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APR 2021
The Biggest Lesson My Mom Taught Me Every April Don’t Be So Serious
I always get a little anxious whenever April rolls around. My mom instilled a distrust in me that is always present on April Fools’ Day and has become one of my favorite traditions and memories. Growing up, my mom was a master at pranking, and April 1 was her Super Bowl. It didn’t matter how old my brother and I were; my mom was relentless in her pranks. She always managed to fool us when we were little kids, and as a child who took himself way too seriously, I was always so upset by her pranks. I can remember being so mad at her! That didn’t stop Mom, and I’m glad it didn’t. By the time I got older, Mom’s pranks had become a tradition, and my brother and I came to anticipate not trusting her on April 1. Mom had to get more creative with the pranks she pulled from that point on. For as legendary as my mom was on April Fools’ Day, neither my mom nor I can actually remember what pranks she pulled! I guess it just proves that the pranks were never as malicious or mean as I thought when I was really little. If they had been, I’m sure I would have remembered them! Instead, they were just something fun my mom did — a reminder to not take things so seriously. I think that’s the best part about this wacky holiday. It isn’t serious, and it encourages us to celebrate that. So many components of my life are serious and business-like, so it’s nice to know there’s a dedicated day to lightening up and just having a little fun. Whether I’m the prankster or the prankee, I’ve come to love the humor of April Fools’ Day, and I have Mom to thank for that. I was able to have a laugh at her expense one time, too. Once again, I don’t remember the prank, but I managed to fool her. When I finally revealed it had all been a joke, Mom was a good sport about it. She may have thrown a few obscenities my way when I let her off the hook, but she knew that prank was a long time coming.
kids, and like me, some of my children weren’t too thrilled by the pranks. Thankfully, they also learned to laugh and be good sports about it — just like I eventually did. There’s been a hiatus of pranking in the Amorebieta household, and I’m waiting with bated breath for my own children to turn the pranks on me. I’m going to bring pranking back this year. As I write this cover article before April 1, I’m still plotting my pranks against Keri and the kids, but I can’t wait to see the looks on their faces when it happens!
When I became a dad, I kept my mom’s tradition alive by fooling my own children. Like Mom, I soon learned just how easy it was to prank little
–Randy Amorebieta
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CRAFT THE PERFECT FOLLOW-UP EMAIL THE (NOT SO) SECRET RECIPE
When it comes to securing leads, the follow-up email is hard to beat. One
Find the ideal number of follow-ups. Obviously, not following up at all is a recipe for abandoning several potential leads. However, sending too many follow-ups can leave potential leads annoyed and unwilling to look into your business. According to several studies, the ideal number of follow-up emails is no less than three, but no more than seven. Time your follow-ups right. You don’t want to space your emails so far apart that leads forget about you, but you also don’t want to spam their email box so often that they get annoyed. A good rule of thumb is to wait at least 48 hours before sending a follow-up email after the initial email. After that, wait 2–4 days before sending another. Craft appealing content. This point is worth its own article, but briefly put, your follow-up email content is incredibly important. Create a subject line that will grab readers’ attention. Then, be polite, direct, friendly, and personable in each email. As you send out more follow-ups, become more specific about the deal you’re offering and make it more enticing. Above all, you should constantly tweak your follow-up content and overall strategy as you gain new information. As you continue to create follow- up emails, you’ll learn what works best.
study found that a 12% response rate from two emails increases to 15%–16% with a third email. If you play your cards right, the success of your email marketing could, in large
part, depend on your follow-up emails. So, how do you create ones that maximize positive responses from leads?
Know your goals. You should have a clear idea of what you want to accomplish with your email campaign. Which metrics are most important to you? The number of times recipients open your follow-up email? That they click a link in the text? That they reply? Maybe tracking total conversions resulting from follow-up emails is important to you. Whatever the case, knowing your goals is a good first step.
CELEBRATE!
See What Our Customers Are Saying
It takes every member of our 5-Star IT Service Team to ensure our clients’ needs are met. And we love to celebrate them! This month, we would like to recognize Randy Amorebieta, who celebrates a birthday in April, and Jeremy Young, who has been with MicroTech Systems for the past two years! Be sure to give these guys well wishes when you speak to them next!
My company has been with MicroTech for about two months. They are fantastic. I worked with a previous tech firm for about 1-1/2 years to solve our IT issues with no satisfactory results. Since switching to MicroTech our IT issues are being solved quickly. The techs are highly skilled and able to explain in layman’s terms what the issues are and the next steps needed. When unexpected issues occur their response time is immediate. I would highly recommend them for your IT needs. – Christine S. Our law firm has used MicroTech for all our IT needs for many years. I couldn’t be happier with their performance and response time. I highly recommend them! – Tracey P.
