I’m sitting in my office in Miami, looking at the Tesla Cybertruck keys on my desk, and I still can’t believe it. Just four and a half years ago, I was that guy sitting in the back row at TMT Boot Camp, feeling overworked, underpaid and unappreciated. Today, I’m the 2025 Better Your Best winner, and IT for Education, a company I founded in 2002, has increased 1,157% in 4.5 years – proving TMT works for the little guy.
But this story isn’t just about numbers on a spreadsheet. This is about a promise I made to my nephew Frankie on May 12, 2021. Frankie was just my marketing intern back then when I sent him an e-mail that said, “Frank Garcia, this is an official contract. If we win the car in the Better Your Best competition, the car is yours.” That e-mail was my way of putting skin in the game, of making myself accountable to something bigger than just another business goal.
For 18 long years I struggled alone. I was running my business on referrals, which created a roller-coaster effect. One month we’d be flush, the next we’d be scrambling. It wasn’t sustainable, and it definitely wasn’t scalable.
By 2020, I had managed to reach $517,000 in annual revenue. But I felt like I was stuck in quicksand, working harder and harder, not really getting anywhere. I couldn’t enjoy my life because I could never disconnect from work. I knew something had to change, but I didn’t know what to change or how to do it, so I attended Rapid Implementation Workshop.
But it was at the Big Red Rodeo, IT Sales And Marketing Boot Camp in 2021, watching Mike Bazaar onstage, that everything clicked for me. Here was someone who had cracked the code.
That’s when I made that promise to Frankie. It wasn’t just about the car – it was about believing that we could actually make it to that stage, that we could be one of those success stories instead of just watching from the audience.
The “Medicine” That Sent Us Soaring Past $1Million In Topline Revenue
In 2021, after six months of being in TMT, I was still skeptical that this would work for me. My accountability leader, Peter Verlezza, reminded me, “Don’t reinvent the wheel. Once you’ve got it down, you can add your own flavor to it.” I was desperate, so I listened. And thank God I did.
My first real win came by mastering the Aspirin campaign, which nearly doubled our MRR to $53K in less than one year. The key was discipline – shut up, suit up and commit to doing the marketing, even on the days you don’t feel like it. We created our avatar, cleaned our list and continued to follow up. We didn’t see results for six months. Then it showed up, just like when you finally see abs after consistently going to the gym.
Because of that success, I got an invitation to join the Producers Club. We continued to do the work and broke the sacred $1 million mark, ending 2021 at $1.04 million – 100% growth in topline revenue. The proof was in the pudding, and we were all-in.
Imitate, Then Innovate: The Philosophy That Built Our Empire To $6.5 Million
I credit our success to this simple concept: “Imitate, then innovate.” By copying techniques and campaigns working for successful MSPs that are operating at the level where we want to be, then adapting them to best suit our target audience and MSP, we’ve scaled from $517,000 to $6.5 million in only 4.5 years.
In 2022, we innovated the Aspirin campaign by tailoring the messaging to better fit an opportunity for our vertical. It was like shooting fish in a barrel. We added $1.4 million in revenue, ending the year at $2,399,931, achieving over 125% topline revenue growth.
Peter advised me to keep my foot on the gas. If you stop that influx of customers, then you stop the momentum. I learned how to fix problems without halting marketing.
When Opportunity Meets Preparation:
The Direct Mail Goldmine That Added $3,209,588
In 2023, we leveraged TMT’s strategies to their fullest potential. With Covid still affecting the education landscape, we took advantage of the EANS (Emergency Assistance To Non-Public Schools) funding provided by the government for schools. Becoming approved service providers for EANS allowed us to switch our messaging to focus on this opportunity while continuing to promote our co-managed IT offer.
This strategic pivot helped us capitalize on available funding and drive significant growth. We added 13 new clients and $24,426 in MRR, ending 2023 with $3,974,410 in revenue. In 2024, the EANS campaign added $24,820 in MRR and $3,209,588 (excluding managed services), representing 49% of overall revenue for the year.
