Welcome to Episode 208 of Freedom In Five Minutes! Kevin from the Pro Sulum team takes the mic to deliver a no-BS breakdown of what's REALLY happening in the Managed Service Provider world as we head into 2026.

Your MSP is about to pitch you a lot of "AI solutions" in the coming year. But here's the uncomfortable truth: most of it might be snake oil. Kevin reveals how to spot the difference between genuine AI transformation and expensive experiments being conducted on YOUR dime.

If you're a business owner paying for IT services, this episode will save you thousands of dollars and countless headaches. Plus, you'll discover the ONE thing that must happen BEFORE you automate anything with AI (spoiler: almost everyone gets this wrong).

✅ The AWS MSP Pressure Cooker - Why Amazon is throwing "steroid-level" money at MSPs to sell you AI services (and what that means for your wallet)

✅ The One Question to Ask Your MSP - A simple test to determine if they're truly using AI or just practicing on your business

✅ Agentic AI: The Terminator of IT - The next-level automation that either becomes your best employee or your worst nightmare

✅ The "Intelligent Garbage" Problem - Why automating broken processes just creates chaos at 100x speed (and how to avoid it)

✅ Why QBRs Are Dead in 2026 - Stop accepting boring activity reports and start demanding Strategic AI Reviews that show real outcomes

✅ The Hidden Gap Your MSP Can't Fill - Why even the best IT providers can't systemize your operations (and who can)

🔥 "If you automate garbage, you will get very intelligent garbage." - Sanjib Sahoo, Ingram Micro Global CTO

💣 "If they can't show you how THEY use this AI in their own business... that's a huge red flag. You're about to pay for their education."

⚡ "You don't care about their activity. You care about outcomes. Are we safer? Are we spending money wisely?"

🎯 "You have to document the playbook BEFORE you let the robot run the play."

• AWS MSP Partner incentives described as "on steroids now" (CRN, December 2025)

• Traditional MSP QBRs shifting to Strategic AI Reviews (LinkedIn, December 2025)

• Agentic AI becoming the standard for 2026 MSP operations

• Break-fix model officially dead with AI automation

1. The Dog Food Test Next time your MSP pitches an AI tool, ask: "Show me how YOU use this exact AI inside YOUR business to save time and reduce costs." If they stumble or talk about "piloting it," walk away.

2. Systemize Before You Automate You can't automate chaos. Document your critical processes FIRST, then hand those playbooks to your MSP to automate. Take the free assessment at quiz.myprosulum.com to find where the chaos is hiding.

3. Demand Strategic AI Reviews Stop accepting 2019-style reports in 2026. Ask your MSP to show you: predictive maintenance insights, automated threat resolution stats, and cyber insurance readiness scores. Outcomes, not activity.

🔗 quiz.myprosulum.com - Free 2-minute systematization assessment to discover your operational health score

🔗 ProSulum.com - Book a free discovery call to learn how Virtual Systems Architects build systems while they work

Pro Sulum's Virtual Systems Architects (VSAs) are different from traditional virtual assistants. While they execute tasks for you—like client onboarding, operations management, or any repeating process—they simultaneously document and systemize those processes. They build the SOPs and playbooks that you can then hand to your MSP and say "Here. Automate THIS."

VSAs fill the critical gap between your MSP's technology management and your business operations. They work across 40+ industries at half the cost of in-house hires.

The Pro Sulum difference: Systems + Outsourcing = Freedom

🎧 Subscribe: Freedom In Five Minutes Podcast on all major platforms

🌐 Website: ProSulum.com

💼 Free Discovery Call: ProSulum.com - No pressure, just solutions

Host: Kevin, Team Member at Pro Sulum

Podcast Founder: Dean Soto

Production: Pro Sulum Media Team

Episode Length: 7 minutes 46 seconds

#MSP #ManagedServices #AIAutomation #BusinessSystems #VirtualAssistant #BusinessAutomation #ITServices #Cybersecurity #FreedomInFiveMinutes #ProSulum #AgenticAI #BusinessSystemization

• 0:00 - Welcome & Episode Introduction
• 0:57 - The AI Snake Oil Problem
• 2:20 - AWS Incentive Program: What It Means for You
• 3:30 - The Dog Food Test for Your MSP
• 4:00 - Agentic AI: The Next Level
• 5:15 - The "Intelligent Garbage" Warning
• 5:45 - Why QBRs Are Dead in 2026
• 6:30 - The Gap Your MSP Can't Fill
• 7:00 - Pro Sulum VSA Solution
• 7:30 - Call to Action & Sign-Off

• Episode 207: The E-Myth Lessons Business Owners Still Miss in 2025
• Episode 206: Multi-Unit Restaurant Crisis & Operations Solutions

Ready to build systems that make your business AI-ready? Head to ProSulum.com and book your free discovery call. Find out where the chaos is hiding in your business and how a Virtual Systems Architect can help you document, systemize, and scale.

