MSP Mindset with Damien Stevens

Are you playing to win with your MSP? On this week's episode, former NFL player turned CEO, Shawn Harper, joins the podcast to share how you can overcome obstacles in all areas of your life with a winning mindset. It's time to stop playing the victim and instead be the victor. Making this mindset shift will change everything. 

0:00 - Intro 

1:43 - Shawn's struggles growing up 

9:04 - Struggles with his family 

18:50 - Victim to victor 

24:57 - Overcoming a poverty mindset 30:07 - How can I be a winner? 

38:13 - How do I give more? 

41:15 - Growing his company post-NFL 

44:53 - Stop hiding your struggle 

53:08 - What's next for Shawn? 

58:02 - Conclusion 

📧 Sign up for our weekly newsletter: https://bit.ly/3RodAxS 

🛫 See how Servosity can help improve your MSP’s backups: https://bit.ly/4cxsCcI 

🥷 Steal Servosity's process: https://bit.ly/3xtAblA

🤝 Connect with Shawn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnharper75/ 

📖 the Winologist: https://a.co/d/09UCbGb2 

🤝 Connect with Damien: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dstevens 

📺 Watch on YT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbzzyR7yX9l9XQaZCBp0v0g

On this week’s episode, Ethan Bull, co-founder of ProAssisting, joins the show to discuss the powerful impact an executive assistant can have on both your MSP and personal life. Win back your time from tasks you SHOULDN’T be doing and use that free time to invest in your family and focus on areas of the business you’re best suited for as owner/CEO. 

Chapters:

0:00 - Intro

1:48 - Why 29 hour work day?

4:40 - Why do you need an executive assistant?

9:11 - “I don’t have that much to hand off”

16:40 - How do I find an EA?

25:14 - Full-time vs part-time EA

34:48 - Resources for hiring an EA

40:33 - The positive impacts of an EA

43:32 - Conclusion

📧 Sign up for our weekly newsletter: https://bit.ly/3RodAxS 

🛫 See how Servosity can help improve your MSP’s backups: https://bit.ly/4cxsCcI 

🥷 Steal Servosity's process: https://bit.ly/3xtAblA

🤝 Connect with Ethan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethanbull/

🤝 ProAssisting: https://www.proassisting.com/

🤝 Connect with Damien: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dstevens

📺 Watch on YT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbzzyR7yX9l9XQaZCBp0v0g

On this week’s episode, Terry Hedden, founder of Marketopia and former MSP, joins the show to discuss his story of having one of the nation's fastest-growing MSPs in its time. From a $24k investment to making the Inc 5000, Terry shares his insights into what you can do to fast-track your MSP. Hint: it starts with delegating and putting your people first. 

Chapters:

0:00 - Intro

1:18 - How Terry started his MSP

9:10 - From $24k to Inc 5000

18:40 - Biggest challenges in business

25:22 - How he maintained 50% growth over 6 years

28:24 - Social proof and winning deals

31:48 - Maintaining culture during fast growth

41:51 - Leveling up personally

48:13 - It’s easy to grow an MSP?

59:58 - 2000%+ growth in 3 years?

1:04:27 - Conclusion

📧 Sign up for our weekly newsletter: https://bit.ly/3RodAxS 

🛫 See how Servosity can help improve your MSP’s backups: https://bit.ly/4cxsCcI 

🥷 Steal Servosity's process: https://bit.ly/3xtAblA

🤝 Connect with Terry: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terryhedden/

🤝 Marketopia: https://marketopia.com

🤝 Connect with Damien:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dstevens

📺 Watch on YT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbzzyR7yX9l9XQaZCBp0v0g

#msp #managedservices #managedserviceprovider

On this week's episode,  Joe Rojas, who's built 3 MSPs to over seven figures, shares his story with niching and how it jumpstarted all his business ventures. If you're looking to grow your MSP exponentially, then it's time to find your niche. And when you do, buckle up because you're going to take off quick.

Chapters:

0:00 - Intro

1:35 - Why niching is important

10:53 - Joe helps me with niching

19:45 - Real-life examples with niching

25:20 - How to choose a niche

41:21 - How long does it take to niche?

46:45 - Actionable next steps?

