The managed services industry is not an easy business, but it is a very lucrative business. That is why, as an MSP or IT services owner, you should be asking yourself why you are waking up every day and grinding it out. You got to have an end game in mind, and what I would suggest, and what I teach my Technology Marketing Toolkit clients, is to strategically think and operate above making money just to cover the bills. Here are the four ways to set yourself free and pursue your dreams.
1. Ask Yourself These Critical Questions
Start by strategically asking yourself these questions:
- What Am I Trying To Build?
- What Am I Trying To Accomplish?
- Why Am I Waking Up Every Day Grinding It Out?
2. Think Like An Entrepreneur
I want you to start thinking more like an entrepreneur. I want you to be the owner of the business, not just a tech with helpers. In 2020, Covid shut down our biggest event. That event cost over $2 million to put on and in an instant, it went up in smoke. We didn’t have any insurance that would cover us because it was a pandemic. I had to literally pay out of my pocket $983,000, just shy of $1 million, and refund mostly to sponsors. Our clients stuck with us and we turned it into a virtual event. That’s why our media company has the symbol of the Phoenix, because our event got burned down without any warning, no fault of our own, and we had to survive. I learned a big lesson in that. I had been building strength in my business by doing the things that I’m going to talk to you about. I was able to give refunds and preserve those relationships with the sponsors who had given us the money. I was able to negotiate with the ones who stayed with us and I was able to keep our clients. I was debt-free. I had a full capitalization, so I didn’t have to get a loan. I didn’t lay a single person off. And in fact, we hired a bunch of people in 2020. I want you to think about this. You want to build strength because you never know when your Covid is going to hit.
3. Build Strength In Your Business
So, your Covid could be an aggressive competitor. It could be, unfortunately, that something happens to you where you can’t work, or it could be a rogue employee. It could be any number of things. You want to build strength in your business and be smart about this.
Ways To Build Strength:
- Have Contracts
- Have The Right Service Stack
- Package And Price Your Services To Scale Your Business
- Having Marketing Systems In Place
If you lose a big customer, can you replace that revenue? How do you build equity in your business? So, it’s an asset, not just a job with customers and more sales.
4. Have An “Enough Number”
You also want to learn how to stop leaving so much money on the table so you can achieve real true financial freedom. That’s what you guys should be thinking about. I’m a very big proponent for entrepreneurs knowing what your “enough number” is. The “how much money do you need to have in investments so that you would never have to work another day in your life again.” I am not saying you’re going to stop working because you hit a number. I have a new number now because I’m not needing, I’m wanting. Ask yourself, what are you working towards? For me, and maybe some of you will hit that number before you have a successful exit, whatever that is, you’ve got to know what it is. That is what we’re building towards. Like my friend, Kevin O’Leary, loves to say, “You don’t do it” — meaning run a business — “for the money.” It’s not about greed. It’s about personal freedom. It’s the reason you want to be an entrepreneur, is to be able to do whatever you want with your time anytime you want.
Set Yourself Free
The whole idea is to set yourself free to pursue the dreams you have. I would also say true success is when you get to do the work you love with the people you love. If you’re struggling and you don’t know marketing, you have to take any customer that waves a dollar at you. You’re a slave to your own success sometimes. When you have enough money, you can actually turn things down. You don’t have to take every dollar, every opportunity, every everything. I want you to be tuned into this. If you’re a smaller MSP, really get that vision if you don’t have it written down. If you haven’t clarified that, guys, you need to do that now. You need to do it today, this week. You want to make sure you have that lined up.
The Good News
Now, here’s the good news. Right now, being an MSP is a very lucrative, very smart move. There is a ton of people that are putting money into this industry. And why? Because there’s a huge total addressable market. Nearly every small business out there not only needs techs to run their business, but they’re falling under compliance regulations and needing cybersecurity. The total addressable market is huge. You guys, if you’re running your business right, you should have very, very, very low churn. It’s sticky with recurring revenue and high margins if you price things right.
Want to learn more about pricing your services right? Join our next FREE MSP marketing training to get the blueprint to blow past a million in profitable revenue.
