VISIONs of Greatness – Greatness. Defined.
What does it mean to be great? Is greatness, like genius, something elusive, forever beyond the reach of our definitions? Is it futile to even attempt a definition of greatness? Maybe. But that’s not going to stop us from trying.
So you want to be great?
Welcome to the club. A lot of people desire greatness, but to actually become great, you’ve got to do a lot more than want it – you’ve got to live it. Day in, day out. You’ve got to put in the work. That’s because at the end of the day …
“It’s not about money or connections – it’s the willingness to outwork and outlearn everyone when it comes to your business.” – Mark Cuban, Entrepreneur & Investor
And working hard means working hard at every part of your business, your craft, your goal. Not just the big, fun stuff, but all the boring little details, too. After all …
“Greatness is a lot of small things done well.” – Eric Thomas, Motivational Speaker & Author
If that sounds hard, that’s because it is. So if you’re going to pursue greatness, make sure you pick something you love, because …
“You can only become great at that thing you’re willing to sacrifice for.” – Maya Angelou, Writer & Activist
… and it’s not worth all that sacrifice if you don’t love it.
It’s also not worth the pain. That’s right – there’s pain on the path to greatness. And failure, too. Plenty of failure. But hey, don’t stop when the going gets tough, because here’s the thing …
“Greatness begins beyond your comfort zone.” – Robin Sharma, Author & Speaker
OK, but what if you go for it … and fail? What if you put everything you have into your dream, and things don’t work out? What if –
Look, those thoughts are scary. They’re also human. Every great person in history likely started their journey to greatness with serious doubts. With fear. So embrace those doubts and make friends with your fear, because …
“Greatness comes from fear. Fear can either shut us down and we go home, or we fight through it.” – Lionel Richie, Singer & Songwriter
As for the possibility of failing, that’s just part of the deal. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. So, when you feel that fear bubbling up, just remind yourself …
“No one ever achieved greatness by playing it safe.” – Harry Gray, Business Leader & Philanthropist
In the pursuit of greatness, you can plan, strategize, and learn as much as you can to mitigate risk. But risk can never be eliminated. Greatness requires a leap of faith. It requires courage.
But the best thing about greatness – the thing that makes greatness, well, great – is that it’s usually worth it: the risk, the work, even the pain.
That’s because true greatness is bigger than you. It’s bigger than any one of us. True greatness makes the world a better place. Is the moon landing great? Of course. But so is an act of kindness. So is sitting beside a hospital bed for hours …
“Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
Wise words from Dr. King. Service IS great. Helping others is great. Caring is great.
This brings us to a crucial point: greatness isn’t about how much ‘success’ you have – how much money you make or how many people know your name (even though greatness tends to lead to success). It’s about who you are and how you treat others.
“Most people define greatness through wealth and popularity and position in the corner office. But what I call everyday greatness comes from character and contribution.” – Stephen Covey, Author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Character and contribution. That’s it, right there. Greatness comes from within, and it manifests in how we affect the world around us – and the people we encounter. And it’s in all of us, too, this capacity to be good, to do good. To be great and do great.
So don’t wait to be great or make plans to be great.
BE great. In your thoughts, in your intentions, in your actions. Greatness starts with the small things. And it starts … right … now.
Go.
***
If you enjoyed this piece, look out for the next “VISION of Greatness” from The 20. And don’t forget to register for VISION ’23, the MSP event of the year!
VISION is just a few weeks away – secure your seat before spots fill up!
The 20 Honors Top Managed Service Providers and Vendors at VISION 2021
Full press release here
The 20, leading MSP consortium, honored top managed services providers and vendors with VISION 2021 awards. Presented at its eighth annual VISION conference, these awards recognized managed service providers and vendors for their outstanding achievements over the past year.
“Year after year, our community of MSPs continues to blow us away with their dedication to innovation, growth, and excellence. It’s an honor to recognize their commitment to The 20’s model, and showcase their continued performance and success,” said Tim Conkle, CEO of The 20.
“It is also a tremendous privilege to honor the vendors propelling the growth of our MSP members, and give them the recognition they absolutely deserve,” added Conkle.
