Meet George Monroy of Monroy IT Services!
Tell us a little about your MSP…
We are located in the San Antonio Hill Country. Monroy IT Services was established in 2004 in Houston, TX. I moved the company in 2010.
How long have you been a member of The 20?
It will be four years in August 2020.
Why did your MSP originally look to partner with The 20?
The company was not growing and it was a do or die decision. I spoke with Tim and he opened my eyes to why I was having a hard time growing. He hit the nail on the head.
Tell us about the biggest change in your business since joining The 20.
I was able to scale quickly like I could not in the past. I was also introduced to managed Google Adwords and that helped with lead gen. Then I was able to sell with some training from Tim.
What do you like most about being a member of The 20?
I love the Support Desk and the tight knit family of being in the same boat with other owners.
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
An open mind and a willingness to execute.
What are your biggest business challenges?
Currently it is selling during Covid. We have gained one client so I am not complaining but it is definitely much slower growth than I had planned this year.
What are your areas of focus for 2020?
Close a co-managed It deal and move forward with a sales plan for more co-managed IT. We currently have one co-managed IT client.
What advice would you share with an MSP looking to scale their business?
This is easy. Join The 20 so you can focus on lead gen and sales. The 20 will handle the scale.
What book are you currently reading?
I am currently finishing up Gap Selling by Keenan, Then it may be Fix This Next by Mike Michalowicz.
Favorite blogs / podcasts
Interested in becoming a member like Monroy IT Services? Click here for more information!
Meet Terrence Boylan of PacketLogix!
Tell us a little about your MSP…
Founded in 2002, PacketLogix has worked with organizations of all different sizes and in a broad spectrum of market sectors. In the early days of PacketLogix, we focused exclusively on the corporate enterprise marketplace assisting large organizations and agencies mainly with network security and wireless design. As cyberthreats became more omni-present, we have invested significantly in our capability of helping better protect both clients’ networks, but also their end points and servers. For the past fifteen years, we have been working with the United States federal government through our own GSA blanket contract. We have worked on national classified networks at various intelligence agencies, trained network technicians in Baghdad, Iraq, and even worked with the US Secret Service, US House of Represtatives, and the US Senate. In recent years, PacketLogix has taken a focus closer to home in Rhode Island helping the small to medium business community.
How long have you been a member of The 20?
Since January 2020.
Why did your MSP originally look to partner with The 20?
The model, the Support Desk and tools were clearly first class and what we needed to get to our next level.
Tell us about the biggest change in your business since joining The 20.
The biggest change I have had since joining The 20 was the realization and action I have taken in seeking our larger clients that I can now handle with the support of The 20 Support Desk and community of like-minded partners.
What do you like most about being a member of The 20?
Hands down – the other members. Their generosity and honest desire to help me grow my business has been so overwhelming. I hope when I get on my feet I’ll be able to repay it forward with other members.
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
Never, ever, ever give up. You can screw up 7 ways til Sunday, but don’t ever give up.
What are your biggest business challenges?
Sales and marketing. Getting new clients.
What are your areas of focus for 2020?
New client acquisition and bringing our operations in line with the best practices of The 20 and its members.
What advice would you share with an MSP looking to scale their business?
Sales and marketing is everything. Yes, you need great operations, but without sales and marketing excellence, you won’t have anyone to support.
What book are you currently reading?
MSSP Playbook by Charles Henson
Favorite blogs / podcasts
Interested in becoming a member like PacketLogix? Click here for more information!
Meet Chris Plouffe of CSP Technologies!
Tell us a little about your MSP…
Our HQ is located in Sedona, AZ, but was founded in Winston-Salem, NC in 2005. We service both AZ and NC, plus plenty of other states.
How long have you been a member of The 20?
We have been 20 members for 2.5 years and loving it.
Why did your MSP originally look to partner with The 20?
Operating as a one-man-show for so long just wasn’t going to cut it anymore. For me to be the business I wanted to be, I needed the help and depth of The 20. A 24/7 support desk, guidance, peer support, and more.
Tell us about the biggest change in your business since joining The 20.
