Listen in as Gary Bixler, VP Global Member Communities at CompTIA introduces you to the newest podcast from CompTIA's communities and councils: the Biz Tech Podcast. This podcast series focuses on the business of technology and CompTIA Corporate Membership. From casual conversations, detailed strategies and steps for success, listen in as we hear from industry leaders across our communities and councils discuss business challenges, opportunities, and strategies for success. We also dive into the leading and emerging technologies and what that means for your customers and your business. The CompTIA Biz Tech podcast launches on Wednesday, June 3, 2020.

Share with us what topics you would like to hear more about: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VRN8RW6

You can find the new Biz Tech Podcast on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/comptia-biz-tech-podcast/id1513232070
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/comptia-sharkbytes/comptia-biz-tech-podcast
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-comptia-biz-tech-podcast-62773128/

As well as on Stitcher, Google Podcasts, and your favorite podcast catchers!

Kathy Kacher is the award-winning creator of a work-from-home software that helps people manage remote workers. In this episode of Technology Services Success, she talks with Technology Lifecycle Services Community (TLS) vice chair Sue Krautbauer about strategies to attract the new collar worker and why flexibility is the key to everything you do — including qualifying your candidates, stepping away from FTE and flexing for people for who’d rather work weekends.

As the founder of Career/Life Alliance Services, Kacher goes deep to talk about her experience managing remote teams and offers tips on how to stay in touch with your people and keep projects on track, even if you’re in different time zones.

The conversation also covers the 151,000 positions currently open in technology and how to address the workforce gap. Listen for ideas on how to bring people into the industry, and make sure those opportunities cross a broad spectrum of groups. “What we have found and are becoming laser focused on is bringing young men and women into tech,” Kacher said.

Stay tuned to the end for a special word of wisdom for managers of MSPs, plus tips for people just starting their technology careers.

You must understand the breakdown of your costs, services and delivery so that you know how much to charge people, says Vince Tinnirello of Anchor Network Solutions in this episode of Breaking Barriers. It’s one of many tips he offers during this talk with Managed Services Community leader Lisa Person. During the episode, they discuss two core concepts: What does it cost me to deliver service by the hour and how do I price my service offering to clients?

“You have to know your expenses and your revenue in order to understand the health of your business,” Tinnirello says. They talk about overall costs and also get into specifics, like whether long-term technology planning counts as a service as much as an antivirus. “If you really want to measure your true costs, you have to include all of them.”

Listen for tips on how to calculate your hourly cost of delivery, decide how much you can pay your employees and factor in curveballs, like client neediness. The episode was co-produced by CompTIA’s Managed Services and Technology Lifecycle Services communities. Stay tuned to the end for a deep dive into PNL and ways to stretch your margins.

Find the worksheets mentioned here:

HCSD Calculator https://www.comptia.org/communities/resources/hourly-cost-of-service-delivery-calculator

Service Plan Pricing https://www.comptia.org/communities/resources/service-plan-pricing-calculator

A sample chart of accounts page 6 of Quick Start Guide to Managed IT Service pdf.  https://www.comptia.org/resources/comptia-quick-start-guide-to-managed-it-service

What are the steps to implementing ongoing services and support? In this episode of Technology Services Success, implementation expert Ryan Lee talks with Colleen Payne, owner of UACSI and board member of CompTIA’s Technology Lifecycle Services Community, about all the back and forth it takes to bring in new systems and to create and configure new system requirements.

They talk about how business desires, budgets, and time constraints directly affect implementation, and Lee also shares ways to add extra value to your services. “We try to give that continued support so they know they have a product they can trust, one that’s reliable and most importantly being used,” Lee said.

In this episode of Technology Services Success, Lee and Payne talk about how to find a balance between the business, management and engineering needs, and address the best practices related to implementation. Stay tuned to the end for the one thing, Lee says, that can torpedo any project.

One of the easiest ways to expand your monitoring management business is to grow on contract, said Gerald Boyd Jr. of DB Consulting Group. 

“Everybody in the organization is in business development, so when you’re out in the field hearing about things, that leads to organic growth without spending months trying to bid and win it,” Boyd said in this episode of Technology Services Success, led by Colleen Payne, owner of UACSI and board member of CompTIA’s Technology Lifecycle Services Community.

Boyd and Payne also talk about ways to overcome the challenges of finding qualified talent in rural areas and what you should look for in a joint venture partner. The conversation also covers best practices related to monitoring management, the importance of open and honest communication and why quick decision making is an important asset to have.

Boyd recommends MSPs find success by offering all the tools for good monitoring management, including information security, mobility, infrastructure and even helpdesk services.

“Bringing together the project manager and the team to manage those different areas was a big boost in our growth,” he said.

Listen now and subscribe to the TLS Community podcast today.