Go build some systems. We'll catch you in the next episode!

Welcome to Freedom In Five Minutes!

The brutal truth nobody's talking about: AI won't replace you... but a competitor using it absolutely will. And that gap? It's widening right now in December 2025.

In this episode, Kevin from the Pro Sulum team breaks down the latest industry research showing why small and medium-sized businesses are perfectly positioned to dominate with AI—yet most are frozen in analysis paralysis while their competitors race ahead.

The Competitive Reality Check:

• Why sales teams using AI are generating 77% MORE revenue per rep (that's a six-figure difference per salesperson!)
• MIT's shocking findings: AI can now viably replace 11.7% of US workforce tasks
• The real reason 48,000+ tech jobs cited AI in layoffs this year—and what it means for your business

The SMB AI Paradox:

• Why you have EVERY structural advantage for AI adoption (faster decisions, simpler systems, better customer knowledge)
• The psychological barriers keeping you stuck while enterprises race ahead
• How to escape the "perfect solution trap" that's costing you thousands

Real Numbers, Real Impact:

• 33% of SMBs are already seeing tangible AI benefits (ASUS study, November 2025)
• 70% of revenue leaders now trust AI to inform major business decisions
• Why enterprise adoption is at 78% while SMBs lag at 55%—and how to flip this advantage

The Pro Sulum Advantage:

• How Virtual Systems Architects document processes WHILE working (no extra time needed)
• Why systematization MUST come before AI implementation
• The secret to integrating AI without the overwhelm or expensive mistakes

Your Action Plan:

• The "one painful process" method to start with AI (no massive investment required)
• Why most AI tools cost $20-500/month with zero long-term commitment
• How to leverage your small business agility before the window closes

Free Tools to Get Started:

• quiz.myprosulum.com - Take the Free Systematization Assessment
• instant.myprosulum.com - Free SOP Generator Tool
• SystemizeInFive.com - Free 4-Video Business Systemization Course

Ready to Scale with a Virtual Systems Architect?

• ProSulum.com - Book Your Free Discovery Call

• Gong Revenue Intelligence Study - 7.1 million sales opportunities analyzed across 3,600+ companies
• MIT Workforce Study - AI capability assessment representing $1.2 trillion in wages
• ASUS SMB Technology Report - Survey of 100+ US small business leaders
• LinkedIn SMB AI Paradox Analysis - Enterprise vs. SMB adoption rates
• McKinsey 2025 AI Index - AI fluency demand jumped 7X in two years

✅ The window for early adopter advantage is closing fast ✅ Your competitors are implementing AI RIGHT NOW while you research ✅ Small businesses have structural advantages enterprises would kill for ✅ Systematization + AI = Competitive moat your rivals can't cross ✅ Virtual Systems Architects can integrate AI into your documented processes

Freedom In Five Minutes helps business owners create more freedom and profit through systematization, delegation, and strategic automation. Hosted by the Pro Sulum team, each episode delivers actionable insights you can implement immediately.

Pro Sulum specializes in Virtual Systems Architects (VSAs) - not just virtual assistants, but systems-building professionals who document your processes while working, clone your best methods, and help you scale across 40+ industries at half the cost of in-house hiring.

The data is clear: businesses using AI-enhanced systems are pulling ahead at an unprecedented rate. The question isn't whether to adopt AI—it's whether you'll do it before your competitors dominate your market.

Start your systematization journey: Visit ProSulum.com to book a free discovery call and learn how a Virtual Systems Architect can help you build the systems that will support AI integration and scale your business.

Episode Length: 9 minutes Release Date: December 5, 2025 Host: Kevin, Pro Sulum Team

Tags: AI automation, small business AI, SMB technology, business systematization, virtual systems architect, AI competitive advantage, business processes, revenue growth, sales productivity, AI adoption

Subscribe to Freedom In Five Minutes: Don't miss future episodes on building a business that runs without you!

