I’ve been having an argument with my sales monkey over trying to make Shockey Monkey simpler, particularly the accounting side of things. I’ve pretty much sunk all of his attempts to try to further dumb things down because of one clear concept:

There is no cure for stupidity.

Empowering idiots doesn’t make them smarter, it makes them needy and demanding.

For example, we have the simplest way to bill for cloud services in the industry.

We also have the full documentation for it here.

Every single process, step by step, on how to create, manage and even export to Quickbooks.

The problem? “When they click on the accounting screen they don’t know how to get started.”

Did they read the manual? “No, in this day and age nobody reads.”

Did they watch the video? “No, the video is too long.”

Well, tough #@%. We have a corporate responsibility to keep inept lazy people that can’t or won’t read documentation away from IT. Yes, I am all for making intuitive interfaces and live loading search results and eliminating popups and making people efficient.

Simplicity in software design does not and should not compensate for ignorance and laziness when it comes to documentation and training. Just as a child can’t open a bottle of Tylenol or start a chainsaw, neither should a piece of software be used without understanding the underlying business concepts.

It’s going to be a busy quarter for us so I wanted to make some of these announcements personally and provide some background on them all.

ConnectWise / HTG / CharTec Conference

Next week we are sponsoring the cluster of conferences happening in Orlando. ExchangeDefender will be as present as ever so stop by our booth, hear about the new stuff we’re doing and get some swag. ExchangeDefender has grown by leaps and bounds in 2010 and we’re adding even more stuff to it.

However, I will not be there in an official capacity. This is mostly personal – I have a second kid on the way and frankly, I like my wife more than you. I know this comes as a crushing defeat to so many balding middle aged men, but.. yeah.. awkward. But! I will be there if anyone wants to meet with me. Just fill out this survey:

Meet Vlad:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RPTBRYC

With the exception of Wednesday, I can make a trip down at any time since the hotel is about 15 minutes from where I live.

ExchangeDefender Rebranding

As we keep on growing and doing more and more to make our friends successful, promoting the Own Web Now business is becoming difficult with so many different brands. Most people can’t reconcile the fact that we do so much stuff in the cloud yet still provide so much on-premise service (Microsoft has the same problem).

So we’re considering rebranding it. If you have a moment, please fill this out.

Shockey Monkey

I don’t know what I was thinking about when I figured out the business model for Shockey Monkey but at this point it has turned into a beast. It is far bigger than we thought and the amount of excitement for the product is beyond anything I ever expected.

I have paid a lot of attention to the feedback, to the requests and to the need that the marketplace has for the unPSA solution. I hear you. You need to see this:

Shockey Monkey’s Big Webcast Announcement & Developments

Join the Shockey Monkey webinar next Wednesday at 11:30 AM. It will only take about 30 minutes:

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/371920033

It’s only the biggest Shockey Monkey announcement since it launched.

So in conclusion: let me know if you want to meet, fill out the ExchangeDefender survey, sign up for the Shockey Monkey webcast and wish me luck

This is the third in the series of dumb things I see small businesses say or do. First one was about being proud of ignoring business opportunities: We don’t do that.. Or do we? Then I talked about the poor taste small business owners and managers have when they blame their staff in Internal Beatdowns – Who takes the fall? Now, let’s talk about hopes and wishes.

“If we only land this big account… we’ll be set.”

We all love shortcuts.

There is nothing sweeter sounding than a really big account that will bring us a ton of money and let us get to that next level. It’s like winning a business lottery. Big client. Big project. Can you taste it?

Now.. stop. You just lost that big account. What are you doing now? Firing staff. Cutting back spending. Looking at your contracts trying to get into a smaller office. What are our contract termination terms? It sucks.

I remember my first big account.

It was a very large car dealership.

It had a lot of very important people. All of whom were extremely diligent and interested in every detail of how things were going to work.

They also needed an assurance that they could move a few hundred users onto our system overnight.

