This week, host James Kernan speaks with David Sims, founder of Security First IT, regarding navigating HIPAA from the lens of MSP business ownership. About David Sims Since 1998, David is an experienced IT and cybersecurity professional who specializes in healthcare security and compliance. With over two decades of hands-on experience, he founded …

Returning to the podcast, host James sat down with Tim Fitzpatrick from Rialto Marketing. Topics include defining your processes, establishing your onboarding, and identifying your competitive advantage in the markets you serve. About Tim Fitzpatrick Tim is the President of Rialto Marketing, a company that provides marketing consulting, advisory, a…

Christopher Barber - Cheaper Than a Geek https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherjbarber/ Host Karl had a great chat with Christopher Barber from Cheaper Than a Geek in Maryland. Topics include networking for client attraction, and using Chambers of Commerce to spread a wide net that brings in new clients for decades. Chris got involved in his local…

Hosts James and Amy sit down this week to discuss difficult situations where the customer will not take your prosposal or recommendation 1.) MSP Question of the week: What happens if you customer won't take your recommendation? --- 2.) Notes On The News Safety around AI: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/09/29/tech/newsom-california-ai-safety-bill/index…

Hosts James and Amy discuss pricing and the question around discounts for certain clients. 1.) MSP Question of the week: Should you discount your price to win the deal? " The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of a cheap price is forgotten." - Benjamin Franklin – --- 2.) Notes On The News The UK's Information Commissioner's…

Hosts Amy Babinchak and James Kernan discuss the struggles of recruiting and what key qualities to look for when recruiting good people. 1.) MSP Question of the Week: When struggling with recruiting, how do you find good people/talent? --- 2.) Notes On The News ConnectWise Expands MSP Platform with Acquisitions of Axcient and SkyKick, Strengthening…

Host James Kernan discussses security offerings, specifically looking at offering vCISO services as part of your cyber security stack. 1.) MSP Question of the Week: Should you offer vCISO services? --- 2.) 5 Minutes with a Smart Person Host James Kernan sits down with Charlene Ignacio, CEO of Fornix Marketing, to discuss being strategic about M&A d…

Host Karl Palachuk caught up with Dor Eisner, CEO of Guardz. Right off the bat, Eisner points out the reason enterprise cybersecurity attacks are different from those focused on small business. Like it or not, most of the attacks that work against SMB clients will not work against larger enterprises. Eisner discusses the toolsets that are built spe…

Host James Kernan sits down with an exclusive interview with Tim Fitzpatrick, President of Rialto Marketing. Founded in 2012, Tim created Rialto with the vision of having a positive lasting impact on the businesses they work with. Tim believes there are three (3) critical elements of marketing: strategy, planning, and leadership. Having a passion f…

Hosts James Kernan and Amy Babinchak kick off this week's episode with topics regarding big wins, Windows 10 End of Life, and an exclusive interview with Tim Fitzpatrick 1.) MSP Question of the Week: Can you share some big wins? Hosts James Kernan and Amy Babinchak sit down and discuss various successes and wins with clients over the years. --- 2.)…

1.) The MSP Question of The Week - Do you have an entry level MSP offering? This week, James Kernan and Amy Babinchak sit down to discuss entry level MSP offerings. Does your company offer one? Hear James and Amy speak about the benefits and drawbacks that an entry-level MSP offering can have on your business. --- 2.) Notes on the News Discussion o…

Host James Kernan sits down with Kevin Lancaster and Matt Solomon of Channel Program, a platform designed to unify the IT Channel industry. Kevin Lancaster and Matt Solomon are the co-founders of Channel Program, a platform designed to unify the IT Channel industry. Kevin Lancaster has a strong background in the channel technology space. He previou…

Host Karl got together with Jamie Levy, Director of Adversary Tactics from Huntress. Jamie is also a longtime researcher, developer and board member of the Volatility Foundation. She has worked over 15 years in the digital forensics industry, conducting investigations as well as building out software solutions. We got together to discuss the Huntre…