The 20’s VISION 2021 Awards include:
The VISION 2021 Conference featured best-in-class thought leadership, actionable content sessions, channel trends, interactive peer panels, and peer networking – all focused on growing your IT services business. Keynote speaker, Nick Vujicic, a world-renowned speaker, New York Times best-selling author, coach and entrepreneur, shared his life obstacles and how to turn them into opportunities. Hailed as the most important MSP event of the year, VISION brought together top MSPs and IT service providers for three impactful days of speakers, sessions, and networking focused on business best practices, thought leadership, and growth.
About The 20
The 20 is an exclusive business development group for Managed Service Providers (MSPs) aimed at dominating and revolutionizing the IT industry with its standardized all-in-one approach. The 20’s robust RMM, PSA, and documentation platform ensures superior service for its MSPs’ clients utilizing their completely US-based Help Desk and Network Operations Center. Extending beyond world-class tools and processes, The 20 touts a proven sales model, a community of industry-leaders, and ultimate scalability. To learn more about The 20, contact us here.
Meet Brian & Mary of Mid-Atlantic Data & Communications!
Tell us a little about your MSP…
Mid-Atlantic Data & Communications is currently located in Roanoke VA. We were started in 2004. We started this company originally just to make an extra $1200 a month in cash.
How long have you been a member of The 20?
We’ve been a member of The 20 since April of 2020.
Why did your MSP originally look to partner with The 20?
We partnered with The 20 to drive down the cost of our tool sets, partner with other resources that had knowledge that we didn’t and save money.
Tell us about the biggest change in your business since joining The 20.
Understanding scale and letting go.
What do you like most about being a member of The 20?
Our favorite part of being a member of The 20 is the 24 hour help desk as part of our sales strategy.
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
Letting go.
What are your biggest business challenges?
Our biggest business challenge is documentation.
What are your areas of focus for 2021?
Operations and Sales/Marketing
What advice would you share with an MSP looking to scale their business?
Decide what you want to become and never lose focus on your goals!
What book are you currently reading?
Favorite blogs/podcasts
UpperRoom, Chris Voss, Darren Hardy, Less Brown
Interested in becoming a member like Mid-Atlantic Data & Communications? Click here for more information!
Meet Matt Jones of Freedom Tech!
Tell us a little about your MSP…
Freedom Tech was established in 2011 in Rural Harnett County, NC – but is now headquartered in Raleigh with additional locations in Fuquay-Varina, Chapel Hill, Fayetteville, Lillington, & Southern Pines, NC.
How long have you been a member of The 20?
We’ve been a member of the 20 for about 4 months.
Why did your MSP originally look to partner with The 20?
Without customer service, you have nothing. Yes, we answer our phones live, but if our reception team couldn’t get an available tech at that moment, customers often felt they needed to make more calls or send more messages, usually to me. I’ve lost clients in the past solely because I couldn’t be in 3 places at once. We want our customers to have the ability to reach a technician any time they pick up the phone.
Tell us about the biggest change in your business since joining The 20.
Full Confidence to scale, knowing our customers will be under-promised, and over supported with the team on the help desk always ready to help. Now it doesn’t matter if the client as 1 computer, or 1,000 – I don’t have to worry, know we’ll take care of them, and I don’t have to find additional staff to do it.
What do you like most about being a member of The 20?
Our excitement & anticipation for the future. We’re now part of a team & collective that isn’t just hoping to help & grow the industry, but we’re doing it! A lot of IT Company’s are sitting around wishing, but The 20 is taking massive action to ensure we get where we want and need to be. Not later, NOW!. And the best part, there’s room for more on the journey.
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
You have to be willing to take massive action. Period. Wether it’s lead gen, sales, or scaling. You have to take action this very second.
What are your biggest business challenges?
Honestly, lead gen is our weakest link currently. I can sell, I can fix – our lead gen pipeline is the area we’re working on more now.
What are your areas of focus for 2021?
Sales, Sales, Sales, Sales, Sales, Sales, Sales. – The Core: Lead Gen + Sales + Scale.
What advice would you share with an MSP looking to scale their business?
Stop letting your pride, your family, your head trash, or whatever else keep you stuck. I promise you, if you’re looking for a team that isn’t stuck, The 20 is it.
What book are you currently reading?
Scaling Up by Verne Harnish & Leadership Strategy & Tactics by Jocko Willink
Favorite blogs/podcasts
MSP Success Magazine, Jocko Willink Podcast, Law of Attraction Coaching
Interested in becoming a member like Freedom Tech? Click here for more information!