Their level of detail request was always met with their sense of urgency, asking for a more and more unreasonable level of documentation and support while seemingly holding the pen on the contract.

After I finally told them that we were not comfortable making further adjustments to the contract because our SLA was based on us implementing a predictable process, the talks broke off and I lost what by todays standards is thankfully a laughable amount of money. But if I caved in and kept on pursuing that contract, things would have probably played out far worse for Own Web Now.

The partner who owned that account eventually came clean to me and explained how these folks worked. The principle behind it is very simple:

“They pit all their suppliers against each other and do everything they can to make it seem like there is “just one more thing” standing in a way of a contract that’s pretty much signed.

What eventually happens is that the vendors will make any concession they can just to land the deal, even if they lost money on it. They spent all this time trying to win that walking away from the deal, no matter how unsavory, would be the ultimate defeat.”

In case you’re wondering, that partner went out of business and took a network analyst job after being broken by this very same client.

In business, you meet a lot of people. You learn the most from @#%holes.

The Willing Victim

Now, while I still have a bit of scorn over this big account and telling this story doesn’t make me feel good at all, it’s important to note that I chose to pursue the bidding process. I willingly subjected myself to this protocol because “a lot of money was at stake” – in retrospect I was lucky to learn early enough that this is not a way to build a sustainable business.

I also willingly broke the cardinal rule of service delivery – the vendor always defines the service that will be delivered. You as the service provider are ultimately responsible for delivering the service level you are promising to the client. The amount of money on the table should not affect the service definition and terms because it will open additional problems:

1. Will I have to hire additional staff to provide this service?
2. Will I have to take existing staff off their process and train them on a new process?
3. Does the new process fit in to the way we work, track and manage profitability?

I would offer this for your consideration: If you think the above points are difficult when you are trying to bring yourself to the level of providing the service for the big account, imagine what happens to your business when you lose that big account?

What is risk?

I have frequent debates over what is better – lots of small accounts or fewer big accounts.

First, let me acknowledge that I like and understand the notion behind having fewer small accounts. The idea of knowing every client, on aligning yourself with their business processes sounds very intimate and probably very satisfying.

This is kind of where the debate ends. You don’t run a business for emotional fulfillment, you run it to turn a profit: and profit hates risk. Emotional return better come from the satisfaction of running a solid businesses that provides for the community, for it’s stakeholders and employees.

Part of writing a business plan is identifying opportunities and surrounding them with a process that is repeatable, consistent and thus profitable. If your business plan is doing anything and everything then you have no chance of repeatability without exposing yourself to errors.

Risk is bad.

To sum it up..

Small business owners spend too much time worrying about a big project and a big client and a big deal.

This focus on the “dollars only” takes focus away from where it should be: repeatability, low risk, predictable process and scalability.

It is easier to scale up when you are making business decisions based on the same service levels you deliver today. It is also easier to adjust to harder financial times when you lose business due to attrition.

The risk vs. reward and # of clients vs. opportunity is also critical. Few larger accounts create an enormous risk, even with a higher reward. Larger number of independent companies create a larger portfolio for new services, projects and deploying more predictable processes that yield more profit per user.

Ultimately, it’s your decision what kind of business you run and what fits your comfort level. What is important is that you need to be aware of your opportunities, associated risk and the overall impact to your business.

Now, in the next post I will explain to you why I actually wrote this 3-part blog series.

This is the second of three in the series of dumb things I see small businesses say or do. Take a look at We don’t do that.. Or do we? for an overview of easy opportunities small businesses squander through pride & ignorance and stay tuned for another post on this topic.

“My Employees Are Idiots”

This is something that I am thankfully not guilty of, but I can tell you that it really leaves a very bad taste in the clients mouth when they have to participate in the following conversation:

Client: You didn’t meet my expectations. (the cleanest I can make it
You: Oh my god, I am so sorry, I know who did this and I am going to kill him!