Everything has changed, but the biggest thing is me. My confidence, my expertise, my vision. I know we can provide TOP NOTCH service and support, and there is no company too big or too complicated that we can’t handle. Second would be revenue because that is always important too.
What do you like most about being a member of The 20?
There is so much, but I would say the other members. Having accountability groups, people to bounce things off of, to learn from, and to have your back.
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
Flexibility. Being able to pivot, change, or adapt to the changing landscape. Also, being flexible in your way of thinking too.
What are your biggest business challenges?
I would say sales and marketing. Having a clear message and plan to reach people is always something we can be better at.
What are your areas of focus for 2020?
Growth on the business side, security on the tech side, but growing smart with the correct standards and controls to be able to scale.
What advice would you share with an MSP looking to scale their business?
Join a group like The 20, honestly. The resources I have and the information I’ve learned in just a couple of years, would’ve taken 15 more for me to figure out myself.
What book are you currently reading?
Favorite blogs / podcasts
I don’t do that many podcasts right now, I try to use my down time to relax by the pool more. Not many blogs either, except maybe Channel E2E for industry news.
Interested in becoming a member like CSP Technologies? Click here for more information!
Meet Joe Parr, Manager 0f Backup and Disaster Recovery
Today we turn the spotlight on Joe Parr. Joe joined the team several years ago and quickly became a tremendous asset to The 20.
What do you do here at The 20?
Backup and Disaster Recovery Manager in charge of over 120 backup devices each backing up 5-10 servers a piece.
Describe The 20 in three words…
Knowledgeable, customer-focused, friendly.
As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I had dreams of becoming the next Dan Rather, a news correspondent.
What’s the most challenging thing about your job?
Being the sole point of contact for all things BDR related.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Raising my niece from the age of 4 until she graduated high school.
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
Care about your employees, they are what help you succeed.
What do you like most about The 20?
The work/life balance here is good in that if I need to deal with an emergency, I can, no questions asked.
What do you like to do in your spare time? / What are your hobbies?
I love going to movies, listening to music, and spending time with my family.
Where are you going on your next vacation?
I don’t know, but ultimate wish is to go to Fiji.
What’s your top life hack?
Having common sense.
Interested in working with Joe at The 20? We’re hiring! Check out our Careers page for more info.
Meet Gary Blawat of Businertia!
Tell us a little about your MSP…
Businertia was established in 2006. Originally, we were going to be a management consulting business and had an opportunity to start an IT business for a real estate investor that wanted to diversify. We actually had two articles written about our flat-rate IT model in 2007. However, when the market crashed in 2008, we were able to negotiate an asset purchase for the IT company we started. Twelve years later, we are still enjoying delivering IT services to the SMB market.
How long have you been a member of The 20?
I saw Tim talking about Cytracom at ASCII for a couple of years before we joined and kept hearing about this great idea called ‘The 20.’ So, in May of 2018, I decided to dig a little deeper and I signed up a month later. Michael Vu, Michael Wayland, and others were big influencers to our decision. When you can hear the vision and then talk to people that are working to make it a reality, it was a game changer.
Why did your MSP originally look to partner with The 20?
The bottom line was scale. With every new customer we always seemed to hit a resource limitation to perform technical work to a high quality and focus on growing the business. The biggest thing I realized was that we needed to focus on building our competitive advantage and that was not going to happen by organically growing a support desk or just outsourcing it. So, the idea of us joining a group that was building a common support desk, leveraging core tools, and most importantly: giving us access to a dynamic, mastermind group, became too good to pass up. It quickly became an integral part of our future growth plans.
Tell us about the biggest change in your business since joining The 20.
Ensuring that we continue to create face value with all of our clients. Once the documentation is done and the support desk starts handling the day-to-day ad hoc requests, it became increasingly noticeable that we are in the ‘people business.’ We needed to ensure we were still reaching our customers in ways that maintained our local presence, but demonstrated the depth to handle their every day demands. The challenging part of that was not bypassing the support desk and doing simple work to create that value. With the amount of information that flows in the Teams channels, the question is not ‘how’ to create that value, but implementing ideas in planned stages over the course of a customer’s agreement.
