Well, that’s a wrap on our first Virtual Quarterly!
Spring Quarterly was held on Zoom on May 28th and 29th and we had an incredible time with all of you! We look forward to these events every year, and while this one was a little different, it was every bit as fun and informative as its always been.
Our first day was entirely dedicated to in–depth training sessions by 3i International, Deep Instinct, BLOKWORX, and TruGrid. We then wrapped the day up with a Q&A session with Kris Blackmon of Informa, talking about the MSP 501.
Our CEO Tim Conkle kicked off day 2 with hammering on the importance of marketing and building pipeline. This was followed by a presentation from Danny Astin of Ciardi, Ciardi & Astin. We also held 3 insightful panel sessions: “How to Get the Most out of The 20” featuring several of our Elite members, “Growing is Not Magic” with Tim Conkle, Crystal McFerran and Mark Elliott, and a Support Desk/NOC Q&A with our CIO Jeff Griffin.
Last, but certainly not least, Nerdio and Crayon joined us to talk in-depth about Azure and Microsoft year-end incentives.
Everyone is adjusting within their businesses and we are glad to have had theopportunity to bring Quarterly to you during these ever-changing times!
So much was learned, and so much fun was had— we hope to see you at our next Quarterly!
If you have any questions about future Quarterly events, or would just like to learn more about The 20, please contact us today!
Meet Misty Kaufman, Cloud Services Specialist
What do you do here at The 20?
I build and maintain strategic partnerships with vendors to better service/support our members!
Describe The 20 in three words…
Innovative, imaginative, resourceful.
As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a Foley Artist.
What’s the most challenging thing about your job?
Making sure communication flows internally and externally so everyone remains informed and up-to-date.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Giving birth to my son!
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
Work ethic. And you have to care about all aspects of your job/position to be successful.
What do you like most about The 20?
The 20 has given me the ability to utilize many skills I have that are not related to my position. I have had the opportunity to bring my ideas to the forefront that have now become standard practice!
What do you like to do in your spare time? / What are your hobbies?
So many hobbies. Mostly I am a musician, but I also make jewelry, knit/weave and turn on a lathe. When I am not doing any of those, I enjoy watching movies and running AV at church.
Where are you going on your next vacation?
New Mexico — we are going to see my husband’s brother.
Getting my monitors to align correctly on the mounting bracket.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
I once ran a mile in under 7 minutes.
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
Eagerness. One must be eager to relentlessly pursue his or her goals regardless of the circumstances.
What do you like most about The 20?
I enjoy having access to the abundance of knowledge shared by all the smart folks on the support desk.
What do you like to do in your spare time? / What are your hobbies?
I love rock climbing. It combines physical activity with the great outdoors and there’s nothing much better than that. I’m also very into music and regularly play guitar. Video games and ‘nerding-out’ on computer parts/other gadgets are also common pastimes.
Where are you going on your next vacation?
No plans yet, but hopefully somewhere cold with lots of mountains and trees.
What’s your top life hack?
A simple inventory of what you’re grateful for when you’re feeling down can often correct that sour mood (this may be a boring life hack, but IMPORTANT nonetheless)!
On August 21 of each year, we like to take a moment and reflect on the day that’s been coined to celebrate innovation and empowerment of entrepreneurship and leadership throughout the world. Entrepreneurship is vital not just for job creation, but a very essential and integral part of our economic growth and problem-solving. Today we’re celebrating the 30.2 million entrepreneurs who are running and operating small businesses in this country! So to do so, we wanted to hear some of our partners’ advice on running an MSP. We asked the question: What do you wish you’d known when you started your MSP that you know now?
This is what a few of them said…
I wish I had known about recurring revenues and what products to sell and how to sell them to get this MRR.
I wish I had fully understood the idea that ‘if you aren’t growing, you’re shrinking.’ Going from full tech to many hats that include sales, it’s easy to forget to fill the sales funnel when business is ‘just right.’
A few things: Hire for culture fit, know what numbers are important to track, seek outside counsel and mentorship, and standards and processes are your friend.
None of us is as smart as ‘all of us.’ The early days were ‘lone wolf.’ I believed you ask no one; figure it out by yourself. I learned, however, that that’s wrong, and to trust other IT people; ask for help when needed. And give help freely in return. The more you give, the more your get.
Two things: 1) Real marketing! Referral marketing is good but direct mail, telemarketing and others are what keep growth going and profits increasing. 2) Read and FOLLOW ‘The E-Myth,’ which is to understand that YOU are the business owner and MUST transition from technician to owner for a real business. 3) Yes, I said two things, but I thought I’d give a bonus: Continue to learn from your peers. They have a wealth of history to share that you later can share with the new guys as they come along.
