stuff out there). And then last but not least, they have what they call the patch, listings master patch listings, and it's Susan’s kind of thumbs up thumbs down of when is it right to patch. Watch and learn more about this fantastic community.
Read More @ SMBNation.com
With the pandemic hitting hard and fast and few businesses having a plan for a global crisis, many businesses learned valuable lessons during the historic moment. With most employees leaving their office with no return day both owners, employees, and clients learned valuable lessons that many things cam be done from remote locations.
Read more @ SMBNation.com
Many individuals have written articles on their New Year’s Predictions filled with enthusiasm for the future. Although, many leading experts write New Year’s predictions, many partners have traditionally ignored them. This year, Howard Cohen takes a new spin on the traditional New Years predictions as he chats with us about what he has “seen over the past several years which has been gradual but tremendous change in the way people use technology to improve their work and their lives. The people have transformed. How they approach life has transformed. Much of technology has adapted to accommodate them.” Read Howards article here.
Read More @ SMBNation.com
Examining data in your business can provide much insight into how your business is running, customer behaviors, financials, and so much more. Through examining large amounts of data you can uncover hidden patterns, correlations, and other insights. With todays technology such as Power BI you can have rapid insight to extract data from multiple sources and bring it into one single pane of glass. We meet with Nigel Posting who shows us the power of data and how easy it can be to examine and extract what you need through Power BI.
Read More @ SMBNation.com
For the past two years the event industry has been faced with incredible challenges due to the ever changing times. Although they have been through many challenges the event industry has moved forward forging a new future across all aspects of life and business. We meet with Josh Liberman to explore what he has seen in events already in 2022 and what he is hearing for the remainder of the year.
Read More @ SMBNation.com
Since most of the world has been living virtually many companies are increasingly using webinars to host virtual events, lectures, presentations and training events. Although, many companies are leveraging virtual meetings and trainings to deliver content they are making the mistake of approaching these events as one-off events. The fact is that the materials from these webinars contain highly educational content that can be used in so many different ways. From tweets, to content articles, and even eBooks the content that comes from these virtual events is highly valuable and we need to maximize it. We meet with Ben Baker of Communicate Your Why as he shares with us the power of content.
In today’s workforce challenges are never ending. As technology advances, teams work from various locations, and methods and strategies improve there is never a lack for knowledge, skills, leadership, and values. One of the best ways to enhance these skills is through training and development programs. These programs provide individuals with the opportunity to expand their knowledge, brush up on skills, and explore new horizons. We meet up with Chip Reaves of Bigger Brains as he shares the importance of training and the new programs he and his team are developing.
Video Transcriptions
Harry Brelsford
Hey nation nation back with Chip Reaves a Bigger Brains. Happy New Year. Happy New Year. All right. Hey, I wanted to tell you, your Bigger Brains is now part of what I like to call the conversation. I was just in a phone call earlier earlier today. And the lady rattled off two or three training organizations, and you were one of them. And that's where you want to be. Right? That's the you want to be part of the conversation, you don't want to be absent from the conversation.
Chip Reaves
A lot of it's a good part of the conversation and not, you know, let me pay what these guys did to me. No, it's good. And it kind of makes sense. I mean, it's, you know, back in the hardware days, and not been in the channel 30 something years at this point. But we used to always have that joke about the short between the keyboard and the chair, right, that it was a user error, and you know, whatever. So it's inevitable that at some point, the channel gets around to trying to fix that short between the keyboard and the chair, right, and trying to help the user be more productive, be more efficient, be a better computer user. And that's what bigger brains is all about.
Harry Brelsford
Yeah, yeah. Well, let's talk about the year ahead. What's, what's news? What, what's going on in your courseware? Development? What's going on in the industry?
Chip Reaves
Well, I mean, the industry is, you know, crazy, like everything else. For us. We're part of the learning and development industry. And of course, all of that is kind of really focused on online training, which puts us in a good position, we're trying to deliver what our customers are asking for, really, a lot of what we just delivered in q4 is big updates to our Microsoft 365 library, that Microsoft, to their credit, has put a lot of new features and a lot of new functionality and things like teams, SharePoint with like Viva connections, and Viva learning. And so we're constantly having to update our courses to keep track of those. Now that we've got those pretty well, up to date, we've got another update coming through for office 2010. And then we're working on new stuff for new professionals in the workplace
Harry Brelsford
in Wait a minute. It's 2022.
