MSP Spotlight: Meet Bill Whelden, President and CEO of Rx-IT
Tell us a little about your MSP…
Rx-IT started in 1999 with one client; just barely large enough for me to make a go of it. That was a 35-seat law firm — they owned me and they knew it. It was a really good feeling to get enough clients so they didn’t own me anymore. I was highly motivated! It was a better feeling bringing on the first hire so I didn’t have to do everything for everyone all the time. Up until then, I used to joke that my girlfriends name was ‘Palm Treo.’
How long have you been a member of The 20?
We’ve been in The 20 just over 3 years now.
Why did your MSP originally look to partner with The 20?
I went to some channel event back in early 2016. As I recall, someone invited me to a party. There was a man there. He talked and cussed a lot. Some called him ‘MSP Holy Man’ others called him ‘IT Prophet.’ He said to me, ‘Come, eat, be at peace and drink Tito’s.’ The next morning I woke on the sofa in the lobby of the hotel. I had a signed contract with The 20 and a one dollar bill stapled to my shirt collar.
Seriously, we spent a good number of years bumping our heads on the ceiling, we just couldn’t grow past a certain point. I was getting tired, really tired; burned out you might say. We were looking for a way to scale and grow the business. We knew we needed a good help desk but we also knew that peer guidance and a wider knowledge base were just as important. When we found The 20, it seemed to fit like a comfortable shoe.
Tell us about the biggest change in your business since joining The 20.
We’ve almost tripled our revenue in just over 36 months!
What do you like most about being a member of The 20?
The community. There are many communities within the channel but nothing quite like this.
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
Motivation.
What are your biggest business challenges?
Our biggest challenge right now is learning how to better prioritize and keep what’s truly important in front and center. It’s amazing to me that I will find myself mindlessly organizing my sock drawer when there are so many other things to do, so many opportunities in front of us. Motivation and organization are things we always strive to keep in focus.
What are your areas of focus for 2019?
Profitability and growth.
What advice would you share with an MSP looking to scale their business?
Partner with The 20!
What book are you currently reading?
I am re-reading How to Stop Worrying and Start Living for the umpteenth time.
Favorite blogs / podcasts
My favorite blog is ‘The Negotiation Edge’ by The Black Swan Group
Interested in becoming a Partner? Click here for more information!
Tell us a little about your MSP…
Network Management Solutions is located in Santa Cruz, California. We serve Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Jose and the greater San Francisco Bay Area. The business was established in 1984 by Greg and Robin Sirakides under the name ‘ComputerLand of Capitola.’ I began working for them in 1998 and offered to purchase the business from them in 2006. I renamed the business in 2009 and began migrating my clients to an all-you-can-eat monthly support model. We enjoy serving our clients and giving back to the community that we live in!
How long have you been a member of The 20?
I believe we’re close to 3 years!
Why did your MSP originally look to partner with The 20?
We wanted to augment our support staff with a 24/7 service desk that was US-based. Additionally, we were already operating a managed IT department and liked the idea of partnering with like-minded MSPs to extend our breadth and depth of skill and location.
Tell us about the biggest change in your business since joining The 20.
Joining The 20 caused me to focus on the type of deals that were win-wins for both us and the client. This meant that I needed to start saying ‘no’ to opportunities, which was one of the best things I could have ever done. Not all deal are the right deals.
What do you like most about being a member of The 20?
The community. I have been a part of other networking groups, but everyone in this group is conducting business essentially the same way — and it helps when getting and giving advice.
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
Having a growth mindset. All businesses make mistakes, including myself, including the service desk — it’s what we learn from those mistakes and how we grow from them that make us better and creates a better offering for our clients.
What are your biggest business challenges?
I have had 2 significant challenges to face in the last 4 years. First: finding and keeping good talent. This business is often a platform for younger people to launch there careers. It’s not a bad thing, it’s just that the churn is hard.
The second issue is that in the course of a 2-year period, I lost my 2 biggest clients to circumstances out of my control. It made my business feel stagnant for several years even though we were still growing; the problem was replacing what we once had.
What are your areas of focus for 2019?
We are making sure to discuss with each of our clients what the current cybersecurity landscape is and ensure that they are as protected as possible.
What advice would you share with an MSP looking to scale their business?
Make sure to start working on process now. Document the way you do business. Scaling is hard when you’re attempting to reinvent the wheel each time.
What book are you currently reading?
I am currently re-reading Traction and implementing more items. I plan on reading The Checklist Manifesto next.
Favorite blogs / podcasts
Seth Godin
The Hustle
Interested in becoming a Partner? Click here for more information!
Tell us a little about your MSP…
Southern Data Solutions, located in Atlanta, Georgia, was founded in 2005 with the purpose of providing excellent customer service. With a stellar team dedicated to the success of that vision, we have grown our business and looking to expand. Our services and products are now solidified and moving forward is much easier with special thanks to The 20. I have a saying that, “No one drives a Ferrari, until we can all drive a Ferrari,” meaning that the company’s success will be shared among all of the people that contribute to the success of Southern Data Solutions.
How long have you been a member of The 20?
Southern Data Solutions became a partner to The 20 in February of 2017.
Why did your MSP originally look to partner with The 20?
Southern Data Solutions was coming out of a failed relationship with Continuum and was seeking out a new partnership for help desk and NOC services. We continue to be pleasantly surprised by the entire offering from The 20 and signing up was a no brainer.
Tell us about the biggest change in your business since joining The 20.
The 20 partnership has helped Southern Data Solutions align our business so that we can focus on bigger-picture growth. Simplified, it means that The 20 staff take care of our existing client’s support needs while we can focus on the relationships of existing and new.
What do you like most about being a member of The 20?
Being around Tim Conkle… LOL! Seriously, it is a breath of fresh air knowing that new products and partnerships are being brought to the group — and the information sharing is the best!
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
I have always been a driven person and the key to success is finding ways to gain back as much of our most precious and valuable asset — TIME! Being proactive with our clients — and having good clients — allows the men and women I work alongside of to be able to spend more quality time with their family and friends.
What are your biggest business challenges?
Our challenges have consisted of bringing in new business on a consistent basis, as well as keeping the clients utilizing our established processes instead of latching on to one person in our organization. Engaging Google AdWords has significantly increased our inbound leads. As for keeping the client on track with our processes (calling the help desk and not the last engineer who helped them), we continually stand united in delivering the message of calling the help desk is faster than putting you, the client, in the queue of one person who has other tasks and tickets ahead of you.
What are your areas of focus for 2019?
Southern Data Solutions is focused on growth through new business, which will either be through new sales hires and/or acquisition.
What advice would you share with an MSP looking to scale their business?
Select a focus or goal and stick with it. Manage your time wisely and make sure your team is doing the same! Communication is key with both your employees and clients. Show appreciation to both your employees and clients. In this day and age you can find new clients, but a good employee is hard to find or replace, so always have their back!
What book are you currently reading?
I read the Bible daily and that is all I need.
Favorite blogs / podcasts
The YouVersion Bible app has great reading!