Borrowing money for expansion — don’t do it. Worse than drugs. Also, there are a million apps, tools, etc. out there to “support and grow your business.” Then, there are the basic tools — RMM, AV, Backup, Billing. Don’t confuse the things you NEED with the things vendors promise will make life awesome. Some of them will, and most of them won’t, but regardless, they will cost you a lot of money. Beware of metered storage and metered throughput. NEVER agree to a long-term contract for a product you “will grow into.” If you’re staring at $300/month for 50 licenses of something you only need 5 of, then it isn’t $6/month per device, it’s $60.
So there you have it! Hopefully this sheds a little a light onto what you can expect from running your own business as entrepreneurs. We think it’s important to listen to those who have tried it — if for nothing else, it brings attention to things you may have not yet considered.
Are you interested in becoming a Partner with The 20? Click here for more information!
by Patrick Sullivan, Contributor
By understanding what Workspace as a Service (WaaS) has to offer your End Customer, you can ensure that you’re reaching the customers who will benefit the most from the cloud. WaaS has so much to offer to so many. But, who is the ideal prospect?
So often we are asked, “What’s the best vertical for your solutions?” and, “What industries do you typically target?” or, “What type of companies can WaaS help?”
WaaS has practical applications across every vertical and just about every size business. This widespread versatility gives our partners the flexibility to develop their solution and messaging for the verticals they are already targeting, or to focus their marketing and sales as broadly as they want.
Using the Core-4 to Find the Ideal WaaS Customer.
When evaluating a prospective WaaS customer, look for the Core-4, which will help you zero in on the ideal cloud workspace customer. If the prospect answers “yes” to any of these four questions, then you have a winner:
1. Will you require a server refresh or other large IT project within the next 12 months?
Especially this year as Microsoft will sunset Windows 7 and Windows Server 2001/2008 R2 next January, so many companies are going to have to decide: expensive fork-lift upgrade, or easy and inexpensive transition into the cloud. End Customers hate IT projects, and with the cloud, you can eliminate the majority of them, saving them money and resources, and building your cloud business in the process.
2. Do you have employees who work remotely? Or does your business have multiple locations?
In today’s global business environment, companies are turning more and more to hiring remote staff, often outside their geographic footprint. Consider a company who hires Susan whose sole responsibility is to meet with customers; any time she spends in the office is just wasted time. Or, what about a business who needs Grant’s specific expertise, but he lives in Seattle, hundreds of miles away. In both cases, the staffers need the same accessibility as anyone working from the office. In both cases, the company’s IT needs to have control over their technology. Cloud Workspace simplifies both of these, making them an easy reality.
3. Do you have extensive security needs?
Think about a small bank, finance company or insurance agent. These are small companies, but they store and share sensitive client information. Security is paramount for them. At CloudJumper, we work incredibly hard to ensure our solutions are inherently secure. Additionally, we have a number of optional security add-ons that help your End Customers who need even more.
4. Is your company’s IT function larger than your IT team can support?
This can come out in a number of ways. Of course, if they have big security needs, but maybe, they also have numerous software apps to manage and maintain. They might have tight IT requirements for maintaining certifications or franchise agreements. Maybe they have a mix of OS and devices that all need to connect. The list here is endless, and no doubt your prospects will share items they simply would love to off-load to the cloud.
Always Has Been, and Still It Remains, it’s the Core-4
These are the four prospect characteristics that so easily translate into a sale, and they always have in the 20 years we have been providing a WaaS solution. You will find them in businesses across every industry, every vertical, every part of the world. Understand them, recognize them, and the sale is yours! It’s just a natural fit.
By understanding the ideal WaaS customer, you will more easily grow your business in the cloud, and boost your sales, profits and the stickiness of your customer base. Especially as you are just starting to build your cloud business, start with the Core-4. Soon, you’ll find yourself supporting your customers in ways no on-prem server farm can handle.
Patrick Sullivan is the Channel Sales Manager for CloudJumper who uses his cloud expertise and business acumen to guide MSPs as they create and grow their companies in the cloud. His support helps them build an IT cloud solution that saves their end customers money, time and hassle. Patrick has been with CloudJumper since June 2015 and has been very successful working helping his partners build their businesses in the cloud. Prior to joining CloudJumper, he honed his business development skills working in the equipment finance industry for more than 8 years. In 2005, Patrick graduated from New Hampshire University with Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.
QuickBooks Printing Issue
Recently, one of our Live Call Technicians, Trent Shaw, had encountered a problem where an MSP client called in and said she couldn’t print correctly out of QuickBooks. She said all of the logos that were supposed to appear on the page weren’t printing as they were supposed to.
So, Trent went in and first confirmed that she could print normally from the printer in question, over and over again — to make sure that was working correctly — and it was. Then, he went in and confirmed that the print settings in QuickBooks were also set up correctly — that, too, was in working order!
To find the problem, Trent decided that he needed to open the template that they were using to print from, and check out if there were any issues there. It was here that he found the culprit: the JPEG that she was using for the logo turned out to be corrupt!
