Uncle Marv’s IT Business Podcast: Practical Business Advice for MSPs and IT Professionals

I brought Colin back on because he’s one of the few people in our space who’s actually lived it all: tech, MSP owner, and now multiple vendor exits. We walk through how the “simple” stuff like billing reconciliation quietly drains profit from MSPs, with the average million‑dollar shop leaving a shocking amount of money on the table because they aren’t tracking seats, renewals, or vendor price hikes closely enough. Colin breaks down how Gradient’s Managed Billing Reconciliation works in practice and why treating billing like MDR for your finances can free up weeks of internal time while actually improving client trust instead of hurting it.

From there, we shift into marketing, which is still the number one challenge I hear from MSPs that want to grow but hate content creation. Colin explains how MSP Studio started as free, canned marketing kits and evolved into MSP Studio Plus: an AI‑driven platform that creates fully branded, non‑cookie‑cutter social content and even runs in an “autopilot” mode so you just review and approve. We talk honestly about agency pricing, the rise of AI, why smaller MSPs can’t always justify $1,500–$2,500 per month on social media retainers, and what “good enough” looks like if you’re under $1M and trying to move up without losing your mind.

Chapters

=== GUEST: Colin Knox, Gradient MSP

=== COMPANIES / VENDORS / PRODUCTS / BOOKS

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=== Connect with Uncle Marv

🌐 Website: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/
🎙 Host: Marvin Bee
🛒 Uncle Marv’s Amazon Store (gear & tools I recommend): https://amzn.to/3EiyKoZ
☕ Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/itbusinesspodcast

If you found value in this episode, share it with another MSP, IT provider, or tech entrepreneur. Your support helps keep practical, no-nonsense IT business conversations coming every week.

Laura walks me through her “Know, Grow, Scale” framework and how most MSPs are trying to jump straight to lead gen while their business is still “root bound” at the foundation level. We talk about diagnostics, digital health, differentiation, and why your website, offers, and content have to actually say something meaningful before you ever expect your marketing to convert.

We also get into mindset: the difference between a 500K MSP and a 5M+ MSP, and what it really means to be “growth ready” as an owner. Laura shares some spicy takes on overhyped Google Ads, what “AI searchable” really means for MSPs, why you should talk about pricing, and how to move forward if you’ve already been burned by a marketing agency.

Chapters

Guest: Laura Johns, The Business Growers

Shout-outs

Companies / Vendors / Products / Books

=== SPONSORS: 

=== SHOW MUSIC: 

=== Connect with Uncle Marv

🌐 Website: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/
🎙 Host: Marvin Bee
🛒 Uncle Marv’s Amazon Store (gear & tools I recommend): https://amzn.to/3EiyKoZ
☕ Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/itbusinesspodcast

If you found value in this episode, share it with another MSP, IT provider, or tech entrepreneur. Your support helps keep practical, no-nonsense IT business conversations coming every week.

Chapters

This one starts with a straightforward need: move a single line‑of‑business app into the cloud without spinning up a quarter‑rack, buying hardware, and babysitting it in a data center. I share how I landed on VULTR for this client, what the initial sales experience looked like, how fast I was able to spin up a Windows Server, and why the simplicity of their model was a breath of fresh air compared to my previous AWS journey. I also touch on Nerdio as a possible front‑end to AWS for those who want the power without the pain.

From there, we zoom out into the bigger picture: evaluating SLIDE against Datto, why I sent the SLIDE appliance back even though the tech worked, and what aggressive sales, disappearing commissions, and shifting partner programs are doing to MSPs who are trying to run a stable business on a budget. I talk candidly about losing 150 endpoints, keeping the doors open, supporting family, and still planning for 30 years in business while vendors like AppRiver quietly change how they pay partners. We wrap with what Money Marketing and Growth Month will cover, a preview of the ACES Mac conference, and a few Florida Man stories to keep it all human.

Acronis Event

Florida Man

Shout-outs

Companies / Vendors / Products Mentioned

=== SPONSORS: 

=== SHOW MUSIC: 

=== Connect with Uncle Marv

🌐 Website: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/
🎙 Host: Marvin Bee
🛒 Uncle Marv’s Amazon Store (gear & tools I recommend): https://amzn.to/3EiyKoZ
☕ Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/itbusinesspodcast

If you found value in this episode, share it with another MSP, IT provider, or tech entrepreneur. Your support helps keep practical, no-nonsense IT business conversations coming every week.