Host James Kernan sits down with Baxter Lanius to discuss automating customer payments using the software tool, Alternative Payments. At Alternative Payments, their mission is to lower the barrier and make smarter payments accessible to one and all. More in-depth, Alternative Payments provides offline businesses the opportunity to participate in on…

Host James Kernan sits down with Dustin Puryear to discuss sales and marketing for MSP's. Dustin Puryear is indeed a prominent figure in the tech world. As the founder of Puryear IT, he leads a team dedicated to leveraging technology to enhance business operations. His expertise is widely recognized, with contributions to well-known publications li…

Host James Kernan sits down with Larry Garcia to discuss the EOS compatible and reporting collaboration tool known as Strety. Larry Garcia is the co-founder of Strety, a company that provides a Business Operating System Software (BOSS) designed to help companies improve their operational efficiency. Strety focuses on key performance indicators (KPI…

Hosts James Kernan and Amy Babinchak kick off this week's episode with topics regarding project quotes, the Olympics, and an exclusive interview with Larry Garcia, founder of Strety. 1.) MSP Question of the Week: Should you quote hourly or fixed-fee for projects? Hosts James Kernan and Amy Babinchak sit down and discuss the different strategies to …

Host James Kernan sits down with Jason Miller, founder and CEO of BitLyft Cybersecurity, for an exclusive interview. As the founder, Jason has dedicated his 20-year IT career, including co-founding SaaS pioneer Reviora, to removing cybersecurity barriers for mid-sized enterprises. Establishing BitLyft in 2016, Jason set out to unburden security tea…

1.) The MSP Question of The Week - How did Crowdstrike affect you? This week, James Kernan sits down with Charlene Ignacio, CEO of Fornix Marketing. James addresses the security concern, "Isn't Security 101 eliminating the single point of failure? ". Listen as James and Charlene discuss the aftermath of the Crowdstrike outage. --- 2. ) Notes on the…

1.) Interview with Mandy Teply of the Fit Method. Hear how health and fitnes in the workplace can help with motivation and productivity. --- Our upcoming events and more: MASTERMIND LIVE – Denver, CO – Sept 26-27th http://bit.ly/kernanmastermind Use “EARLYBIRD” as the coupon code to save $200!! SMBTechfest Q4 - Irvine, CA - October 17-18 www.smbtec…

1.) Interview with Rob Scott, co-founder of Monjur Contracts-as-a-service legal solutions --- Our upcoming events and more: MASTERMIND LIVE – Denver, CO – Sept 26-27th http://bit.ly/kernanmastermind Use “EARLYBIRD” as the coupon code to save $200!! SMBTechfest Q4 - Irvine, CA - October 17-18 www.smbtechfest.com Check out Amy’s weekly newsletter! Si…

1.) The MSP Question of The Week Where do you draw the line with Cyber Security? --- 2.) Notes On The News We talk: Cyber Security Insurance Rates and June's Auto Dealership Hack. Reuters Article: https://www.reuters.com/technology/cybersecurity/cyber-insurance-rates-fall-businesses-improve-security-report-says-2024-06-30/ --- Our upcoming events a…

1.) The MSP Question of The Week When is the best time to sell your MSP? --- 2.) Notes On The News We talk: June's Auto Dealership Hack and Pax8 Beyond Event. --- Our upcoming events and more: MASTERMIND LIVE – Denver, CO – Sept 26-27th http://bit.ly/kernanmastermind Use “EARLYBIRD” as the coupon code to save $200!! SMBTechfest Q4 - Irvine, CA - Oc…

1.) The MSP Question of The Week How do you deal with partner conflict? We discuss the "Four R's" of conflict resolution: Recognize, Reflect, Respond, and Resolve. --- 2.) Notes on The News Apple AI rollout and Cybersecurity! Is your MSP adapting with the times? --- 3.) Five Minutes With A Smart Person: Rob Scott Host James sits down with Rob Scott…