Chip Reaves
But in the same way that a lot of us still use Office 2019. There is also an office 2021. That was released in I think it was October, so it's okay, got it. Okay. I'm very reversion. We're still we're still working on that.
Harry Brelsford
Yeah. Yeah. A lot of new features and functionality now. Are you doing courseware development outside the Microsoft product stack?
Chip Reaves
Yeah, we are. That's, that's a big focus for us in q2. And q3 is, I mean, we do a little bit with like, Google and Adobe and Intuit. But we're also doing a lot of business skills development. So we're doing a new line of new professional training for young people just entering the business workforce, especially we see a lot of people that are maybe l
With the current economic state it is becoming harder and harder for small business to survive. From labor shortages to supply chain restraints small businesses are facing huge challenges in there day to day operations. As an Independent MSP you are bearing the responsibility not only to overcome these challenges, but also provide industry leading technology, hardware and software, support, cloud technologies, while staying on top of operations, financials and managing the bottom line.
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In today’s economic climate it is hard to find talent, however, MSPs are reporting that it is even harder to find talented sales people. Although sales positions have been around for hundreds of years, the job has not stayed the same and has become more complex with the fast paced society we live in. We meet with Ted Hulsy who shares his insights on sales recruiting, and how recruiting is a lot like building a sales engine in your business. It's something you have to be doing 24/7/365 days a year, you have to always be recruiting.
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Have you ever wondered how much to charge for your services? If you have ever struggled with pricing rest assured you are not alone. With these uncertain times and inflation going up, a lot of MSP’s have said they have increased their rates by 12% over the last year. With many factors that go into deciding how much to charge your clients from range of activity, level of experience, to depth of project it is hard to determine what to do. We meet up with Lisa Hendrickson who shares with us what she is charging this year, her thoughts on inflation, and what you should do.
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To say customer satisfaction is important to your business is an understatement. Imagine if you came into work, and found out that half your customers left for your competitor. If that does not make you start to sweat just thinking about revenue, acquisition costs, payroll and more I am not sure what will. Sustaining a customer can be hard work, as each customers needs are unique.
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The way we work has changed drastically over the past 2 years, and we have entered the era of tela-everything. With Covid currently in full swing again, meaning people are restricted to their homes. Many businesses are looking to their MSP’s to keep their business running. Phelim Rowe joins us as we settle into a new year and new routine to chat about where we are headed in 2022 and how you can prepare your business.
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January 14, 2022
Harry Brelsford & Lisa Shorr
Customer experience is not only how a customer perceives your business, but is also a big factor in weather a customer will return to your business again. A positive customer experience is crucial to the success of your business, as a happy customer will likely become a loyal customer. There are many factors that go into the customer experience from employees personal brand, communication with customers (tone of voice, and the words you say), how employees dress, showing customers you care and so much more. We meet with Lisa Shorr who developed a six course online curriculum which polishes your personal brand, improves your team-morale, enhances client relationships and increases profits for the business. Watch and learn how you can grow your business through Customer Experiences.
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January 10th 2022
Harry Brelsford and Dr. Barb Rembiesa
In a year of what feels like never ending changes, the IAMCP took the motto of KISS in 2021. This many seem simple, however, it does come with challenges to many businesses. As an organization the IAMCP took a step back and looked at their processes, procedures, software, and overall organization. Through the process they focused on streamline and getting rid of the bloat as we're coming up to our 20th anniversary.
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December 2021
Harry Brelsford and Bob Coppedge
With the changes in the economy, environment, and life many Americans are quitting their jobs in record numbers, which many predict will continue into 2022. As the work environments change, from remote work, to virtual interviews, and more flexibility, many are seeking new employment opportunities, leaving many companies facing labor shortages with increased demand in many industries.
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December 2021
Harry Brelsford and Don Crawley
Stress is the mind and bodies response to change, challenges, and or demands. Stress can have many different effects on people, and can become a chronic condition leading to both mental and physical health problems if not dealt with. One way to respond to stress is through being mindful. From walking to working, being mindful or aware of what you are doing, and the environments around you can make a huge impact on your stress.
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