Most of us have helped clients “call the carrier” or work with a master agent to bring in a circuit, grab a small commission, and move on. Brian flips that script and shows how MSPs can own the relationship by bringing a bulk fiber circuit into the building, carving it up, and billing each tenant under our own brand—while still leveraging master agents and existing carrier relationships. Instead of letting AT&T, Comcast, or Verizon lock in a 10-year deal and toss a small one-time check to the landlord, this model puts the monthly recurring revenue in the MSP’s column and turns the property owner into a real partner.

Chapters

Guest: Brian Higgins, Aditum Connect

Acronis Event

Florida Man

Companies / Vendors / Products Mentioned

=== SPONSORS: 

=== SHOW MUSIC: 

=== Connect with Uncle Marv

🌐 Website: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/
🎙 Host: Marvin Bee
🛒 Uncle Marv’s Amazon Store (gear & tools I recommend): https://amzn.to/3EiyKoZ
☕ Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/itbusinesspodcast

If you found value in this episode, share it with another MSP, IT provider, or tech entrepreneur. Your support helps keep practical, no-nonsense IT business conversations coming every week.

If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to keep a show going for a thousand episodes while still running tickets, projects, and staff, this one pulls back the curtain. I talk with Matt Rainey, Lalo Nuñez, Martin Obando, and Dawn Sizer about how Podnutz Pro started as a way to teach desktop techs the server side of the house, and how that spirit of “learn out loud” carried into the IT Business Podcast. We revisit the early days of computer repair, WRT54G routers, Windows Server 2003, and A+‑era hardware, then fast‑forward to today’s world of Azure, SharePoint, co‑managed IT, and remote teams spread across the country.

Chapters

Guests

Shout-outs

Companies / Vendors / Products Mentioned

=== SPONSORS: 

=== SHOW MUSIC: 

=== Connect with Uncle Marv

🌐 Website: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/
🎙 Host: Marvin Bee
🛒 Uncle Marv’s Amazon Store (gear & tools I recommend): https://amzn.to/3EiyKoZ
☕ Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/itbusinesspodcast

If you found value in this episode, share it with another MSP, IT provider, or tech entrepreneur. Your support helps keep practical, no-nonsense IT business conversations coming every week.

This conversation with Brian Weiss starts with Copilot, but it quickly becomes an honest look at how unprepared most of us are for AI inside client environments. I talk about being just like my customers—dabbling in random AI tools—while Brian lays out what it actually takes to make Copilot useful: modern workplace, SharePoint/OneDrive, sane file structures, and real governance instead of “S: drive chaos.” We also get into the reality that Copilot isn’t just “another ChatGPT,” it’s an ecosystem of role-based copilots that only work as well as the data and structure we give them.

We dig into Purview (including the fact that many of us already have basic capabilities in Business Premium and never turned them on), sensitivity labels, DLP, and why chain of custody should be every MSP’s go-to phrase with law firms and other regulated clients. Brian also shares how his team is going Microsoft‑first with Dynamics, Business Central, and custom agents so AI can sit on top of their PSA, finance, and security data instead of being yet another disconnected tool. It’s a real-world, practical roadmap for MSPs trying to move from “AI curiosity” to actual AI strategy.

Chapters:

Guest: Brian Weiss, ITECH Solutions: 

Shout-outs: 

Companies / Vendors / Products Mentioned:

=== SPONSORS: 

=== SHOW MUSIC: 

=== Connect with Uncle Marv

🌐 Website: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/
🎙 Host: Marvin Bee
🛒 Uncle Marv’s Amazon Store (gear & tools I recommend): https://amzn.to/3EiyKoZ
☕ Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/itbusinesspodcast

If you found value in this episode, share it with another MSP, IT provider, or tech entrepreneur. Your support helps keep practical, no-nonsense IT business conversations coming every week.

I sat down with Larry Cobrin, founder and CEO of MSPCFO, to unpack how MSPs can turn messy PSA data into a clear picture of which clients are actually profitable and which ones are quietly draining the business. Larry broke down the idea of treating clients like a portfolio, normalizing profitability with contribution per hour, and using that lens to decide whether to improve, protect, or let go of certain accounts.

