Analytics/Analysis

With 2025 in full swing, take a deep breath, assess and appreciate the gifts you have. It’s also an opportunity to appreciate others (even if they are different from you).

Case in point is my life-long friendship starting in Alaska with award winning and accomplished writer Charles Wohlforth. Who woulda thunk it that we’d both grow up and dance with wolves in Alaska and words. But we took two different pathways. Charles has made a career of non-fiction writing books for major publishers on a range of topics from outer space destinations that mankind could some day colonize to a book on whales and super computers. Words flow easily for this chap and his services are in-demand such as collaboration and coaching. You should track him via his site and sign-up for his newsletter at

On the surface my Christmas tree, admittedly a work in progress, has very little to teach about Customer Relationship Management (CRM), But get into the branches (not the weeds LOL) and this tree is the meaning of life with respect to starting, owning and operating a business in the Small and Medium Business (SMB) space. Read on. 

This week I had the pleasure of providing the first of a series of training sessions for my colleagues at the Well Done Foundation not-for-profit (NFP) on utilizing the new Microsoft Dynamics CRM instance. At its core,

Long-time readers will recall that we have always support Small Business Saturday that falls after the US Thanksgiving (started 2010). This year it’s November 30th. Here are a few ways you can participate.

Go Buy Something (Anything) from a Small Business! 

I love shopping on Small Business Saturday. Last year I picked up some sauces from a small business in the cute tourist town of Wimberley, TX in the hill country outside Austin. And I’ll hit the elephant in the room head on folks. Yes - buying a drink (wine, beer even Vodka count when you visit a local diner. Snap a pic and post it in our SBS group on FB (join HERE) 

Host a Reception at Your Business Location

Welcome to 2025! I'm in more conversations with our ecosystem about what's ahead is nearly everyone is talking about future plans. Fellow SMB SBS geek shares what he as done to invoke personal and professioal change over the past decade. And there it a wee bit of humor tossed in to looks at vendor swag from yesteryear. Let's get started!

Richard Kenyon

Harry Brelsford catches up with Richard Kenyon in Albuquerque, New Mexico, discussing Richard's move from Michigan 10 years ago for a better climate and to be closer to family. Richard's wife, also a tech enthusiast, works as a project manager at Meta's data warehouse in Las Lunas.

Harry Brelsford and Paralee Walls discuss the Connect 2024 event, highlighting Paralee's company's success in the previous year's startup pitch competition. Paralee emphasizes the importance of integrating chat solutions for better customer service experiences, contrasting traditional ticketing systems. She shares her background in public school education and how transitioning to tech marketing is similar to teaching. They discuss the cognitive benefits of learning a foreign language, with Paralee noting that she dreams in Spanish. Paralee describes her company's marketing strategies at the event, including a "rage room" for venting business frustrations and a solutions booth. They also talk about the benefits of providing exceptional service experiences, exemplified by their party bus service for attendees.

Harry Brelsford and Dux Raymond Sy discussed the IT Nation Connect 2024 event, noting 4,500 on-site attendees and 205,000 online. Dux, Chief Brand Officer at AvePoint, highlighted AvePoint's role in data security, governance, and resiliency, emphasizing their 21-year history and 4,000 global partners. They discussed the importance of preparing for AI tools like Copilot by ensuring data hygiene and security. Dux noted that AvePoint's FedRAMP and GCC high certifications are crucial for federal market MSPs. They also touched on the challenges and opportunities in the SMB space, stressing the need for early adoption and recurring services.