The 20 MSP Named in the 2021 CRN® Partner Program Guide
Full press release here
Plano, Texas, March 29th, 2021 – The 20 MSP is being acknowledged by CRN®, a brand of The Channel Company, in its 2021 Partner Program Guide. This annual guide provides a conclusive list of the most distinguished partner programs from leading technology companies that provide products and services through the IT Channel.
Given the importance of IT vendor channel programs, each year CRN develops its Partner Program Guide to provide the channel community with a detailed look at the partner programs offered by IT manufacturers, software developers, service companies, and distributors. Vendors are scored based on investments in program offerings, partner profitability, partner training, education and support, marketing programs and resources, sales support, and communication.
The 20 is a group of Managed Service Providers across North America who have joined forces to perfect a single service delivery model with unified resources to deliver excellent IT support. Paired with outstanding service delivery, The 20 provides a successful platform with proven processes to help IT providers grow.
“We are honored to be recognized in the 2021 CRN Partner Program Guide,” said Tim Conkle, CEO of The 20.”We’ve seen impressive growth among our MSP members and we’ve worked hard to design a partner program that reflects our dedication to their success. The 20’s success is inextricably linked to that of our MSP members.”
“As innovation continues to fuel the speed and intricacy of technology, solution providers need partners that can keep up and support their developing business.” said Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company. “CRN’s 2021 Partner Program Guide gives insight into the strengths of each organization’s program to recognize those that continually support and push positive change inside the IT channel.”
The 2021 Partner Program Guide will be featured in the April 2021 issue of CRN and online at www.CRN.com/PPG.
About The 20 MSP
The 20 is an exclusive business development group for Managed Service Providers (MSPs) aimed at dominating and revolutionizing the IT industry with its standardized all-in-one approach. The 20’s robust RMM, PSA, and documentation platform ensures superior service for its MSPs’ clients utilizing their completely US-based Help Desk and Network Operations Center. Extending beyond world-class tools and processes, The 20 touts a proven sales model, a community of industry-leaders, and ultimate scalability. For more information, visit: www.the20.com.
Follow The 20 MSP: Twitter , LinkedIn, and Facebook.
About The Channel Company
The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by nearly 40 years of unequalled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelcompany.com
Follow The Channel Company: Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
© 2021. CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, LLC. All rights reserved.
The Channel Company Contact:
Jennifer Hogan
The Channel Company
[email protected]
Meet Eric Emerson of E-Squared IT!
Tell us a little about your MSP…
E-Squared IT is located in Clinton, New Jersey and has been open since 2015. Things really started taking off in 2018 right around the time we joined The 20.
How long have you been a member of The 20?
We’ve been with The 20 since around May 2018.
Why did your MSP originally look to partner with The 20?
I came from small / medium sized MSPs before going independent and lacked the knowledge necessary to grow our MSP to that next level. Outside of some mastermind groups / reddit focused discussion groups there was zero companies that had what I was looking for.
Tell us about the biggest change in your business since joining The 20.
Biggest change for us was our revenue. In 2020 alone in a down economy, we’ve more than tripled our monthly recurring revenue. It has been a serious game changer.
What do you like most about being a member of The 20?
The biggest benefit is the collaboration with other like-minded MSPs. We tried to start a local mastermind group of local MSPs here in Jersey and were essentially told to go kick rocks. No one wants to share their “secret sauce” with the competition. Now with the20 we can share ideas of what works and what doesn’t work without having to worry about potentially losing local business.
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
100% you have to treat your clients like they could leave at any moment. Treat your clients like they are your only client, and spend time learning about who they are as people along with the tech stuff. The soft skills are becoming just as important, if not more important than the tech knowledge
What are your biggest business challenges?
Our biggest challenge this year was delivering on our QBR / customer service promise during a pandemic. It became extremely hard to connect with our customers when its chaos in the outside world.
What are your areas of focus for 2021?
Our biggest areas of focus will be continuing the sales and marketing push we did for 2020, but doing so in a controlled way that doesn’t degrade overall service delivery. This year was A LOT, all at once.
What advice would you share with an MSP looking to scale their business?
Marketing and sales matter more than you could possibly imagine. Carve out a budget for Google Adwords / Linkedin and push every dollar you can to those platforms.
What book are you currently reading?
