April Was a Blur (With a Side of Sticky Hands)
How is it the last day of April already? It seems like only yesterday, my 8-year-old son was cutting several holes in my toothpaste, his April Fool’s joke on me. It’s a fantastic prank that is still affecting me today- I get sticky toothpaste on my hands almost daily. Well done, Noah.
It has been a whirlwind of a month for me. It started with a week-long trip to Houston for the BNI National Conference with several good friends— William Bolls, Realtor and Lic. Assoc. Real Estate Broker, Sherene Strausberg, Ann Brennan and Anastassia Vangraefschepe. BNI deserves a whole month’s newsletter dedicated to it.
On April 10th, the offer we made on a house was accepted! Yes, we are leaving Brooklyn and heading to the ‘burbs—Dobbs Ferry, Westchester. Again, that deserves its own post.
We had to get the home inspection done the very next day because we were heading to Florida for Passover on the 12th. It’s an annual visit to see my in-laws, that’s always fun and involves a lot of pool time with kids.
April 12th was also the 5th anniversary of my Dad’s passing. It’s crazy to me that it’s been 5 years already. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of him. He was an extraordinary man that I modeled myself after, and I miss him dearly. His birthday is April 18th and he also passed on Easter Sunday so all three dates, quite frankly, suck.
I had my own birthday on the 20th and had a lovely brunch at home thanks to my amazing wife, Pamela Lewy. Pictured above, she made breakfast tacos, scones, French toast, Bloody Marys, and Mimosas. Absolutely fabulous. Afterwards, I took Noah to the Mets game, and they got us a win for my birthday! That marks Noah’s first IRL sports win. He’s 0-3 for the Islanders so far, and 1-2 now for the Mets.
After all of that, I got to see Machine Head at the Brooklyn Paramount last week. They’re one of my favorite bands of all time, and I make it a point to see them every time they come through NY. They never disappoint, and this year, I also got a guitar pick as a souvenir!
OK, I think I answered my original question. This was a busy, emotional month, and when I looked up, it was April 30th. So here we are.
So, my question this month, dear readers, is how are YOU doing? Was April exceptionally busy for you, too?
This month, Murph Consulting turned 18. I cranked up Alice Cooper's "I'm 18" and Skid Row's "18 and Life" to get the vibes going. My company is now old enough to vote, get a tattoo, and get married, all without parental consent. Watch out, world!
In all seriousness, the passing of another year of entrepreneurship and running a successful business always feels like a good time to reflect. Since we started in 2007, we've assisted nearly 600 small businesses and residential clients. Businesses in every industry, ranging in size from the solopreneur to 100 employees. There’s no company we’ll say “you’re too small for us to help”, and that gives me great joy. Small businesses need tech and CyberSecurity support, and we’ve got their backs.
Speaking of, it's October again, and you all know what that means, right? The Mets have failed us, and the Islanders, Jets, and Rangers are about to. It's also Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Every small business should be implementing some basic security measures by now. It's easier and more affordable than you think it is, and definitely cheaper than dealing with the fallout of something drastically bad happening to your business.
How's your password game? Do you use strong passwords on all the sites you visit, or are they all slight modifications of one word, like your kids or pets' names or birth dates?
If it's the latter, let's chat. You should be using a password manager. They are easy to use, create complex passwords for you that you no longer need to remember, and keep them all safe for you. I can't remember the last time I had to click on the "forgot your password" link for any site, and I love that for me.
A password manager is just one of the seven software we feel EVERY small business should have in place to help keep them protected in 2025. We’ve packaged these up together neatly and made them affordable for the small businesses we will always support. If you’d like to learn more, please click the “Contact Murph” button below to send me an email.