First, unless you operate a fast food franchise, your company should not be comprised of idiots that respond to verbal abuse. Strike #1: if your employees are really treated like this then no wonder they dropped the ball, they may have been busy receiving the third degree and just didn’t care by the time my problem came up.

Second, in professional services there is no such thing as “the customer is always right” – if you think that, get over it. The customer is always right when it comes to a dispute of a retail transaction where you need to meet the clients expectations in order to make the sale. In professional services, that criteria is established by a contract.

Third, following on the topic from the second problem, is to never take clients side. Why? Because it always comes off insincere. If you must apologize, do so. Promise to find out what went wrong instead. Ask the person that caused the problem to follow up with the client and explain the issue. Here is the bottom line here: every single big company out there has a group of apologists – the customer service department. Outside the retail business, their purpose is to calm the client down and to pretend to take the clients side.

Fourth, don’t put out fires. Unless the issue is truly trivial, you should not rush to please them right away by providing the first answer that comes to mind. I know, makes no sense, you need to answer on the first ring and provide immediate answers, right? Consider what happens if the response you give is wrong or fails to satisfy the client? You are now in a hole you cannot dig out of and someone else has to clean up the original problem and your mess too. This only serves to further infuriate the client and have them keep track of who they talk to or which misinformation they are offered. Bottom line: in problem situations, clients seek clarity. They want to know how the problem happened and how and when it will be fixed. This is critical for MSPs and other B2B operations – clients aren’t inquisitive fools, they likely will have to explain the issue to someone else.

Finally, consider some of the basic staples of how you project your company and your employees. Look up when you answer the phone. Smile and be happy to hear from the client even when they have a problem – they are a part of your paycheck even if they are just problem client. Never say no – there is no coming back from a no. Don’t be afraid to put someone on the hold while you get them the right answer – they bothered to call/email/show up, do them the courtesy of helping them and making them seem important.

When all this fails, always remember the Karl rule – you don’t need money so bad that you should take on abuse or deal with assholes. Life is too short. And abusive people only get more abusive, not more tolerant. If people get used to walking all over you to get what they want, you will always lose. Be patient. Be tolerant. Be nice.

The Reality

But never, ever, ever throw your team in the fire. Yes, you may suck at times. We all have our bad moments. But if they are truly bad, the heads roll. If they don’t, it’s just insincerity.

Your company deserves better, your clients know better and professional services are just that – services delivered by professionals.

This is the first of three stupid small business decisions I have made or seen others make. Hope you enjoy them.

Limitations.

We’ve all got them.

Unfortunately, some of us rely on those limitations for making excuses about why we are not where we want to be, why we don’t have as many employees as we need to get to where we need to be in order to get to that next level that we’re constantly reaching for.

The entrepreneurial spirit crashes into the obstacles and we make very logical and very firm excuses for why we do not pursue certain things. I’m certainly guilty of a number of those – but allow me to be honest here and admit the ugly truth:

The only business venture that you should not pursue is one that does not make you profitable.

The end.

Yes, there are nuances to every business decision and even with all the due dilligence and perfectionism in the world – you could fail. That said, you can fail at anything but hopefully you learn something from it. I’d argue it’s far better to be learning that holding pattern in the land of ignorance.

Excuses

We are not big enough to take on that project at this time.

We do not have the sufficient expertise to pull that off.

We are too busy. (I don’t know enough four letter words to properly comment on this case).

We are not in the business to do that.

We do not have a business model that makes that possible.

Reality

Business (and business models) are designed to convert opportunity into revenue.

If there are opportunities to be pursued that can produce revenue, the only reason for not doing it is an excuse.

In the IT space in particular, we have to quickly face the fact that we have to do more than what fits in our little comfort zone. Why? Because everyone else is doing it, and the choice becomes between remaining relevant or becoming comfortable with a very small client base.

More on that in the next post, two more left on this topic.