Host James sits down with Louis Erickson and Sam Blowes of Bit-Wizards for an exclusive interview. Louis Erickson is the co-founder and COO, and Sam Blowes is the Director of Solution Consulting at Bit-Wizards–an award winning IT services provider based in Florida. Louis is a serial entrepreneur that has built and grown several technology companies…

1.) Notes On The News Cybersecurity, AI, and now...M&A? We discuss our opinion on the next new hot topic of the techworld. Also, Microsoft now backpedaling due to backlash on RECALL. Finally, Ken Patterson leaves PAX8 and now is heading to TODYL. --- 2.) The MSP Question of The Day How do you track vendor subscriptions? --- Our upcoming events and …

Host Karl attended the ChannelPro Live event in Columbus, Ohio. He interviewed two folks who are doing some cool things. Wayne Small from Australia is retooling himself and his business to take a new approach to the Virtual CISO Role. Rather than just take a few vendor-focus courses, or training based on a standardized checklist, Wayne is working t…

1.) MSP Question of The Week Employee Compenstion--How much is too much or too little? --- 2.) Notes on The News Amy blog article – Financial Crimes Enforcement Network article Linkedin: https://nsitsp.org/news/financial-crimes-enforcement-network/ --- 3. Strategies for Local Businesses in Local Market Tip and tricks for Local Businesses looking to…

1.) MSP Question of The Week How do you hold employees accountable for subpar performance? --- 2.) James at SMB Techfest James kicked off the first session on the main stage by sharing how EOS can help your business scale. --- 3.) Notes on The News Solar Flares / Auroras – will it cause disruptions to communications? Cyberattack force major US heal…

1.) The MSP Question of The Week How do you buy another MSP with no money down? --- 2.) Notes on The News Kaseya 365 subscription debuts at $3.99! https://www.channele2e.com/news/kaseya-365-subscription-debuts-at-3-99 Major Leadership Changes at PAX8, CEO steps aside... Pax8 has named Scott Chasin as CEO, effective immediately, replacing founder Jo…

Host Karl Palachuk interviews Wes Hutcherson and Stuart Ashenbrenner from Huntress on the challenges and (and victories) of securing macOS endpoints. As you know, MacOS represents a growing percentage of the business device operating system market, outperforming both Linux and ChromeOS. Since this is going to be a growing portion of the endpoints y…

1.) MSP Question of the Week Should you ban Non-compete Agreements? --- 2.) Notes on The News Big Tech firms lost its dream status due to layoffs and instability: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/28/how-working-for-big-tech-lost-dream-job-status.html --- 3.) Five Minutes with A Smart Person - Bit-Wizards Louis Erickson is the co-founder and COO, and Sa…

1.) MSP Question of The Week Which do you prefer: iPhone or Android? Is there a clear winner? --- 2.) Notes on The News What are the current TOP Password Managers? https://www.tomsguide.com/us/best-password-managers,review-3785.html "Big Tech" censoring content...and other clickbait-y titles. https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/09/tech/meta-social-medi…

1.) The MSP Question of The Week Should you charge for onsite travel? And what's best--Price per seat or per device? --- 2.) Notes on The News The FBI is warning consumers against using public phone charging stations in order to avoid exposing their devices to malicious software... ...Apple loses top phonemaker spot to Samsung as iPhone shipments d…

Host Karl caught up with Dima Kumets, Principal Product Manager at Huntress Labs focused on their Security Awareness Training product. It was an entertaining interview! This interview focuses on the Security Awareness Training product, which features a truly engaging way for end users to learn about phishing attacks and other threats that arrive th…

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-alphab…

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: …

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 t…

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/mich…

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 buildin…

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://ker…

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 Med…

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: …

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…

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 a…

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/ Eri…

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 St…

*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 …

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 servic…

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-lat…