Welcome to another episode of Freedom In Five Minutes! I'm Kevin, team member here at Pro Sulum, and today we're diving deep into the lessons from "The E-Myth Revisited" that business owners STILL fail to grasp in 2025—and it's costing them everything.

The Brutal Reality: With private payrolls dropping 32,000 jobs in November 2025 (led by small business cuts), rising costs crushing operations, and business owners hitting burnout faster than ever, the E-Myth lessons have never been more relevant. Yet most entrepreneurs are STILL making the same fatal mistakes Michael Gerber warned about decades ago.

The E-Myth Lessons Still Breaking Businesses:

🔴 The Technician Trap - Why working IN your business instead of ON it is a death sentence. Most entrepreneurs don't fail—they get trapped doing everything themselves.

🔴 The Three Personalities - How to balance your inner Entrepreneur (the visionary), Manager (the planner), and Technician (the doer)—and why most owners let the Technician dominate.

🔴 Systems vs. Being the System - The franchise prototype mindset that separates scalable businesses from glorified jobs. Your business should work without you, not because of you.

🔴 The Documentation Catch-22 - Why business owners avoid documenting processes (they're too busy!), which keeps them too busy to document processes. Breaking this cycle is the key to freedom.

Recent Industry Context (November-December 2025):

• Small business job cuts leading national employment drops
• Rising operational costs with cautious hiring trends
• Business owner burnout reaching crisis levels
• Government shutdown impacting SBA operations and small business support

The Pro Sulum Solution:

What if someone could document your processes WHILE doing the work? That's exactly what our Virtual Systems Architects (VSAs) do—using the Freedom Framework:

• Document - Capture your processes as they work
• Replicate - Turn tribal knowledge into repeatable systems
• Scale - Multiply yourself without the overwhelm

Our VSAs have worked across 40+ industries, cost half of in-house hires, and actually BUILD systems instead of just completing tasks.

📊 Take the Systematization Assessment: quiz.myprosulum.com

⚡ Generate Your First SOP Instantly: instant.myprosulum.com

💼 Book Your Free Discovery Call: ProSulum.com

Could your business run for two weeks without you? If not, you don't own a business—you own a job. Let's fix that.

Subscribe to Freedom In Five Minutes: Never miss an episode on building systems, creating freedom, and scaling your business the right way.

Connect with Pro Sulum:

• Website: ProSulum.com
• Podcast: freedominfiveminutes.libsyn.com

Keywords: E-Myth Revisited, business systems, small business operations, Virtual Systems Architect, business automation, entrepreneurship, systemization, business processes, scaling business, Michael Gerber, business freedom, delegation, SOPs

#FreedomInFiveMinutes #EMyth #BusinessSystems #Entrepreneurship #SmallBusiness #VirtualAssistant #ProSulum #BusinessGrowth #SystemsThinking

Welcome to another episode of Freedom In Five Minutes! I'm Kevin, team member here at Pro Sulum, and today we're diving deep into a crisis that's absolutely crushing multi-unit franchise restaurant operators across the country.

The Numbers Don't Lie:

• Over 150 restaurants closed in LA County in 2024 alone
• Another 100+ shuttered in just Q1 2025
• Minimum wages have DOUBLED in major markets
• 76% of operators report ingredient costs destroying their profit margins
• Average restaurant profit margins hovering at just 2.5%

The Real Stories: We're talking about the McDonald's Oakland closure that blindsided 40 workers right before Thanksgiving, LA restaurant owners facing 400% insurance premium increases, and the hidden costs nobody's talking about—like electricity bills up 90% and the "no tip credit" rule that's breaking traditional labor cost models.

But Here's the Controversial Part:

Everyone's blaming wages. Everyone's pointing fingers at minimum wage increases and labor shortages. But what if that's NOT the real problem?

In this episode, I'm going to challenge what you think you know about this labor cost crisis. Because the franchise owners who are THRIVING right now—and yes, they exist—aren't the ones with the lowest wages. They're the ones who've systematized their operations.