But here’s the kicker – our profits took a nosedive in 2023 to $145K. We didn’t protect our margins and learned firsthand that topline revenue is for vanity, while bottom line is for sanity.
The Guardians Of The Margins: Our $870,328 Profit Fix
In 2024, we had to fix our profit problem. We reached out to Paul Cissel, who told us we had to raise our prices immediately and stop discounting our work. We raised our prices, then innovated by creating an agreement calculator that easily tracks our margins.
We also implemented what we call the “Guardians of the Margins” – a company-wide initiative that checks the margins in all our proposals. This effort focused on achieving best-in-class margins, metrics and operational practices to ensure our long-term success.
We fixed our profit problem and went from $145K to over $1,015,825 – a 698.1% increase to the bottom line.
Innovative Customer Experience Contributes To 63% Increase In Topline Revenue
Client retention became our focus in 2024, so we imitated, then innovated. We completed the John DeJulius World-Class Customer Experience Training Certification. My wife, Manuela, led the charge, and her innovative approach landed us as the only finalist in both the Better Your Best and Circle Of Excellence competitions. We achieved a customer service satisfaction rating of 99.22% and increased MRR by $32,924.
We also attended the Account Management Master Class led by Paul Cissel, which helped add $737,166 to existing client revenue in one year. We finished 2024 at $6.5 million – a 63% increase in topline revenue growth.
The Best Decision: Leveraging The Community
Leaning into the TMT community alleviated fear, helped us avoid problems and made me a better leader. My decision to immediately join a peer group and actively participate in it was key. The community poured into me and my company, allowing me to grow up as a business owner. I’ve been mentored by them, modeled them and observed how they mentor and grow.
The lessons we’ve learned through this community are the foundation of our future. I would not have been up on the stage in the Better Your Best contest if it wasn’t for the TMT team and their help in getting me there.
How A Panic Attack Built A Business That Runs Without Me
The benefit of having a profitable, growing business is that you get to hire help. Before TMT, we only had four employees. I was frustrated and exhausted because I was trying to wear every single hat. Now it’s easier because I’ve hired talented people to handle areas where I’m weak, allowing me to focus on my strengths and where I add the most value. In 2023, I had a severe panic attack that sent me to the hospital because I was still trying to run my company like it only had four people (we have 25 now).
I’ve learned to empower my team by trusting them to do their jobs. I allow them to make mistakes, which enables them to learn and grow. Before, I couldn’t enjoy vacation or conferences because I couldn’t disconnect. Now I get to be fully present at both, confident my team can run the business while I’m gone.
FEAR = Face Everything And Rise
And You Could Become the Next “Better Your Best” Winner!
I was terrified when I made the decision to commit to the Technology Marketing Toolkit. I didn’t know how I was going to pay for it or if it would even work for me. But I took a leap of faith, and it’s been the best thing for my business, bar none.
In just one year we added $2,526,866 in revenue, $870,328 in net profit and $18,361 in MRR to win the Better Your Best competition. And in Q1 of this year, our gross profit has already jumped from $143,601 to $214,906, and revenue increased from $506,373 to $747,309 – closing 46.7% more business in the same period as the year before.
Our vision is ambitious yet grounded in TMT strategies. We aim to scale sustainably, nurture our team and provide exceptional value to clients. Our goal is to take this business national, become the top IT services provider for K-12 education in the country and then expand internationally. But it starts with our Florida proof of concept and a scalable model.
Don’t let fear paralyze you. Take action with simple steps. Imitate those who came before you, ask questions and fully immerse yourself in TMT. As Tony Robbins says, “Success leaves clues.” Use them.
With TMT’s guidance, the possibilities for growth and impact are endless. The proof is in the pudding – IT for Education proves TMT works for the little guy willing to commit to the process and trust in the transformative power of focused marketing and community support.
And yes, Frankie got his Tesla. That promise I made in 2021 became reality in 2025, but more importantly, it represents something bigger: the power of believing in yourself, committing to a process and never giving up. If I can go from $517K to $6.5M in four years, so can you.
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