Trent found another photo of the logo, created a new file for it, and replaced the corrupted one inside the template. As soon as that was done, she was told to print out the document again, and sure enough: it printed out correctly.
And that was that! The resolution had been found, and from that point on, that customer ceased to have any problems printing through QuickBooks!
Thanks, Trent!
What do you do here at The 20?
I am a Tier 1 Support Desk Technician on the Email Team.
Describe The 20 in three words…
Intelligent, diligent, and familial.
As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Professional snowmobile driver and pyrotechnician.
What’s the most challenging thing about your job?
Both the multi-tasking aspect, and knowing when to let something go. I tend to get focused on an issue and I want to resolve it, but sometimes it is better to let another pair of eyes take a look at it.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Being able to turn my passion into a career. Also, I used to own my own company: Harker IT, LLC.
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
Drive! You have to be the person who works harder than most and stay focused on the end goal.
What do you like most about The 20?
1. The work environment for sure. The 20 feels more like a niche family than it does a job or company.
2. The number of different systems and environments we get to work on/in every day. Every day is a new challenge.
What do you like to do in your spare time? / What are your hobbies?
I like to spend time with my fiancée, my friends and my family who live near. I really like doing projects with my Dad.
My hobbies include cliff-jumping, floating rivers, pool basketball, etc. Anything outdoors.
Where are you going on your next vacation?
Puerto Rico
What’s your top life hack?
Using a lighter to open a bottle.
Small business owners face an important question when it comes to IT support: should I hire an in-house IT employee or work with a vendor?
We recently looked at reasons why companies should outsource their IT. Check out this infographic to break it down further.
IT Support questions to ask when deciding between Full-Time Employee and Managed IT Department (MID)
• What is the cost for one full-time employee vs. going with a Managed IT Department?
• What do you get for what you’re paying? What is additional?
• What are the advantages and challenges of both sides?
• What’s the best choice for your business?
Want to learn more about the advantages of a Managed IT Department? Contact us today!
5 Reasons Why Your Company Should Outsource IT Support
Companies commonly outsource its accounting and bookkeeping duties, customer service, and HR management… so why should technical support be any different?
It shouldn’t.
Outsourcing provides a lot of benefits, especially to small businesses with limited resources. Plus, good IT support teams are especially hard for companies to build and maintain.
Here are 5 reasons as to why outsourcing is a good business move:
1. Reduces Costs
Reducing labor and equipment costs is one of the major reasons why companies outsource IT support. Employing a company to do the work for you is cheaper than hiring a whole IT staff. The employees’ initial training to get them onboarded, plus the regular training to ensure their knowledge is up-to-date, add to the cost as well.
Buying all the equipment you need for a functional IT department and maintaining the system also costs a lot of money. Removing these factors and paying a fixed cost contract will help you manage your annual operating costs more easily.
And If your operating cost is high, you will likely pass it on to customers by raising your product prices. This makes you lose your competitive edge.
2. Provides Support 24/7
If your business is one that needs to be open to customer calls 24 hours a day, that’s one of the reasons to outsource IT support. Instead of getting another IT staff, which will only cost you more, solely for answering calls outside of your normal working hours, outsourcing to a company will guarantee that someone is always available to help your customers.
A 24/7 team will also allow you to recognize flaws and bugs even before they affect your infrastructure and business.
3. Adjusts According to Demand
When the demand suddenly increases, and more calls start coming in, what do you do if you have a permanent staff?
Hiring temporary employees poses a lot of issues. You don’t know when the demand decreases, which will force you to terminate them immediately. You’re also not sure of the technical skills and personality if you’re in a rush to get someone onboarded.
Meanwhile, an IT company can easily scale up or down depending on your needs because of their access to vast resources.
4. Gives Access to Cutting-Edge Technologies and Industry Experts
Security of your data and your customers’ data is paramount. That’s why Facebook is in a lot of heat nowadays — its platform is vulnerable to third-party entities mishandling the users’ data. Even large companies are susceptible to attacks, with hackers successfully gaining access to JP Morgan’s 76 million households plus 7 million small businesses in 2014.
To keep your data safe and secure, however, you must have the newest technologies and the knowledge of industry experts. You and your staff must be up-to-date with the industry standards, which might be hard to do if you’re a small-time player.
Outsourcing solves this problem. It’s their job to get cutting-edge technologies and train their employees regularly so you don’t have to do it. Getting access to these will also ensure that your systems are working smoothly.
5. Allows You to Focus on Your Business
When you no longer have to worry about the security and integrity of your system, it allows you to focus on what you need to do in order to grow your business. Your employees, without network interruptions and possibly the added IT responsibilities, will also be able to perform with their best for the company.
You can focus on improving your products and services while the outsourced IT team deals with the technical issues so you and your staff can keep on working without worry.