52:21 - Conclusion

📧 Sign up for our weekly newsletter: https://bit.ly/3RodAxS 

🛫 See how Servosity can help improve your MSP’s backups: https://bit.ly/4cxsCcI 

🥷 Steal Servosity's process: https://bit.ly/3xtAblA

🤝 Connect with Joe: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joerojas/

🤝 Start Grow Manage: https://startgrowmanage.com/

🤝 Connect with Damien:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dstevens

📺 Watch on YT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbzzyR7yX9l9XQaZCBp0v0g

In this week’s episode, Damien sits down with Shawn Walsh and Dave Cava, authors of "The Pumpkin Plan for MSPs," to discuss their journeys in the MSP industry. Shawn shares his transition from law enforcement to business leadership, while Dave recounts his rapid MSP growth (1 million revenue in 1 year) amid personal health and legal crises. They candidly discuss challenges like team management, financial struggles, and personal mindset, while also sharing how they overcame and elevated their business.

Chapters:

0:00 - Intro

1:19 - Dave’s Story

7:24 - Shawn’s Story

13:20 - Why the wrote the book

17:39 - Dave’s insane year 1&2

23:38 - Shawn’s early struggles with teams/management

33:41 - the Hamster Wheel

49:51 - Differentiation

1:04:04 - Your unique offering

1:08:11 - Come in like the expert

📧 Sign up for our weekly newsletter: https://go.servosity.com/msp-mindset-news

📧 Sign up for our weekly newsletter: https://bit.ly/3RodAxS 

🛫 See how Servosity can help improve your MSP’s backups: https://bit.ly/4cxsCcI 

🥷 Steal Servosity's process: https://bit.ly/3xtAblA

🤝 Connect with Shawn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/encorestrategic/

🤝 Connect with Dave: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-cava-encore/

🤝Encore Strategic: https://encorestrategic.io/

🤝 Connect with Damien:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dstevens

📺 Watch on YT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbzzyR7yX9l9XQaZCBp0v0g

In this week’s episode,  Damien sits down with Sunny Kaila, CEO of IT by Design, to explore his entrepreneurial journey from a young immigrant with limited English skills to leading a nearly 1,000-employee organization. Sunny shares his experiences growing up on a farm in India, moving to the U.S., and the relentless hard work that enabled him to achieve his American dream. He discusses the challenges he faced, including starting his own business, dealing with early setbacks, and the pivotal moments that shaped his success.

Chapters:

0:00 - Intro

1:17 - Sunny’s story from immigrant to successful American Dream

20:05 - Where it all began

27:00 - Why’d you leave the “safety” of your job

32:30 - Raising children to be successful

38:18 - Transitioning away from MSP

46:06 - Early setbacks

53:52 - Noting being reactive with hiring

1:00:55 - Where to find unconventional hires

1:19:41 - Conclusion

📧 Sign up for our weekly newsletter: https://go.servosity.com/msp-mindset-news

📧 Sign up for our weekly newsletter: https://bit.ly/3RodAxS 

🛫 See how Servosity can help improve your MSP’s backups: https://bit.ly/4cxsCcI 

🥷 Steal Servosity's process: https://bit.ly/3xtAblA

🤝 Connect with Sunny: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunnykaila/

🤝IT by Design: https://itbd.net/

🤝 Connect with Damien:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dstevens

📺 Watch on YT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbzzyR7yX9l9XQaZCBp0v0g

In this week’s episode, leadership and management expert Dave Kline offers insights into how you can elevate your leadership and management skills. Drawing from his extensive experience in top companies, Dave discusses practical strategies for hiring the right team, the importance of recruiting vs hiring, overcoming common leadership challenges, and establishing clear expectations/goals. See how to build a stronger, more effective team and elevate your MSP business to new heights.

Chapters:

0:00 - Intro

1:20 - Biggest mistakes leaders make

7:00 - How do I show clarity to my team?

12:30 - Expectations and goals for my team

23:30 - Parenting and how it applies to leadership

29:30 - Seeing both “and’s” and “or’s”

39:04 - Assessing underperformers

46:40 - Recruiting not hiring

55:47 - Am I getting in the way?

1:03:40 - How do I evaluate my leadership?

