ARTICLES BY JIM RODDY

• Warning: Headache-Inducing Hiring Advice Ahead

  When an article is headlined 5 Interview Questions Every Recruiter Should Ask, it’s pretty much a guarantee I’m setting aside the next several minutes to read it. But before you click on this link to read the article I’m referencing, I implore you to not ask these five questions. Do not accept this article as a best practice — unless you want candidates to recreate the scene in the photo that accompanied the article. The candidate looks like she’s thinking, “Are you people kidding me?”

• Pre-INSPIRE Homework Shortcut: "Roadside MBA" Book Review

  The Retail Solutions Providers Association (RSPA) INSPIRE Conference 2017 will feature the three authors of the business book Roadside MBA. Whether you’re attending or not, you’ll want to read the book in advance of the event.

• Growing MSPs Share Advantages Of ASCII Membership

  Three successful managed services providers (MSPs) detailed how The ASCII Group has benefitted their businesses during a lively panel discussion at Business Solutions’ Channel Transitions Conference June 2 in Philadelphia.

• E-Myth Author Gerber Sounds Wake-Up Call For VAR, MSP Owners

  In addition to being recognized worldwide as a small business guru, Michael Gerber is known for his straight talk. And he’s eager for solution provider owners to be candid with themselves and embrace their reality as well. In a recent interview with Business Solutions President Jim Roddy, Gerber said, “Until the straight talk happens, until somebody pulls the chain, until somebody says something that strikes (VARs and MSPs) so deeply that they can't avoid it or ignore it any longer, nothing's going to change for them.

• From ASCII Milwaukee: Build A Better Brand Through SOPs

  I can’t keep up with Karl Palachuk. Recognized in our channel as a managed services pioneer and the owner of solution provider advisor Small Biz Thoughts, Palachuk dispensed an avalanche of wisdom today at the ASCII Success Summit in Milwaukee, so much that I couldn’t capture it all.

• VAR Lesson From ASCII Milwaukee: Laser Focus On A Market

  At the ASCII Success Summit in Milwaukee today, C.J. Ezell, CEO of managed services provider PointClear Networks, gave an encore performance of his 2015 ASCII presentation titled “Adding Dental Integration To Your Managed Services Practice.”

• Pool Helps ASCII MSPs Understand “One Hour Marketing”

  Herman Pool has worn many hats during his lifetime: entrepreneur, managed services provider, father (now grandfather), and marketing guru among them. Later this year he will add one more title to that list – author – and so he shared highlights from his soon-to-be-published book One Hour Marketing on stage at today’s ASCII Success Summit in Milwaukee.

• From ASCII Milwaukee: MSPs Can “Hack” Prospects, Grow Sales

  ASCII President Jerry Koutavas kicked off the ASCII Success Summit in Milwaukee today instructing nearly 100 MSPs (managed services providers) how to “hack” their prospects. No, no, no – he didn’t encourage attendees to break into someone else’s computer network.

• Business Solutions Adds New Channel Resource: “Ask Michael Gerber”

  Business Solutions and renowned small business expert Michael Gerber have expanded their partnership with a new offering that will benefit the entire IT channel. For a limited time, executives from VAR, MSP, and ISV organizations can have their business-related questions answered directly by Gerber at no charge.

• Niche Media Honors Business Solutions For B2B Event Success

  Niche Media, a leading event management advisor and host of the annual Niche EventFest Conference, recently featured Business Solutions conferences on its event best practices podcast and blog.

• Speakers At Channel Events: Read This Book, Please!

  I hope every speaker I listen to at future channel conferences for the rest of my life follows the principles in the book Do You Talk Funny? 7 Comedy Habits to Become a Better (and Funnier) Public Speaker. I think tolerating dry presentations at events has taken a few years off all of our lives. Or at least it feels that way to me.

• Top Quotes From The Recurring Revenue Conference 2016

  An added bonus to my trip last week to Santa Ana for BSM’s ISV IQ Live! Conference was driving north to Los Angeles to attend the Recurring Revenue Conference 2016. The Feb. 23 event attracted nearly 200 entrepreneurs and investors from Southern California to the gorgeous Skirball Cultural Center just outside LA.

• RetailNOW 2015: Distributors Focus On Managed Services, So Should You

  When BlueStar and ScanSource, the two most powerful distributors in the point of sale and data collection space, commit significant resources to an initiative, everyone in the channel better pay attention or risk falling behind.

• Secrets Of ASCII Group Members Revealed At Channel Transitions Newark

  Please take the next 9 minutes to review this transcript from The ASCII Group’s member panel at Business Solutions’ Channel Transitions VAR/MSP Executive Conference on June 4 in Newark. What you learn here will lead you to new solutions providers to partner with and inside information to run your business more efficiently. You will also see a new path to save money through deep discounts with vendors you’re probably using already.

• It’s Time You Made The Transition To Greater Profits And Predictable Revenue

  Welcome to the Channel Transitions VAR/MSP Executive Conference in Newark! The Business Solutions team is thrilled to present to you this education and networking conference designed to help VARs, MSPs, and ISVs learn how to best implement and manage the as-a-Service model.