When I was 18, my mom insisted I learn to change the oil in my car. My response was bold: “I am going to be so successful and rich that I will be able to pay someone to change my oil.” Little did I know this conversation would become prophetic, not just about oil changes but also about the journey from being a troubled teenager who spent time in county jail to one day building a multimillion-dollar MSP and becoming a Better Your Best finalist.
The Foundation Of Success: Standing On Giants’ Shoulders
As I was growing up, both father figures in my life ended up in maximum security prisons. I spent my adolescence habitually in trouble – burglary, shoplifting, arson. I made enemies and dug myself into holes without seeing a way out. At age 17, while I was sitting in county jail, my mother sent every preacher she could find to talk some sense into me. One finally got through: a youth pastor named Bob Becker who refused to see me as a lost cause.
That day, I made a conscious decision to become a better person and gained a valuable insight that forever changed my life: Achieving greater success requires standing on the shoulders of giants. From then on, I sought mentors who had accomplished what I wanted in life, and I built upon their wisdom.
This principle later became the foundation of my business success with Technology Marketing Toolkit.
6 Key Lessons That Increased Revenue 900% And MRR By 3,650%
- Create An Irresistible Offer
After five failed business attempts, my brothers and I launched Coulee Techlink, Inc., in 2008. Starting with one whale of a customer, we generated $230,000 in revenue in our first year. After discovering TMT in 2009, we grew our company 117.39%, reaching $500,000 in revenue by 2010. We mailed letters with our breakthrough offer, two free hours of IT service, and promoted a “live-answer” guarantee.
- Find Giants At TMT Events
After merely dabbling in TMT strategies for nine years, we made a major change in our commitment, engagement and implementation by attending our first TMT Boot Camp in 2018. This resulted in doubling our monthly recurring revenue (MRR) within six months.
Before Boot Camp our numbers looked great on paper, but my brother and I were scraping by on $30,000 annually until 2015. At that time, my brother, who was our head tech, received a life-changing $100,000 job offer. Without the resources to replace him, I negotiated to keep him and pursued software development projects to keep that promise. I was chasing big paydays to meet payroll without building our MRR, which is what we needed to be doing for true stability. When I attended Boot Camp in 2018, our MRR was still stubbornly hovering around $4,000, which meant every month I was having to find the next new project to keep our business going.
To solve this, I did what had worked before: I sought mentors.
Attending TMT’s 2018 Sales and Marketing Boot Camp surrounded me with successful MSPs. As Jim Rohn, American entrepreneur and world-renowned motivational speaker, said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
Sitting in the back of the room, I watched another MSP owner, Sitima Fowler, win a car in the Better Your Best contest. I vowed to be on that stage someday and committed to achieving this goal by joining the Accelerators Club and signing up for the Rapid Implementation Workshop (RIW).
- Finally Hit “Go” On Marketing That Brings In Leads
Within six months of RIW, we hit $8,000 in MRR, double what we’d ever achieved. Though modest, it was transformational for us. Within 18 months, at the end of 2019, we reached $20,000 in MRR, a 400% increase. We felt rich! Coulee Techlink also made the Inc. 5000 list, missing the Top 500 by just three spots.
RIW inspired a massive direct mail campaign, consisting of 1,600 mailers per month to new prospects, accompanied by two full-time callers. We refined our sales presentation and embraced specialization, focusing on manufacturing and health care verticals.
- Prioritize List Quality Over Volume
The real breakthrough came when I was invited to shadow a Producers Club meeting. During dinner, a member from Paducah, Kentucky, dropped a bombshell: “List quality is more important than volume.” He mailed just 100 letters monthly with better returns than I received from mailing 1,600!
I pivoted immediately, focusing on building a high-quality list rather than relying on brute-force volume. Almost overnight, our conversion rates increased and the cost per customer dropped.