1:07:28 - Conclusion

📧 Sign up for our weekly newsletter: https://bit.ly/3RodAxS 

🛫 See how Servosity can help improve your MSP’s backups: https://bit.ly/4cxsCcI 

🥷 Steal Servosity's process: https://bit.ly/3xtAblA

🤝 Connect with Dave: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidkline/

🤝 MGMT Accelerator: https://mgmt.beehiiv.com/

🤝 Connect with Damien:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dstevens

📺 Watch on YT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbzzyR7yX9l9XQaZCBp0v0g

#msp #managedservices #managedserviceprovider

Do you ever struggle with sales? If so, Brain Gillette, founder of Feel Good MSP is sharing his story and techniques on how he, as a VP of sales, helped an MSP grow 3x in 3 years. His techniques are very different from what we've always been told... But this is the future of sales.

Chapters:

0:00 - Intro

1:17 - Brain's different path into sales

5:18 - Stop playing a role during sales

8:45 - His journey from acting to selling

13:35 - "Thick Skin" actually isn't good

19:15 - How Brian grew an MSP 3x

30:00 - Your looking for the wrong people

38:20 - Empathy in sales

1:02:10 - Biggest misconceptions MSPs have about sales

1:04:53 - Commonly accepted practices that are bad

1:08:03 - Conclusion

📧 Sign up for our weekly newsletter: https://bit.ly/3RodAxS 

🛫 See how Servosity can help improve your MSP’s backups: https://bit.ly/4cxsCcI 

🥷 Steal Servosity's process: https://bit.ly/3xtAblA

🤝 Connect with Brian: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-gillette/

🤝 Website: https://www.feelgoodmsp.com/

🤝 Connect with Damien:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dstevens

🎙 Listen on audio:

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/msp-mindset-with-damien-stevens/id1669572779

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5B1k3Z8qXBGBSCJeSScjBE?si=c5d185c306064520

📺 Watch on YT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbzzyR7yX9l9XQaZCBp0v0g

This week on MSP Mindset, join us for a packed conversation with Kyle Christiansen, co-founder and chief Accountability Officer at Empath. In this episode, we delve into critical strategies for MSP owners, focusing on pricing and profit margins, recruiting, accountability, and sales.  Improvements in these areas can help differentiate your MSP in a saturated market, leading to happier employees and a growing business.

Chapters:

0:00 - Intro

2:30 - How do I differentiate my MSP?

20:09 - How do I differentiate - Accountability

35:15 - Helping your team members get to the "majors"

40:32 - How do I differentiate myself with recruiting?

50:33 - How do I differentiate myself with sales?

58:54 - How do I price my services properly?

1:11:52 - What am I sleeping on as a MSP?

1:21:09 - Conclusion

📧 Sign up for our weekly newsletter: https://bit.ly/3RodAxS 

🛫 See how Servosity can help improve your MSP’s backups: https://bit.ly/4cxsCcI 

🥷 Steal Servosity's process: https://bit.ly/3xtAblA

🤝 Connect with Kyle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylechx/

🖥️ Check out Empath: https://empathmsp.com/

🤝 Connect with Damien:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dstevens

📺 Watch on YT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbzzyR7yX9l9XQaZCBp0v0g

Today's episode spotlights Arlin Sorenson, a pivotal figure in the tech industry and founder of Heartland Technology Solutions and HTG Peer Groups, now known as ConnectWise Evolve. Arlin has shifted his focus from running his IT company to mentoring tech leaders and enhancing business growth through peer accountability. We'll uncover how his upbringing on an Iowa farm ignited his entrepreneurial journey, turning a hobby into a multimillion-dollar business through strategic mergers and targeting rural markets. Arlin discusses the transformative impact of peer groups on business strategy and personal development,

blending deep faith with professional guidance to help tech leaders achieve personal fulfillment and shape their legacies.

Chapter:

0:00 - Intro

1:36 - Arlin's journey into peer groups

5:25 - What is involved in a peer group?

10:57 - Having a plan and saying "no"

18:21 - Digging deeper into Arlin's HTB origins

31:36 - Why invest in HTG over your own MSP?

39:53 - Biggest takeaways from being in a peer group

56:16 - Why is Arlin's zone of genius?

1:00:46 - How do you integrate faith and work?

1:07:35 - Future challenges for MSPs?

📧 Sign up for our weekly newsletter: https://bit.ly/3RodAxS 

🛫 See how Servosity can help improve your MSP’s backups: https://bit.ly/4cxsCcI 

🥷 Steal Servosity's process: https://bit.ly/3xtAblA

🤝 Connect with Arlin: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/asorensen/

🤝 Connect with Damien:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dstevens

📺 Watch on YT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbzzyR7yX9l9XQaZCBp0v0g