KARL PALACHUK has always shared the “secret sauce” with his fellow IT and managed service providers to help them traverse the channel industry more efficiently and profitably. With 18 books under his belt and a 19th in process, the author, business coach, trainer, and former MSP is launching a new membership community on his website SmallBizThoughts.org on August 1 to “help people figure this stuff out.”†
He explains, “We live in a changing world, so every day you’ve got to figure it out again and again and again. The answers aren’t the same as they were the last time. My next big adventure is just more of helping the community grow even stronger.”
It’s a quest Palachuk has been on since writing his first book on network documentation. At the time, a satisfied reader approached him at a conference and asked why he was giving away his “secret sauce.”
“I said, ‘Well, first of all, you paid $90 for it, so I’m not giving it away. It does me no harm whatsoever for you to be more successful in your business.’ That’s how I have evolved since then,” Palachuk explains.
A proponent of work-life balance, Palachuk honed his processes and procedures for running an efficient MSP when health issues forced him to reduce his working hours. The processes he developed, he says, “allowed me to grow my business, and double again and again and again over the next five years, while I was putting in less time than almost anybody I know in the business.”
Palachuk insists that he is not the exception to the rule. “I know for a fact that I can show people how to be more productive,” he says. “Most of the time, they already know what they need to do. They just need somebody to help them get there.”
The new membership group is something Palachuk has been thinking about for many years, he says, but he wanted to ensure there was enough content for the community to make it worth the price of admission. “I finally feel like, with the newest version of Managed Services in a Month and the Service Agreements book that I have enough content that people will not be disappointed,” he says. Content will include forums, checklists, white papers, webinars, classes, audio programs, and meeting spaces.
“We already have over 100 hours of audio and over 1,000 pages of downloadable content,” he adds. “It’s literally the tip of the iceberg.” †
Palachuk has been gathering industry experts to participate in the community and help run the interactive segments. “There are so many who are willing to help people grow in their knowledge, grow in their business, grow in their success,” he says. “I want to create a place where people can learn together and grow together and get to know each other in addition to the part that grows their business.”
The member group will also host impromptu educational services. For instance, a community leader could put together a training session on LinkedIn, gather some members to participate, and then have them vote on who has the most improved LinkedIn profile. Expect prizes too, Palachuk says.
“Stuff like that allows you to be very interactive in something that is educational; it improves your business and it builds community,” he notes. “That is really the killer combo, right? Building personal and professional relationships and skills and becoming more professional in all of it.”
What will separate the SmallBizThoughts.org member group from other organizations, according to Palachuk, is that its revenue model does not include vendor advertising dollars. Vendors and their employees, however, are welcome to participate in and engage with the community.
Monthly membership is priced at $99 per month, or $999 annually. ChannelPro readers who sign up for an annual membership by August 31 will get an extra three months for free. Group memberships are available for larger organizations by contacting SmallBizThoughts.org.
Palachuk wants potential members to know that joining the community could open the door to some fun too. He notes that there will be a “break room” that will include public domain movies and TV shows, classic video games, and more.
“We acknowledge the fact that it can’t be all business all the time,” Palachuk says. “Let’s be honest, I might be a nerd, and some of the people who participate in this community might be nerds, so this is the kind of thing that I think they would find fun and interesting. We’re going to try stuff like that and see if it flies.”