The last book I finished was Everything is F*cked by Mark Manson!
Favorite blogs / podcasts
I cant seem to find any MSP / tech related blogs that aren’t overly vendor heavy, so im going to have to offer up the king of fake business himself Mr Tim Dillon on the Tim Dillon show. He’s a national treasure and must be protected at all costs.
Interested in becoming a member like E-Squared IT? Click here for more information!
Meet Mike Bramm of BomberJacket Networks!
Tell us a little about your MSP…
BomberJacket Networks is located in Minnesota, Twin Cities (Minneapolis-St Paul), Established: 2001, Previously a Value Added Reseller- System Integrator
How long have you been a member of The 20?
5 months
Why did your MSP originally look to partner with The 20?
24x7x365 Support Desk/NOC
Tell us about the biggest change in your business since joining The 20.
Breaking old Break/Fix habits
What do you like most about being a member of The 20?
Tim’s Sales Pitch
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
Marketing, Hard Work, Persistence
What are your biggest business challenges?
Having enough time
What are your areas of focus for 2020?
Marketing
What advice would you share with an MSP looking to scale their business?
Join The 20 Way
What book are you currently reading?
You Can’t Be Everywhere – Marie Wiese
Favorite blogs / podcasts
Building a Story Brand with Donald Miller
Interested in becoming a member like BomberJacket Networks? Click here for more information!
Meet Joe Martinez of KITE IT Pro!
Tell us a little about your MSP…
KITE IT Pro’s headquarters are in Tucson, AZ. In 2014, we started off as a consumer/business break-fix company and made the decision to primarily focus solely on managed services in 2018.
How long have you been a member of The 20?
We have been a member of The 20 for a little over 4 months.
Why did your MSP originally look to partner with The 20?
The size of our company really forced us to look to partner with The 20. Scaling our service delivery was a huge issue for us. We were not in the position to hire technicians or take on clients over a certain size in fear of service overload. As we added new clients, we were essentially growing ourselves out of business.
Tell us about the biggest change in your business since joining The 20.
CONFIDENCE. We knew that we delivered our clients great IT service, we just lacked confidence in scaling. Partnering with The 20 has allowed us to discover the difference between scaling our service and scaling our business.
What do you like most about being a member of The 20?
We love the community of The 20. The engagement between partners is priceless. In this industry, every company holds their secret sauce under lock and key. As members of The 20 community, we are learning from seasoned industry veterans on how to successfully grow and protect our business.
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
Hard work. The 20 is designed to alleviate growing pains. Everything you need to grow your business is in The 20. Hard work is not just defined on the hours you put into delivering service, hard work is also defined by the ability change who you are as an owner, partner, and as a company. Change is the hardest work you will ever have to do.
What are your biggest business challenges?
The biggest challenge we face is lead generation. It is always the principal challenge for each IT service company.
What are your areas of focus for 2020?
Lead generation and building a sales pipeline. Now that we can scale our service delivery, we can “get out” in front of potential clients and develop our business. The ability to get out from “behind the console” has been invaluable. We can make more effort towards focusing on lead generation and sales which is paramount to our success.
What advice would you share with an MSP looking to scale their business?
If you are looking to grow your MSP, join The 20. Stop wasting effort in hiring help desk technicians or getting yourself stuck “behind the console”. The 20 gives your company the freedom to focus on lead generation and sales…the scaling is provided. We wish we would have done this back in 2018.
What book are you currently reading?
Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen – Donald Miller
Favorite blogs / podcasts
Cyware Daily Threat Intelligence – Cyware Labs
Frankly IT (podcast)
Connecting The Channel (podcast)
Interested in becoming a member like KITE IT Pro? Click here for more information!
Meet Lance Keltner of UNI Computers!
Tell us a little about your MSP…
UNI Computers was established in 1993 as a computer repair store in Lawrence KS. I took over ownership in 2006 after working there for 7 years. At that point, business managed services was a very small part of the business, but I knew it would be the future and where I needed to focus growth. I continued to put time and effort into growing the business services side of the company and today it accounts for more than half of our total revenue.
How long have you been a member of The 20?
We joined The 20 in 2018 and are a bit past 2 years of being a member.
Why did your MSP originally look to partner with The 20?