What do you like most about being a member of The 20?
The people. There is so much business and technical acumen within the group. Every VISION, Quarterly, or daily peruse of Teams gives another ‘Aha!’ moment to solve a problem.
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
Self-discipline. It is so easy to get carried away on fun items or worry about items that cannot be controlled. I’m always in awe over those leaders that have mastered it. They know when to push themselves enough to move ahead or just seem to focus on the right things at the right time.
What are your biggest business challenges?
Setting the right expectations. Really identifying where I want to take this business so it supports the right balance for my lifestyle and for my employees.
What are your areas of focus for 2020?
Setting the wheels in motion to become the best communicating MSP (MID) Service provider in South Eastern Wisconsin. This also includes re-branding the organization to better match who we are.
What advice would you share with an MSP looking to scale their business?
Stop looking at support desk as a cost-per-hour as it relates to dollars spent in correlation to amount-of-time on tickets. Having the support desk should be looked at as an operational cost that provides you scale in a very budgetable way. However, keep in mind, having a 24/7/365 support desk is only one facet of how you create value to your customers. There is still work to be done in justifying the price points you need to grow your business.
What book are you currently reading?
A Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi.
– How can you not be interested in learning a philosophical way of battle/life from a Samurai?
Favorite blogs / podcasts
The humorous subtitles in response to the article title starts my day with a laugh. For instance, take article title ‘The new surf game in Microsoft Edge now available for everyone.’ — the subtitle to the article is ‘I guess this means all the bugs are fixed (and they’ve run out of icons to change)?’
Interested in becoming a member like Businertia? Click here for more information!
Meet Michael Winward, NOC Manager
Today we turn the spotlight on Michael Winward. Michael quickly became a tremendous asset to the team at The 20.
What do you do here at The 20?
I manage the NOC which is responsible for monitoring and responding to system-generated alerts from our partner’s client environments as well as ensuring our core services and tools are properly implemented and functioning effectively. In addition to the NOC, I manage Professional Services (a.k.a Project Services) for The 20. Need help with an upcoming project? We’ve got your back!
Describe The 20 in three words…
Innovative, Driven, Community.
As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A political consultant or lobbyist… yeah, I was a weird kid.
What’s the most challenging thing about your job?
Time. There is so much I want to accomplish, but the finite nature of time is a constant source of frustration.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Personal? Either teaching my dog how to patiently balance a treat on his snout until just the right moment, or cultivating a loving, trusting, respecting and fun relationship with my wife… both took a lot of work!
Professionally? Cultivating a team with similar attributes. Loving may be going a bit far, but certainly mutual trust, respect, fun and hard work… all things you need to work effectively together. The continuous forward progress of the team I lead every day, for me is the best gauge of my personal success.
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
Integrity. If you start with integrity, every other quality necessary becomes a part of the equation.
What do you like most about The 20?
The people. I am working with the most brilliant and interesting characters of my professional career, which is fantastically satisfying. It makes going to work every day (back when we used to go to work) easy and enjoyable.
What do you like to do in your spare time? / What are your hobbies?
Happiness for me comes easily — a trip to the dog park with my wife and clinically insane Jack Russell is my idea of a good time. As a hobby, I enjoy brewing beer. Coming up next? A green chili and mango gose, and a carrot cake cream ale!
Where are you going on your next vacation?
Anywhere! I can’t wait for this lockdown to end! But it’s hard to make plans before it does. First thing though is probably to visit my family in New Mexico that I haven’t seen in a while due to social distancing.
What’s your top life hack?
For life incoming: Don’t sweat the small stuff that does or does not come at you. You’ll be happier for it.
For life outgoing: Remember the details. It is often small actions and statements that result in big impressions. They will really appreciate that you took the time to regard them.
Interested in working with Michael at The 20? We’re hiring! Check out our Careers page for more info.
Meet Caleb Brown, Owner of JS Computek!
Tell us a little about your MSP…
JS Computek is headquartered in Columbia, MO and we’ve been serving Mid-Missouri since 1997.