✅ Why the labor cost crisis is actually an operational chaos crisis in disguise

✅ The three hidden costs that are worse than wage increases (and nobody's talking about them)

✅ How multi-unit franchise operators are turning this crisis into a competitive advantage

✅ The contrarian approach that's helping restaurant owners maintain profitability even with $20/hour minimum wages

✅ Why cutting costs is playing defense—and what playing offense actually looks like

✅ How to systematize your operations to handle higher labor costs WITHOUT sacrificing service quality

The franchise operators who document, systematize, and create repeatable processes are the ones who'll survive—and thrive—through this crisis. It's not about having cheaper labor. It's about having BETTER systems.

Take the Systematization Assessment: https://quiz.myprosulum.com

Free SOP Generator Tool: https://instant.myprosulum.com

Schedule Your Free VSA Discovery Call: https://ProSulum.com

• The Food Institute's 2026 Restaurant Challenges Report
• Los Angeles Business Journal's Rising Costs Analysis
• California Restaurant Association Survey
• Recent franchise closure data from November-December 2025

This isn't your typical doom-and-gloom labor cost discussion. We're taking a Ben Settle-style contrarian approach—challenging assumptions, building on the pain points, and providing REAL solutions that multi-unit franchise operators can implement immediately.

At Pro Sulum, we work with franchise operators across 40+ industries who are dealing with these exact challenges. Our Virtual Systems Architects (VSAs) don't just work IN your business—they document processes WHILE they work, creating the systems that let you scale without drowning in operational chaos.

Have questions about systematizing your franchise operations? Dealing with the labor cost crisis in your multi-unit business?

Visit ProSulum.com for a free discovery call and see how our Virtual Systems Architects can help you turn this crisis into your competitive advantage.

Episode Length: 9 minutes 24 seconds

Host: Kevin from Pro Sulum

Pro Sulum: Helping business owners create more freedom through systematization and Virtual Systems Architects who document while they work—at half the cost of traditional in-house employees.

🎧 Subscribe to Freedom In Five Minutes for weekly insights on building systematized, scalable businesses.

#FranchiseOperations #RestaurantIndustry #LaborCosts #BusinessSystems #MultiUnitFranchise #ProSulum #VirtualSystemsArchitects #FreedomInFiveMinutes #Systematization #FranchiseSuccess

Welcome to another episode of Freedom In Five Minutes! I am your host Dean Soto. Your man of systems helping you create more freedom and profit than they ever thought possible. That is why we have Steph Hilfer on the show – the lady full of Vim and Vigor!

Steph Hilfer is the founder and Chief Creative Director of https://getviim.com—a marketing consulting firm that helps businesses discover their brand. She can visualize what doesn't yet exist and bring it to life... and boy it's alive!

In this episode of Freedom In Five Minutes, Dean shares three top benefits from leveraging virtual assistants. Learn how you your talented staff can help seize massive success for your business in the midst of a tough economy.

All that and more, coming up!

Check out more of Pro Sulum through the links below.

- 🔥 Pro Sulum Systems Architects (Virtual Assistants with Superpowers) 🔥: https://www.prosulum.com

- ⚙️ Free business systems and automation course ⚙️: https://www.systemizeinfive.com

- 👨‍🏫 Take the Freedom in Five Minutes Masterclass👨‍🏫: https://www.freedominfiveminutes.com/masterclass

- 🎙️ The Freedom in Five Minutes Podcast 🎙️: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/freedom-in-five-minutes/id1439245704

In this episode of Freedom In Five Minutes, Dean talks about his recent learnings from firing their gardener and how the lessons from that experience reflects how to hire the best personal assistant for your business.

Check out more of Pro Sulum through the links below.

- 🔥 Pro Sulum Systems Architects (Virtual Assistants with Superpowers) 🔥: https://www.prosulum.com

- ⚙️ Free business systems and automation course ⚙️: https://www.systemizeinfive.com

- 👨‍🏫 Take the Freedom in Five Minutes Masterclass👨‍🏫: https://www.freedominfiveminutes.com/masterclass

- 🎙️ The Freedom in Five Minutes Podcast 🎙️: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/freedom-in-five-minutes/id1439245704

For more episodes visit our blog at https://www.prosulum.com/blog/

In this episode of Freedom In Five Minutes, Dean talks about how to best carry out your superpowers by outsourcing your excess tasks.

For more Freedom In Five Minutes podcast episodes, visit ProSulum.com/blog.

In this episode of Freedom In Five Minutes, Dean Soto talks about his return to Jiu-Jitsu and how even the smallest things can make a massive difference in your pursuit of business success.