- Raise Your Prices And Master Handling Objections
After following TMT’s advice to raise our prices, we tripled our managed services rates and landed one of our largest contracts. The price strategy, combined with narrowing our vertical, prompted a call from a jeweler, a prospect outside our niche: “We’re not in your vertical, but would you handle our IT?”
This small company was also considering a cheaper competitor. When asked why they should choose us, I applied objection-handling techniques I’d learned, telling the jeweler, “Call us and call your second choice and see who picks up the phone.”
We answered. They didn’t. We won the contract: $1,800 per month for eight computers, compared to our previous largest contract of $1,900 per month for 40 computers. This jeweler became one of our biggest managed services contracts, despite being among our smallest clients.
Higher prices also enabled us to replace low-paying clients with premium ones.
- Track What Truly Matters
By 2020, we hit $30,000 in MRR.
Seeking further growth, I joined the Producers Club to surround myself with exceptional achievers. The first question my Accountability Group asked: “What are your numbers?” I didn’t even have QuickBooks access!
This wake-up call revealed we weren’t profitable, despite impressive revenue growth. My peer group refused to let me rest on Inc. 5000 recognition. Monthly, we presented real numbers – profit margins, MRR growth, overhead costs – receiving “tough love” or “loving accountability.”
The Profitability Breakthrough: From Losses To $393,000 Profit
At a Producers Club meeting, Greg Crabtree spoke about financial metrics, overhead and profitability. His insights, combined with monthly accountability sessions, forced me to dissect expenses, head count and cash flow.
Here’s our stark financial reality:
| Year | MRR | New MRR | Revenue | Profit |
| 2021 | $30K | $0 | $1.1M | -$155K |
| 2022 | $48K | $18K | $1.3M | -$141K |
| 2023 | $95K | $53K | $1.7M | -$99K |
| 2024 | $150K | $55K | $2.3M | $393K |
As you can see, rapid growth doesn’t automatically equal profitability. For years, I rode a revenue roller coaster – thrilled by big contracts while struggling to pay my bills. Following TMT Financial Expert In Residence Greg Crabtree’s principles and leaning on my Producers Club Accountability Group, we finally turned the corner in 2024, marking the end of years of net losses.
The 2024 Marketing Plan That Landed Me On The Better Your Best Stage
In 2024, I went all in on marketing, and the results speak for themselves: We added $57,000 in new MRR, increased revenue $600,000 and increased profit by 496%. Our marketing activities included:
- Delivering 20 speaking engagements
- Securing 126 first-time appointments
- Closing 46 new clients
- Opening a new branch in Florida
The combination of massive marketing activity, a focus on quality over quantity in lead generation and a relentless commitment to profitability has completely transformed our business.
The Ultimate Validation
In 2025, we’re projected to reach $200,000 in MRR, $3 million in gross sales and $500,000 in profit.
I’m writing this from a debt-free office that was once just a wild dream. I own 75 acres of land where my family and extended family play around, fully paid for in cash. I can afford to pay for oil changes and make charitable contributions to support others in our community while leading teams that make a meaningful impact on our clients.
Elevate Your Average
I’ve grown by improving my average by surrounding myself with people who are more successful than I am. Initially that was through church mentors who helped me become a better man, husband and father. Later that meant adding mentors through the TMT community, who are helping me grow my business and wealth. It’s acceptable to be average if you’re in the right group of people. For me, that means being part of a peer group comprised of individuals who are winning awards and are willing to challenge one another to excel.
I still honor that vow to win the Better Your Best contest, not just to win a car but also to share my testimony that no life is too broken for redemption and no business is too small to flourish if you’re willing to humble yourself, learn from others and seek mentors.
Reflecting on that kitchen table conversation with my mom, I realized she was trying to teach me more than just how to change oil in my car. She was teaching me responsibility, hoping I’d become a better man than the men I’d seen growing up. If my mom were still alive today, I’d tell her, “Mission accomplished, Mom.”
