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   ACEs Conference Helps Consultants Grow Their Businesses

   Adam C. Engst

   The silver lining in the cloud of losing Macworld Expo is the rise of
   small, focused conferences. Macworld Expo had to be everything to
   everyone, and niche audiences had to carve out their own events during
   the mainstream show.

   I'm particularly looking forward to the [1]ACEs Conference, now in its
   third year of serving IT professionals, ranging from independent
   consultants to IT directors and CIOs. I haven't been able to attend in
   the past due to scheduling conflicts, but from what I've heard from
   others who have gone, it does a good job of teaching attendees not
   about technology, but about running their businesses. This year's
   conference is on May 31st and June 1st in Phoenix.

   [2][tn_ACEs-Conference.jpg]

   Most consultants I know are good at the technology side of things '
   they're fully capable of solving whatever technical problems their
   clients have. Where they tend to need help is on the business side.
   Just as too few doctors, lawyers, and architects ever get any business
   instruction during their educations, it's easy to fall into consulting
   without any training on topics like management, operations, marketing,
   and client development.

   That's where ACEs focuses. Business coach [3]Marcy Maslov's session
   will show you how to interpret your financial statements so you can see
   which products to promote or discontinue, determine whether or not you
   should hire help, and detect if someone might be embezzling from you.
   Others teach you how to [4]build your personal brand, what to do
   [5]when clients don't go along with your recommendations, and how you
   can [6]convert residential clients from hourly billing to a managed
   services model. Consultants who are focusing on managed services will
   especially appreciate [7]David Postolski's talk about the importance of
   managed services contracts. And of course, I hope you'll come hear me
   [8]talk about content marketing.

   As with all small conferences, the informal networking and discussions
   will undoubtedly be almost as valuable as the sessions. This year, ACEs
   is going even farther, with a limited number of [9]one-on-one business
   consulting sessions from keynote speaker [10]Mike Michalowicz and
   business coach [11]Jennifer Dawn. ACEs also offers a [12]Proactive
   Support Professional Certification for those who act as virtual CIOs
   for their clients ' [13]learn more about it here.

   All those extras cost more, but [14]ACEs itself is $649 and includes
   breakfast and lunch both days, plus dinner on the first day. It's held
   in the Sheraton Grand Phoenix in downtown Phoenix. If you run an IT
   consulting business, I hope to see you there!

References

   1. https://acesconf.com/
   2. http://tidbits.com/resources/2017-04/ACEs-Conference.png
   3. https://acesconf.com/speaker/marcy-maslov/
   4. https://acesconf.com/speaker/erin-bury/
   5. https://acesconf.com/speaker/harold-mann/
   6. https://acesconf.com/speaker/remie-cremers/
   7. https://acesconf.com/speaker/david-postolski/
   8. https://acesconf.com/publish-perish-content-marketing-consultants/
   9. https://acesconf.com/business-consulting/
  10. https://acesconf.com/speaker/mike-michalowicz/
  11. https://acesconf.com/speaker/jennifer-dawn/
  12. https://acesconf.com/proactive-support-certification/
  13. https://www.proactiveprofessional.com/
  14. https://acesconf.com/#1

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