It’s been nearly a week since the last post and I wanted to just give everyone an update as I’ve been getting a lot of email and the usual questions about what’s going on. ”When Vlad goes silent, there is a storm brewing.” Yes, November will be another huge month for everything in the Vlad FF franchise, with a new company, new products and a new kid so I honestly can’t wait to see December 1st. Here is what’s going on:

Today/Tomorrow: CompTIA EMEA/UK
Friday/Saturday: SMB Nation, Las Vegas
November 1-2: HTG ALL Conference
November 3: CharTec Unherd Conference
November 4-5: ConnectWise
November 15: Company A Launch
December 1: Company B Launch

More on Company A and Company B at a later date, as my team often likes to remind me: “Vlad has never met a dollar he didn’t like” and we now have the resources and level of success that is making it possible for us to work with our partners and help almost everyone get to that next level.

I’ll be present for the events in bold. I am also going to be around the ConnectWise conference which we are sponsoring, however, due to the proximity of the event to my wife’s due date, I will not be in the booth. If you’d like to meet, please contact Anthony @ OwnWebNow and let’s set something up that week.

Work, work, work.. and the luckiest person in the world to have so much of it!

Now outside of work.. wow. I’m in London. The last time I was here I didn’t quite appreciate the history nor did I understand the significance of the stuff around me. On Monday evening I went down for a stroll around Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square and in what should probably trademark as “Look! It’s right there!!! I can walk to it!” – Big Ben, London Bridge, London Eye and the palace. Let’s just say that I noticed the difference in temperature between an afternoon in Florida and 2AM in London the next day.

London at night is something to see. Leicester Square as well.

Yesterday I went sight seeing with a friend from our long time UK business partner ReadyCrest, Ltd, Paul Bonathan. London Eye, “Proper British Breakfast” (it’s like an American breakfast, just deep fried), Tower of London, British Museum, walking from the British Museum to St. Pancras station, trip to a “proper” pub in Kent and my first Indian dinner, ever. Also my first 14% alcohol beer ever. Those of you that know me and my alcohol tolerance can probably imagine the mood I was in.

The British Museum and Tower Hill are honestly day trips at best. I wish I had an entire week to spend around London but it’s back to work today. I’m sponsoring/speaking at the CompTIA EMEA event and they seem to have put together a great show. I look forward to meeting so many of my UK friends that I’ve worked with for years but never had a chance to meet in person. If you’re here, or expect to be around, drop me an email – we’re likely going out tonight and we can always use more company.

As much fun as it is to make so much money in this business / industry, it’s far more fun to spend it on good times. Which I’m extremely happy to report, London seems a great place to do it.

I’m on my way to Europe.

I have a few business appointments to take care of while out there and would love to meet some of our partners and for the lack of a better word, buy some beer. Here are my plans:

October 18 and 19 – Downtown London, mostly open. After brief business meetings in the morning I’m for the most part hanging around town with Mr. Tubb and Mr. Bonathan.

October 20 and 21 – CompTIA EMEA @ Heathrow. Outside of the speaking sessions and vendor slime hours, I’m more than glad to sit down and talk business and tech.

October 22, 23 and 24th – Paris. French people are apparently on strike so I’m completely uncertain about my plans there but they include downtown, Disney, etc.

If you happen to be a fan of the blog or make contributions to VFF, drop me an email at vlad@vladville.com. About the only thing I’m not willing to do is sales calls

Microsoft is set to launch Windows Phone 7 today. And by launch, I mean start talking about it openly – you’re not getting a Windows phone today.

Features and how it compares to Android and iPhone for the most part don’t matter as far as I’m concerned. People will still buy it, I have friends that still use Windows Mobile for some reason.

What really matters (for Microsoft, for the rest of us in the IT business) is the shelf life: How long will Microsoft stick with a failure?

Right now, Microsoft has received a cold shoulder from many developers, even with (supposedly) a lot of money being thrown down by Microsoft to bring the most popular applications to it. It’s biggest evangelists are questioning it in public. Competitor’s fans offer it praise. So many questions for a phone that isn’t in any consumer hands yet.