How long have you been a member of The 20?
We chose to strategically partner with The 20 in early 2019.
Why did your MSP originally look to partner with The 20?
There were many factors, but here are the most influential:
A. The ability to scale with confidence.
B. The extra knowledge, cooperation, and human resources.
C. The ability to deliver the MID model which aligned with our company mission of delivering “IT Sanity” to our clients and staff.
Tell us about the biggest change in your business since joining The 20.
Since joining, the biggest impact has really been internally — thinking about making documentation and processes clear, concise, and accurate.
What do you like most about being a member of The 20?
The helpful members; so many great resources in the group to share with.
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
Be willing to grow and adapt in your mindset and processes.
What are your biggest business challenges?
Breaking through the mindset of the prospect’s belief that IT should be like calling a plumber and that break/fix is a smart way to run a business.
What are your areas of focus for 2020?
For 2020 our core areas of focus are cloud migrations and new client acquisition.
What advice would you share with an MSP looking to scale their business?
Find your uniques, define and sharpen your core processes, and then build systems around those processes that allow you to scale up or down on demand.
What book are you currently reading?
I’m currently reading The Compound Effect.
Favorite blogs / podcasts
Krebs on Security and Darran Daily.
Interested in becoming a member like JS Computek? Click here for more information!
Meet Lou Ernst, Senior Sales Development Representative
Today we turn the spotlight on Lou Ernst. Lou quickly became a tremendous asset to the team at The 20.
What do you do here at The 20?
I am a Senior SDR here at The 20. My job is to discover, create, qualify and reach out to potential clients for our MSPs in the Marketing Program. My goal is to educate companies of all the benefits to having a managed IT department and putting them in touch with the right MSPs.
Describe The 20 in three words…
Fun, Innovative and the Best!
As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be an astronaut!
What’s the most challenging thing about your job?
The most challenging aspect of my job is probably handling potential clients in every single industry.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
I’d say the most important qualities necessary for success is having integrity, patience and optimism.
What do you like most about The 20?
I love my co-workers and just the environment in general. Every day is different, and there’s just no substitute for that.
What do you like to do in your spare time? / What are your hobbies?
I love to camp and play golf!
Where are you going on your next vacation?
I’ll be heading to Costa Rica.
What’s your top life hack?
I’d say my top life hack is to simply have more fun, and stress less. Slow down and be thankful!
Interested in working with Lou at The 20? We’re hiring! Check out our Careers page for more info.
Meet Michael Wayland, Managing Director of Byte-Werx!
Tell us a little about your MSP…
We’re Byte-Werx, an MSP out of Houston, Texas. We started business in March of 2013. Originally we were a web design and development company. After years of trying to be both, I realized I wanted to laser-focus on being an MSP. So, in January of 2017, I bought out my partners and made it happen! Since then we’ve had amazing growth and found success with CPAs, law firms, and a variety of other clientele from several industries.
How long have you been a member of The 20?
We joined the 20 in June of 2017 — we’re looking forward to our 3rd anniversary coming up!
Why did your MSP originally look to partner with The 20?
As a small local shop, I wanted to be able to offer my clients 24/7 service, assistance when we were unavailable, and best-in-class software that being in a big group provides.
Tell us about the biggest change in your business since joining The 20.
The biggest change is the community and drive to always make ourselves better. It has allowed me to learn and implement best-in-industry policies and procedures as well as letting me focus on growing my business.
What do you like most about being a member of The 20?
The outstanding community. We are a member of several industry groups and none of them feel like The 20. The relationships we’ve built here have been some of the most beneficial in my career and I know there are several members that would be willing to drop what they’re doing and fly out to my aid if I really needed it.
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
It doesn’t matter how big or small you are, you need to run your business like it’s a business and not a job. This means building process and procedures that scale, documentation, and being ready to hit the gas to grow when you’re ready.
What are your biggest business challenges?
One of our biggest challenges is getting our message out to new businesses who may have never heard of us. Lead generation has never come naturally to me but we’re starting to see a lot of promising returns on our investments now.
What are your areas of focus for 2020?
