Matt Makowicz, here.  I’ve noticed that the Partner/MSP/reseller/VAR/Tribe member is typically both Geek and Business Owner.  Depending upon...

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I had the pleasure of being invited by Microsoft and HP to record a session of the Coffee Coaching at the Microsoft Studios this week. For those of you who don’t know, Coffee Coaching is an increasingly popular program that is co-sponsored by both HP and Microsoft designed to provide brief, yet powerful videos on how to improve your HP/Microsoft reseller business. The video I recorded will be coming out in the next couple of months – stay tuned for an announcement. In the meantime, I had the chance to interview both Lucy Ellis from HP and Jane Takeuchi from Microsoft while in the studio. Watch the 4 minute video you’ll get a great overview of what Coffee Coaching is. No time for the video? Visit www.facebook.com/coffeecoaching Have an awesome day!
Matt Makowicz

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(by Matt Makowicz)

Just received an email from one of our long standing vendor partners – Calyptix Security that seemed important to share.

“Cyber Monday” is good for our economy, the global economy, and online retailers. But how about for YOUR business? The article from the security folks at Calyptix suggest “Cyber Monday” may not be good for your business. Citing a report from the National Retail Foundation, over 70 million American’s are shopping online today – from work!

Obviously, Calyptix offers great security solutions for your customers to either prevent and/or monitor such activity. Visit www.calyptix.com for more information.

The point here is that there is always a reason to chat with your customers. Talk to them about THEIR business, and they will see you as a business advisor, not a computer vendor. Have the conversation about the impact “Cyber Monday” has on their business, which can lead to a security discussion, which can lead to a managed services discussion, which can lead to other business conversations your customer will thank you for.

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I had the opportunity recently to interview Mark Crall, Community Development Manager with Autotask corporation while at an SMB Nation "Beer Summit." I've known Mark for years as an IT business owner who was always a huge fan of community. We previously served together on Microsoft's SBSC advisory board and helped shape some of the SMB initiatives Microsoft was doing to foster community. Mark has always used the adage of "one plus one equals three" as a way to describe the benefits of community.

While the ideas of learning form others who have come before us and collaboration are certainly not new, embracing community, according to Mark is even more important today than ever. In today's environment, a single word - cloud - can illicit equal amounts of fear and excitement among IT companies. Mark suggests in this video interview that while strategic, the cloud should not be the focus of your energies. Mark believes, as I do that the single best activity to focus upon to grow your business is community. Learn from those around you, benefit from their experience, gain and share ideas. In today's economy, smarter decisions must prevail. It is more important than ever to embrace the various forms of community available. But don't take my word for it, let Mark Crall tell you! ~Matt Makowicz

Watch the video below to learn more!

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