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How do you continue to “build” a managed services business — even as you try to “run” day-to-day operations while maintaining your existing customer engagements? I must concede: We deal with that balancing act Nine Lives Media Inc. (MSPmentor’s parent). On the one hand, our team has to meet daily business and editorial deadlines. But on the other, we have to keep innovating. Otherwise, a market shift or competitive shift will surely sink us. It’s a careful balancing act that I suspect many MSPs are facing as well.
I was on the road today. The usual flood of email hit my inbox. Some senders expected instant responses from me. But I’m starting to listen to good advice from Stuart Crawford, the former VAR who now specializes in social media. In a polite but clear manner, Crawford reminds senders on a regular basis that email isn’t designed for instant communications. Within our own business, we’re spending less time on email and more time using Google Docs to manage internal discussions. Here’s why. And here’s how.
The MSPmentor Career Center has received more than a dozen new job listings over the past few days. All of the submissions — including sales and technical positions — are now advertised in our free MSPmentor Career Center. Here are some quick details.
Call it the MSP paradox: You have a growing business but you’re not quite ready to hire more full-time employees. As a stop-gap, plenty of managed services providers tell me they would gladly hire temporary help and interns — if only there was a simple way to find that talent. Perhaps a new web site, called Urban Interns, can help.
Two things are competing for my time and attention today: A blizzard here in New York, and the launch of the third-annual MSPmentor 100 — which debuts at 2:00 p.m. eastern today during our special webcast. How will I escape from the blizzard to moderate the webcast? Here’s the answer…
A lack of focus on sales is a common error I see a lot of small MSPs make. Heck, most have no dedicated sales staff or sales plan whatsoever. The standard way of doing business is to wait for the phone to ring and hope for new business. This is a mistake. All great businesses are built with a strong sales attack.
Where did the top managed services providers find new customers in 2009? The surprising answer: Many of the best performing MSPs secured revenue in 2009 from target customers that had previously said no in 2008. Want more sales and business tips? Join our next MSPmentor live webcast, scheduled for February 10 at 2:00 p.m. eastern. Here’s what we’ll cover.
I’ve gotta admit: I don’t listen to many of the messages from Washington, D.C. Instead of worrying about what the government is going to do for our small business, I worry about what our own management team is going to do for our business. Still, President Obama’s Small Business Jobs and Wages Tax Cut caught my attention. I wonder: Will it really benefit MSPs and their small-business customers?
When I want to learn about a business topic, I always try to get the scoop from people who are battling it out in the trenches. Real-world success trumps the white board gurus any day. So, for this blog post, I’m culling business insights, sales advice and cloud strategies from three MSP All-Stars. Here’s their guidance.
While it may seem counter-intuitive to launch a business during a down economy, for IT professionals the worst of times may in fact prove to be the best of times. If you are an IT professional out of work, your chances of finding full-time employment with a vendor or IT services firm are quite narrow. That’s no reflection on your abilities necessarily, but rather an acknowledgment of the realities of the market. What should you do?
The New York Internet Company (NYI) recently landed a colocation deal with Meetup, a social network site for coordinating local get-togethers. Now here’s the twist: The customer’s selection decision was based, in part, on NYI’s business experience with startups. Is it time for MSPs to specifically target startups as customers? Here are some insights.
I’m marching toward 20 years in the IT media market. I still spend most of my time looking forward. But sometimes you’ll catch me looking back (however briefly) in a bid to learn from my mistakes. Here are six noteworthy career blunders — and what I learned from them.
Our first MSPmentor Live webcast of 2010 has nearly arrived. It’s scheduled for January 20. Here’s a look at the topic, our guest speakers and two surprises (yes: they involve Amazon’s Kindle) we have in store for the webcast.
Let’s face it: life on the bleeding edge is not for everyone — companies or individuals. If you are anything like me, some days you ask yourself why you do it. Yet for most of us in the IT services world, the good days in 2009 far outnumbered the bad, and the lessons learned were invaluable. Here are four takeaways I am keeping top of mind in 2010:
Our first MSPmentor Live webcast of 2010 is scheduled for January 20. Here’s a look at the topic, our guest speakers and two surprises (hint: they involve Amazon’s Kindle) we have in store for the webcast.
As Australia’s managed services market continues to grow, VARs and managed service providers are recruiting key talent to help accelerate their business operations. The latest example comes from Accucom, which apparently has hired several former Synergy employees. Here are the details.
I’m hearing more and more buzz about open-book management across the managed services market. In theory, opening your financial books to employees allows everyone within your company to focus more aggressively on business results and profitability. But does open-book management really work?
Back in a May 2009 podcast, I spoke with David Schafran and Michael Coopersmith about how a consultant can help a solutions provider transform into a managed service provider. Fast forward to December 2009, and I followed up with Schafran (president of Transformation Strategies Inc.) and Coopersmith (owner of Integrated Technology Systems of New York City) to see how the the business transformation was proceeding. Here is part two of the two-part podcast.
So, what generated buzz on MSPmentor in 2009? Here’s a look at the individual blog entries that attracted the most readership for Q2 (April – June) 2009…
So, what generated buzz on MSPmentor in 2009? Here’s a look at the individual blog entries that attracted the most readership for Q1 (January – March) 2009…
I often ask MSPmentor readers what markets they’re going to enter next. Perhaps I should spend more time asking them what markets they plan to exit, and what products/services they plan to kill. The answers to those questions are pretty telling. Here’s why.
Generally speaking, I avoid the temptation to write big “prediction” pieces as the New Year approaches. My crystal ball is as foggy as the next guy’s. And sometimes a list of predictions is nothing more than a lame attempt to gain more reader eyeballs. Still, I do have some strong opinions about where MSPs and technology companies should head in 2010. Here are some quick thoughts.
I’m in D.C. awaiting my flight home to New York. It’s my final business flight of the year. But before I board, here are seven managed services blog entries MSPmentor didn’t have time to write for the week ending Dec. 18, 2009.
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