5 Smart Ideas for Thriving in Trying Times from the SMB Online Conference

Feel a little like a ship without a compass lately? Don’t worry, everyone does.

“I fully acknowledge 2020 is one of the weirdest years you’re going to go through as a business owner, partly because of the COVID but also because of the economy,” said Karl Palachuk last week at the start of his latest SMB Online Conference event.

An MSP business coach, prolific author, and frequent public speaker who was once a successful managed service provider himself, Palachuk dedicated much of the agenda for this year’s conference to advice on cultivating habits that consistently lead to success. He also, however, freely concedes that both the coronavirus pandemic and the dizzying economic downturn it’s caused have made achieving success harder. 

Just how much harder was made clear by Forrester analyst Jay McBain, one of the experts, consultants, and MSPs Palachuk invited to speak at his show. Back in 2008, he noted, the Great Recession forced some 25% of channel pros to sell their business, merge it with another, enter retirement, or declare bankruptcy. “Right now, there’s a 60% probability that we’re going to repeat 2008,” McBain said.

He, Palachuk, and other presenters shared plenty of suggestions for defying those odds, though. Here are five especially worth emulating.