437: Interview With Dan Monge Of Mac IT Pros

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Topics:

-This week we welcome Dan Monge of Monge IT Consulting / Mac IT Pros

-In addition to running his business, Dan works with Watchman Monitoring in a variety of capacities.

-We have our usual Watchman discussion where we discuss use cases and helpful tips.

-Joe installs Watchman on his company computers as well, to keep tabs on the health of his equipment.

-Dan adds “Connect to Server” shares to make it easier for users to mount network volumes.

-Dan focuses on businesses only and refers any residential referrals to a fellow consultant.

Dan & Jerry talk about the fall of Google Ads and being mistaken for Apple.

-Another hat tip to our friends at TidBITS Content Network.

-smith.ai chat feature has really helped Jerry for no additional cost.

-Zendesk has a chat feature that Sam has put to use.

-What is chaff? Is it champing or chomping at the bit?

-The group discusses failed (or were they?) marketing ideas.

-Do you still use business cards?

-Company shirts and branded equipment gets noticed.

-Dan tries to convince Joe to move away from hourly to monthly plans.

-In Dan’s parting words, he encourages listeners to become patrons.

435: Less Than A Minute Remaining

Topics:

-Joe has to troubleshoot his own internet connection with the ISP.

-GoNetSpeed appears to be a new provider in the Fairfield County area in CT. https://gonetspeed.com

-Jerry has some challenges connecting routers that auto config to an Altice modem/router from Optimum Online.

-One of Sam’s clients decided to upgrade their ISP service without involving his team.

-Changing the all in one modem/router solutions can be extremely frustrating.

-Another one of Sam’s clients was down after the wiring consultant installed new equipment. It turned out to be oversight but it required a Saturday visit.

-Upgrading from Mojave to Big Sur is enough of an issue where there is a MacAdmins channel dedicated to it. (Channel: Mojave-Upgrade-Problem).

-Jerry has joined the Apple Silicon bandwagon.

-Has anybody else seen performance issues on Apple Silicon that requires a restart?

434: Interview With Jon Brown CEO of Grove Technologies

Topics:

-We welcome Jon Brown of Grove Technologies. Jon is a long time VIP supporter of the show.

-Jon recalls attending a WWE even with the CCP crew, thanks to Joe’s sister.

-Starting a new business proved to be challenging initially. He talks about his learning curve and experiences building his current business.

-Jon has a concept like Uber for Tech Support.

-Grove Technologies is going to offer its internal SaaS based tool for other businesses and industries. There are integrations built for other tools like Addigy, Watchman, Jamf, etc.

-Working with others as a sub contractor can help broaden your area of expertise as a company.

-Hiring remote technicians has proven to be useful to Jon’s business model.

-Should you increase your onsite rate vs remote?

-Do your clients care if you or your staff make onsite visits to their offices?

-Grove Technologies has put their stake in the ground about being a remote only support company.

-People still don’t seem to grasp the concept of password management or Multi-Factor Authentication.

-Cybersecurity training for end users can be incredibly useful. It can also provide some discounts with insurance.

-Malwarebytes for Mac proves to be less powerful than the Windows version. 

-Hook Security and Breach Secure Now are two big services to help with employee training.

-Jerry has some recommended security methods for his clients.

-Customers have a tendency to conflate security terms like VPN vs firewall.

-Jon wants you to become a sponsor of the show!

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433: Part 2 with Tim Nyberg of The MacGuys+

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Topics:

-Joe ponders the question, what about requiring a monthly plan?

-Everyone debates the merits of a managed services only approach.

-One of Jerry’s customers mistakenly deleted mass amounts of Gmail data synced with Apple Mail. Retrieval wasn’t a simple solution due to how Google “labels” items in comparison to folders in Apple Mail.

-One of Tim’s clients that stored everything in Apple Mail had a catastrophic issue.

-Is Apple Mail a professional mail client? The ongoing debate continues.

-Backupify offers native server side backups for Google and Microsoft 365. 

-Backblaze affiliate accounts can be an additional revenue stream for consultants.

-Alerting customers to issues that come from services like Watchman Monitoring is one thing. But getting them to take action is another.

432: Skin In The Game - Part 1 with Tim Nyberg of The MacGuys+

Topics:

-Tim Nyberg joins us as a guest co-host

-Half of Tim’s small business clients have either gone away or gone out of business.

-Tim had to adjust his business to being a “one man show” again.

-The stress of letting people go is tough for any business owner.

-Joe’s latest newsletter impresses Jerry.

-The frequency of newsletters and their purpose is debated and discussed.

-Infusionsoft is Tim’s CRM. He uses RepairShopr as well.

-Another consideration is the ratio of educational vs marketing newsletters.

-Naturally, the conversation begins to shift to sole proprietors vs a small business with employees.

-What questions are you trying to answer in your business model?

-Joe talks about how he used to carry RAM in his bag when he visited clients.

-The Personal Support Plan by Watchman Monitoring was the spark for some consultancies using the MSP model.

-As we discuss the age old question of charging for Watchman Monitoring, Jerry has gone the route of moving clients to a larger package to include Addigy MDM as well. 

431: Pavlov's Squirrels

Topics:

-Jerry describes some of his wireless challenges in his house as he moves from Eero to UniFi. 
-The UniFi Doorbell G4 is the latest addition to his UniFi suit of products.
-Using a headless Mac mini, he utilizes Home Bridge to add devices that are not HomeKit compatible.
-Similarly, Sam uses a Chamberlain Wi-Fi garage door opener with a “Home Bridge” device that is extremely unreliable.
-“Hey Squirrely”
-Hardware availability and keeping devices in stock is a constant challenge and moving target.
-Sam tried to get a straight answer out of UniFi support for default settings to enable/disable to improve network functionality. They supplied a support article: https://help.ui.com/hc/en-us/articles/221029967-UniFi-Troubleshooting-Connectivity-Issues
-The UniFi Smart Plug is a very useful device at an excellent price point: https://store.ui.com/collections/unifi-accessories/products/unifi-smart-power
-Joe & Sam gush over their Apple Silicon computers and Jerry shares his unhappiness. 
-Target Disk Mode and Apple Silicon. Is this still a thing?
-Joe prefers using Time Machine backups as a migration source.
-Jerry uses Fiverr.com to hire a VoiceOver actor for a customer voicemail system.