For 2020 our primary focus will be on business workflows and implementing a modern workplace to our new and existing clients. With the jarring COVID-19 events, it is clear that all businesses need to be able to pick up and work anywhere at anytime and we truly believe that is the future of work.
What advice would you share with an MSP looking to scale their business?
As an MSP our real value-add and profit driver is automation and efficiencies. You can’t roll a truck for every problem or do one-off remote log-ins. To scale you need to create a flexible and complete stack so you can focus on learning and perfecting your procedures.
What book are you currently reading?
I’m currently digesting Getting Naked and would highly recommend it. It shows how being completely honest with your clients will win you loyalty and allow you to grow your business. I will always recommend The Checklist Manifesto for any MSP just getting started on getting their process and procedures in order.
Favorite blogs / podcasts
I listen to a lot of podcasts. Non MSP-related podcasts include FiveThirtyEight, EconTalk, and Planet Money. My favorite MSP/industry podcasts are: Frankly MSP, Security Now, and MSP Voice.
Interested in becoming a member like Byte-Werx? Click here for more information!
Meet Camden Parks, Talent Acquisition Manager
Today we turn the spotlight on Camden Parks. Camden quickly became a tremendous asset to the team at The 20.
What do you do here at The 20?
I am the Talent Acquisition Manager for all departments within the company. I basically find, qualify, and help the hiring managers hire all of our employees. I also focus on our retention and employee engagement efforts to keep our company culture at its best.
Describe The 20 in three words…
Innovative, progressive, and collaborative.
As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A veterinarian. It wasn’t long before I realized that I wouldn’t be able to emotionally handle that type of work, so I chose to do something that would make me happy instead!
What’s the most challenging thing about your job?
The most challenging aspect about my job is having to reject candidates that I build relationships with. First and foremost, I’m an advocate for my company, but I always become an advocate for my candidates along the way. Sometimes, it’s just not a great fit for one reason or another, and I have to remember that the goal is to always set up employees for success. Networking is huge for me, so even if I don’t have a good fit for a candidate now, I am known to call them later when I find something that would be a mutually beneficial fit.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
My greatest achievement at The 20 has been building the Talent Acquisition department from the ground up and watching the explosive growth we have experienced so far. We hired in 73 people last year alone, which is more than we had as a company when I started! To walk out onto the floor and see all the wonderful employees we have really warms my heart — I love when the connection between company and employee is a great fit.
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
Grit is the ability to persist in something you feel passionate about and persevere when you face obstacles. Someone once told me that motivation and determination alone will only take you so far, because they don’t last forever. Passion is what keeps you going when you feel like giving up. Grit combines passion, motivation, and determination for reaching long-term and meaningful goals.
What do you like most about The 20?
The best part about working for The 20 is feeling like I have the ability to make such an impact for the company. I know that my work is meaningful and purposeful and I know that I’m valued for what I contribute. My manager, hiring managers, and coworkers help foster a collaborative, fun, and open-door culture which makes my work environment so enjoyable. We spend more waking hours at work than we do at home, so it’s nice to be able to say that at our home away from home, we really are The 20 Family.
What do you like to do in your spare time? / What are your hobbies?
One of my biggest passions in life is dog rescue. I work with a few different rescues in the DFW area, where I rescue, foster, and help transport dogs to different areas of the US. I have had 100+ dogs come through my home in the last couple of years — some with crazy medical issues, some seniors that have a hard time getting adopted, and some with behavioral issues. The best part is seeing each one get adopted into their forever home and getting updates from their families as time goes on.
Where are you going on your next vacation?
OBX, North Carolina to get my best friend married! After my bridesmaid duties end, I will be glued to the sand.
What’s your top life hack?
Mix Downy Unstopables laundry beads (1/4 cup) with hot water (2 cups) and baking soda (2 tablespoons) in a spray bottle for a cheap and easy air refresher that’s safe for fabric! My couches and dogs’ beds always smell great. Having lots of dogs in and out of my house required me to get creative!
Interested in working with Camden at The 20? We’re hiring! Check out our Careers page for more info.