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Overcome Microsoft 365’s Biggest Fault WITH A TRUSTED MSP
Microsoft 365 (M365) has emerged as an essential tool for business, but, like any program, it isn’t without faults. The biggest glaring issue with M365 is that it’s missing a backup and recovery system. In an age when cybersecurity is the No. 1 threat to small businesses, this is a critical element missing from an otherwise well-integrated platform. M365 does offer a 30-day retention policy and a 14-day item recovery function, but this isn’t a secure option. These processes are not designed for long-term protection and don’t account for hacks, employee mismanagement, and other external factors that go beyond “accidents.” This means that if you delete a client email, a user, or a file from OneDrive, you will have a very limited timeframe to recover that information. There are two ways to mitigate this, but ultimately, you will need to invest in a third-party backup system to protect your information and data.
You could do your own research and select the tool that is best for your business, but this might not be the wisest choice. In order to effectively choose a third-party platform, you’ll need to sort through endless amounts of research and do testing. You will also have to delegate someone on your team to perform the required tasks these backup platforms need to function properly and ensure it’s happening regularly to get the most out of what you’re paying for. By contrast, partnering with an MSP to supply a third-party backup platform does all of that for you. The MSP’s experts have already done exhaustive research and testing to select the tool that is best for their clients, and they are experts in the implementation of the platform. You don’t have to add another task to your employees’ plates as the MSP takes care of everything your backup system needs to do.
in total control of the process and system. However, the work and dedication it takes to find, install, and maintain the backup system on your own is far less efficient — and potentially more costly — than working with an MSP. To ensure your M365’s faults don’t damage your business, learn more about our 5-Star IT Service, or discover more tech news, visit MicroTechBoise.com/blog.
The only benefit of implementing a backup system for M365 on your own is that you are
SHEET PAN CHICKEN DINNER Inspired by TheSpruceEats.com
Have a Laugh!
Ingredients
• • • • • •
2 tbsp canola oil 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp lemon juice
•
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks 2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
•
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• •
1 tsp salt
1 large head of broccoli, cut into florets
1/4 tsp pepper
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 F. 2. On a large baking sheet, combine chicken, sweet potatoes, salt, and pepper. Drizzle with oil and toss to coat. 3. Bake for 15 minutes. In the meantime,
4. Remove pan from oven and use a spatula to flip the chicken and potatoes, then add broccoli florets. 5. Drizzle sauce evenly over top and return to the oven to bake for an additional 15 minutes or until chicken has an internal temperature of 165 F and vegetables are fork-tender.
make the sauce by combining the soy sauce, lemon juice, honey, and cayenne pepper.
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Inside
Why April Fools’ Day Has Value
How to Craft the Perfect Follow-Up Email
See What Our Customers Are Saying
The No. 1 Issue With Microsoft 365 (And How to Solve It)
Sheet Pan Chicken Dinner
‘Zero to One’: A Book Review
How to Get From ‘Zero to One’
“What important truth do very few people agree with you on?”
became PayPal) and invested in startups like Facebook, SpaceX, Lyft, and Airbnb whose ideas were so novel at the start that they were perceived as risky by many. Throughout the book, Thiel shares his wealth of knowledge garnered from a long, successful career of recognizing and acting on original ideas. According to him, and anyone else who has ever tried creating something wholly unique, developing an original idea is no easy task. The difficulty of originality even led Mark Twain to once say “There is no such thing as a new idea. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope.” But in “Zero to One,” Thiel proves that coming up with original ideas is possible, and he provides readers with helpful tips and lessons for how to get there. One such lesson: Stop trying to be the next Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg because “if you’re
That’s entrepreneur and author Peter Thiel’s favorite interview question. To Thiel, a person’s answer to that question provides insight into whether they’ll be able to find success as an entrepreneur. Ideally, if you can answer with something like “Most people believe in X, but the truth is the opposite of X,” then you’re well on your way from zero to one and creating an original business idea. That’s what Thiel explores in his book “Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future.” “Zero to One” is all about coming up with and nurturing unique ideas, which are the foundation of game-changing businesses. As a co-founder and investor in a number of companies that have changed the business landscape, Thiel has some authority on this subject. He co-founded Cofinity (which later
copying these guys, you aren’t learning from them.”
Thiel uses his favorite interview question to try to identify original thinkers. These are the people who take their businesses from zero to one because they looked at past successes and thought, “I can do it differently, and I can do it better.” If you want to be in that group, then reading Thiel’s advice in “Zero to One” is a great place to start.
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