The selling point for me was two fold and equal in importance: #1 was the pre-curated stack of tools and security with the foundation already set and process in place to use, sell, and manage it. #2 was the community. I know enough to know what I don’t know, and having a large community of people just like me with all different experiences and skillsets is ultra-valuable. Whenever I need an answer or solution to something, chances are someone has it and already knows it works.
Tell us about the biggest change in your business since joining The 20.
The biggest change for us is having a solid process that I didn’t have to invent from the ground up over the course of years that’s already proven to work. I sell with supreme confidence backed not only by me, but also vetted by scores of other businesses around the country doing it the same way as I do, every day.
What do you like most about being a member of The 20?
What I like most is definitely the community. I’ve formed life-long friendships here, which is not something I always do easily. Everyone is here to help out. No one is afraid of someone else stealing their stuff. That’s rare in the world where everyone generally keeps their cards close to the vest. I also like that if I need to get top leadership of The 20 on the phone for a call, it’s easy to do, and they are ready and willing to help with anything. Our suggestions are taken seriously and more often than not brought into practice and used. We are part of the process that makes The 20 better today than it was yesterday.
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
The biggest quality for success is the willingness to change and adapt when it’s shown that you can do something better than you were doing it previously.
What are your biggest business challenges?
My biggest challenges personally are marketing and sales, which The 20 has helped with immensely but also the community and the people I have met have helped equally as much. The collaboration I’ve been able to do with other members has been priceless.
What are your areas of focus for 2020?
My biggest areas of focus are getting in front of prospects and keeping the pipeline full. COVID brought about a lot of instant change, but we were fortunate enough that our base of clientele was very stable and so we haven’t suffered like some MSPs have. Reaching new customers and bringing them the security and support they need has definitely been more challenging, and is the key area I’m working on as it dictates our overall growth.
What advice would you share with an MSP looking to scale their business?
Join The 20! Seriously. Tim says the three most important things you can do are 1. Lead Gen, 2. Sales, 3. Scale. That’s what The 20 is built on and what its focus is. If joining isn’t possible, then those three things are still what you have to do, anyway you can. They will decide how successful your MSP can be. Period. I’ve doubled my MRR since joining The 20. This is the way.
What book are you currently reading?
I am currently in a few different books, which are all great: The 4hr Work Week – Tim Ferris, Traffic Secrets – Russell Brunson, Building a StoryBrand – Donald Miller.
Favorite blogs / podcasts
I haven’t been much of a podcast guy as I usually like reading more, so for blogs/sites it would be:
1. The 20’s Teams community!
2. Chris Wiser’s marketing program communities
3. Cyware’s security daily email
4. Recorded Future’s daily email
Interested in becoming a member like UNI Computers? Click here for more information!
Meet Chris Kimbell of WOLFGUARD IT!
Tell us a little about your MSP…
In 2010, my family moved from Texas to my wife’s hometown of Bozeman, Montana. I was unable to find a career in my field, so I decided to create my own career and started the company from the basement of my in-laws home. WOLFGUARD IT has since grown considerably and now has clients over Montana, Wyoming, Texas and even Ireland and China. We push toward continued growth and this year we even made the MSP 501 list for 2020!
How long have you been a member of The 20?
3 years
Why did your MSP originally look to partner with The 20?
We were having difficulty with scaling and needed a unique sales model that works. Some groups had their “golden goose” but didn’t help you get there. I needed a group that would help you get from point a to the end goal.
Tell us about the biggest change in your business since joining The 20.
We dove in with the The 20 model. This changed every aspect of our business. It was a lot of work, but has paid off big time. We now have scalability, a better business model and a great sales model that easily makes sense.
What do you like most about being a member of The 20?
Number one would be the knowledge that The 20 provides as well as the resources and other members.
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
Hard work and the right business model.
What are your biggest business challenges?
Marketing and brand awareness.
What are your areas of focus for 2020?
Marketing, marketing and marketing. We have been in business for 10-years now and we haven’t worked on our band awareness until now. More people need to know our brand and what we do.
What advice would you share with an MSP looking to scale their business?
It is extremely difficult to scale your business while staying profitable. But that is only part of the fight. Work with a group that can handle your marketing and sales models too. All of these items make a big difference in your overall success.
What book are you currently reading?
The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber.
Favorite blogs / podcasts
Neowin fills by nerdy tech update needs.
Interested in becoming a member like WOLFGUARD IT? Click here for more information!
