December 01, 2020

389: Pandemic Update With Adam Engst of TidBITS Content Network

December 01, 2020/ Jerry Zigmont

Topics:

-Adam Engst of TidBITS Content Network joins us once again to talk business during COVID and some new opportunities.

-The last time we had Adam on was mid March, just after the world began to change.

-Joe observes how things are once again going in the wrong direction.

-As the president of his local runner’s club, he is always on the lookout for important news to evaluate risks.

-We discuss the effects this has had on people not just with work or physical health, but mental health as well.

-Adam and the crew kick around many interesting thoughts and ideas about society as a whole.

-What’s going to happen with office space and real estate as a whole after this is all said and done?

-As companies have had to pivot during these times, Adam talks about how TidBITS has begun working with a school in Australia to distribute technical information.

-This opportunity of working with institutions with large IT footprints could be a new avenue for TidBITS Content Network.

November 24, 2020

388: Adam Engst of TidBITS Content Network Discusses Apple's M1 Silicon

November 24, 2020/ Jerry Zigmont

Topics:

-Adam Engst of TidBITS Content Network joins us to talk about Apple’s release of the M1 chips.

-We talk about “One More Thing...”

-Joe goes on a tear about some history of Mac.

-Joe is proud of his first generation JamBox.

-Adam is very excited about the benchmarks he is reading about the M1 chips.

-Even Rosetta 2 is showing a benchmark of 80% of native use!

-Adam talks about unified memory and how the memory is built in to the M1 chip.

-Thermal capacity in the new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and Mac mini is discussed. The MacBook Air doesn’t even have a fan!

-Sam & Joe are emotionally scarred from recent MacBook Air models.

-Adam is not impressed with the Touch Bar on the MacBook Pro.

-While we were once concerned about first generation chips, everything we are hearing has us excited.

-Battery life is a notable difference that users will be most aware of.

-50 of recent Mac purchases were customers new to the Mac.

-Adam warns about issues to be wary of with Big Sur when it comes to third party backup programs like Carbon Copy Cloner and Super Duper.

-Time Machine in Big Sur now uses APFS. You will likely want to start your backups fresh.

-The low end MacBook Air has a 7 core CPU instead of an 8 core. Why?

-Adam is going to test his new computer by dumping all his apps in Login Items to see how it responds.

-Sign up with TidBITS Content Network and have Adam and his team create meaningful content for your organization.

November 17, 2020

387: Know When To Fold Em'

November 17, 2020/ Jerry Zigmont

Topics:

-Joe had a client reach out just to say something positive about Parallels 16. How infrequently do we get those feel good calls?

-Speaking of Parallels 16, Jerry has a gripe about a Parallels update that ended up costing him.

-Sam wants to inject some feel good stories and talks about a free offer from a local ISP for households with educators and school age children.

-Another great tool for educators is Safe You Tube, a site that lets you play YouTube videos for children, without potentially inappropriate ad content.

-What happened to paper cups?

-We have some follow up to the Carbon Copy Cloner Privacy Fish, from Mike Bombitch himself!

-And now we have a hot air balloon from Tech Tool Pro.

-Amy McKnight and others give Joe some credit for his PSA about being able to open PDFs in Microsoft Word.

-Jerry is annoyed by a client that is clearly multi tasking while trying to work with him remotely.

-Joe has a similar client and sees the proof with Handoff displaying multiple apps in their Mac Dock.

-While trying to work with a new client remotely, Sam seems just how difficult it can be when leaving a lot of the work to the client.

-Sam & Joe have a live conversation about a potential new client that they are both in discussions with.

November 10, 2020

386: Interview With Brian Burke - Chief Mac Man of SellYourMac.com

November 10, 2020/ Jerry Zigmont

Topics:

-This week were are joined by Brian Burke, Chief Mac Man of SellYourMac.com

-Brian has always been passionate about computers and even helped teach his computer class in 5th grade!

-After successfully selling products, including used cell phones in college, Brian started buying and selling a lot of Apple products online. The idea of SellYourMac.com was born.

-Brian has purchased Mac computers as old as 2008.

-Sam always has family approaching him for used Apple products. Brian will be happy to take them off his hands.

-Joe also notes that support goes along with helping family acquire older products.

-Brian points to his customer service as the secret to his success.

-That level of customer service makes Joe recall offering support around the clock in his early days.

-The crew is reminded of a local grocery store chain, Stew Leonard’s, that has similar service etiquette.

-The flip side of always catering to the customer is those that attempt to take advantage.

-As Jerry joins the fray, he wants to know more from Brian about their process, from intake to checklist, cleaning, and resale.

-SellYourMac has custom made boxes for every model of Mac computer. It also helps to ensure integrity of the shipment so customers can get full value.

-Brian’s company does sell parts they don’t use.

-The topic of repairability comes up as Joe talks of past difficulties and Brian talks of the lack of repair options in the future.

-How much RAM should you get in your Mac?

-What’s a Mac Pro?

-Sam inquired about selling multiple computers at once. Brian directs him to their Sell in Bulk are of the site: https://www.sellyourmac.com/mac-bulk-buy-back.html

-Brian talks about an option for purchasing renewed devices: https://renewedmacs.com

-Outside of the Apple world, Brian is also a sommelier, a notary public, ordained minister, and a certified scuba instructor. He also administered his own brother’s wedding!

-Brian’s biggest passion is actually cooking.

-Speaking of cooking, Joe talks about Green Chef boxes. Organic food, ready to make.

-Trade In For A Purpose - Brian began this formal campaign to gift Mac computers to underprivileged students. This has an amazing impact on their lives and work on their education: https://www.sellyourmac.com/trade-in-for-a-purpose/

-Sell Your Mac is offering all of our listeners a bonus. Just use the promo code “CCP” at Sell Your Mac and Renewed Macs.

October 27, 2020

384: Interview With Jon Brown, founder & CEO of Grove Technologies

October 27, 2020/ Jerry Zigmont

Topics:

-This week we welcome Jon Brown of Grove Technologies and VIP sponsor of Command Control Power!

-Jon takes us through his path of leaving a 9-to-5 job and starting a consultancy to fill a visible void.

-Grove Technologies started by focusing on organizations that had internal IT and could use supplemental support.

-Joe knows the feeling of not being able to take time off when you are a team of one.

-Grove Technologies is currently a team of 3 full time people and additional 1099 contractors.

-A problem we know all too well - customers reaching out to Jon personally. He turned to Apple Business Chat.

-Joe & Jon swap stories about taking over another consultancy’s business/client list.

-Their sweet spot of size of client is between 5 and 25 users.

-When transitioning a new client away from a PC MSP, it started them down a path of a partnership acquisition opportunity.

-Jon is very forthcoming about the talks about selling his company.

-He also reelizes his bookkeeping practices and business hygiene wasn’t where he wanted them to be.

-Once presented with a business valuation, he ultimately decided to continue building his business. He also learned a few key things that they were looking for.

-We learn about the EBITDA method of a business valuation.

-We discuss the race to the bottom that seems to be the model of PC MSPs.

-Jon talks about needing to contribute to the community in order to be able to reap the benefits of that community.

-Part of a value of a company is how much clients rely on the actual person selling.

-Jon also discusses an opportunity to join forces with fellow Apple consultancies.

-After the acquisition didn’t move forward, Jon was approached about an “acqui-hire”.

-Sam proposes joining forces in CT and become Command Control Power Consulting.