It took Apple 3.5 years to get to where they are. Android, about two. Neither platform is perfect but collectively they are crushing the Windows Mobile, Blackberry, etc.

The Reality

Microsoft may as well demo a fantastic phone tomorrow. Hey, there is a first time for everything! But the reality remains that most people will not develop for it. We certainly won’t be touching Windows Mobile for a long time. Why? There needs to be a demand for it. Right now, demand is elsewhere. That is where development happens. Microsoft can get into it by establishing and sticking with a mobile strategy for years. So far, that has not been the case.

People tolerate imperfection. I own a Porsche 911 4S convertible. It’s not a perfect car. It’s ridiculously overpriced, it has the shock absorption of a brick and all the comfort and spaciousness of a discount airline seat. Yet, I’ve always wanted one and I absolutely love driving it. In part due to too many 80’s movies, in part because “I’ve always wanted a 911.” – Nobody out there has ever said “I’ve always wanted a Honda CR-Z”. Ever. Why? Because it got introduced this year. Perfectionism and commitment are built over time. Porsche has gone from an economic initiative of the Nazi government (Hitler funded Porsche’s “car for everybody” in late 1930’s) and for over half the century Porsche has manufactured the 911.

Same with the likes of Corvette and Mustang.

Constant pursuit of perfection.

Microsoft’s mobile track record suggests anything but that – and the same guy that brought you the success of Windows Mobile all the way up to the Kin debacle (Andrew Lees) is in charge of Windows Mobile reporting directly to Balmer. Here is to hoping they have learned something.

In the recent months I have been talking to several of our close partners about the competition, specifically with regard to Microsoft’s BPOS product. Currently, Microsoft has the single biggest advantage in the marketplace for Hosted Exchange and that advantage is the price.

There are some nuances that can be argued over – such as liability, cost of billing, whether or not it is or is not channel friendly, features, limitations, etc – all of which have been addressed in one post or another on Vladville.

The only time I hear about BPOS is when our partners lose their clients to Microsoft.

Let me restate that: The only time partners lose business as VARs/MSPs/etc is when the clients realize that they can work directly with Microsoft and that there is no reason to even consult with the partner.

This is not the case of Microsoft not being channel un-friendly, this is the case of capitalism and Microsoft providing something that the end users and businesses demand.

In this scenario, the discussion comes down to price: Can you do it cheaper than Microsoft and remain the service provider or are you on your way out?

For a lot of people dealing with BPOS, this is their last meaningful IT project they will undertake: the migration to the cloud. Literally all the successful stories around the direct-to-user cloud are from integrators that helped the client move on up.

Can’t fight that.

If the price is the only consideration, we’ll help you keep your clients. Certainly not under the Own Web Now umbrella or our staff & service – but the time for discussion on whether the cloud is real or not is sort of a mute point when you’re losing clients and opportunities to Microsoft who is one tool (Kaseya/LPI/nAble) away from making you an unnecessary obstacle.

If Exchange is to be a commodity, you need it in your solution stack with the appropriate disclaimers – and we’ll help you deliver it. If on the other hand you expect service levels and a product suitable for business, we already help tens of thousands of you deliver it today.

If you’re interested in working with us (and details), vlad@vladville.com.

It launches in November.

How much do you think it would cost to build an exact replica of your business?

Put it on the paper. Start with the simple stuff like incorporation, legal fees, accounting fees, software and hardware leases (let’s assume that the business will grow rapidly and “buying” stuff doesn’t make any sense) and so on.

Now add in all your processes of delivering the service, training employees and managing clients and vendors. Keep the focus on the process and the costs associated with the process, not the actual delivery cost. For example, expensing out a CareerBuilder.com ad is valid, “wisdom of the master” is not.

Subtract paragraph 1 from paragraph 2.

That’s your net value to the corporation.

If the number is bigger than you imagined, sell. If it’s smaller than you hoped, automate and revise.

Live and learn, try to get better tomorrow.