We also talked about how this ties directly into EBITDA and exit planning, especially as more private equity money flows into the MSP space and buyers expect real, reliable reporting instead of gut feel. I shared my own story about firing my largest client when the time and revenue just didn’t line up, and we connected that experience back to the numbers Larry sees every day inside MSPCFO. From there we shifted into AI, the risks of “DIY analytics,” and why confident answers from dirty PSA data can be more dangerous than having no data at all.

Florida Man Working as a Ransomware Deploys Ransomware and Extorts U.S. Victims https://linkly.link/2hlAQ

Chapters

Guest: Larry Cobrin, MSPCFO

Shout-out

Companies / Vendors / Products Mentioned

=== SPONSORS: 

=== SHOW MUSIC: 

=== Connect with Uncle Marv

🌐 Website: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/
🎙 Host: Marvin Bee
🛒 Uncle Marv’s Amazon Store (gear & tools I recommend): https://amzn.to/3EiyKoZ
☕ Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/itbusinesspodcast

If you found value in this episode, share it with another MSP, IT provider, or tech entrepreneur. Your support helps keep practical, no-nonsense IT business conversations coming every week.

Too many of us spend decades building our MSP, missing vacations and pulling all-nighters, only to “decide” to sell when a random LOI hits the inbox. Amy Babinchak has spent years helping owners sell their MSPs through Sell My MSP, and she joins me to walk through the real-world questions, red flags, and blind spots that determine whether you shut it down or cash it out. We talk about planning three to five years ahead, getting your financials and contracts clean, modernizing your stack, and why recurring revenue and profit percentage matter more than that one big whale client you’re so proud of.

We also get into the emotional side nobody warns you about: what it feels like to hand over the business you built for 20-plus years, how to think about life after the sale, and why treating your MSP like a resume can change the way buyers see your value. Amy shares how private equity looks at EBITDA and tools, why most deals are still MSP-to-MSP, and how to turn your company into the best-run, least-scary option on a buyer’s list.

Chapters

Guest: Amy Babinchak, Sell My MSP / Third Tier:

Book: 20 Questions Every Owner Asks Before Selling Their MSP

Shout-outs

Companies / Vendors / Products Mentioned

=== SPONSORS: 

=== SHOW MUSIC: 

=== Connect with Uncle Marv

🌐 Website: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/
🎙 Host: Marvin Bee
🛒 Uncle Marv’s Amazon Store (gear & tools I recommend): https://amzn.to/3EiyKoZ
☕ Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/itbusinesspodcast

If you found value in this episode, share it with another MSP, IT provider, or tech entrepreneur. Your support helps keep practical, no-nonsense IT business conversations coming every week.

I’ve been talking for years about having a stack that works and not jumping every time a shiny new tool comes along, but I’ve never really unpacked how I got there. In this conversation, Tom Wyant from Wyant Technologies joins me to walk through the real‑world impact of switching RMMs, PSAs, documentation tools, security platforms, and even client portals and payment systems. We dig into migrations that looked good on paper but turned into months of cleanup, retraining clients on new portals and payment workflows, and what it actually costs when a tech spends two to three hours a day fixing issues instead of working tickets or projects.

Why Listen

Chapters

Guest: Tom Wyant, Wyant Technologies: 

Shout-outs

Companies / Vendors / Products Mentioned

=== SPONSORS: 

=== SHOW MUSIC: 

=== Connect with Uncle Marv

🌐 Website: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/
🎙 Host: Marvin Bee
🛒 Uncle Marv’s Amazon Store (gear & tools I recommend): https://amzn.to/3EiyKoZ
☕ Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/itbusinesspodcast

If you found value in this episode, share it with another MSP, IT provider, or tech entrepreneur. Your support helps keep practical, no-nonsense IT business conversations coming every week.

This conversation with Ben Lee and Marc‑Andre from the N-Able Head Nerds team gets right into the questions MSPs are really asking at Empower 2026: how to approach AI strategically, what the new AI management tab actually does, and how to wrap governance and compliance around all of it. We also get into the evolution of automation inside the MSP space, why it’s shifted from “hours of scripting” to more of a teaching and idea-generation role, and how the Head Nerds are helping partners turn those ideas into scalable services.

We talk about AI as more than just embedded features: in‑product AI, building your own agents and automations off the platform, and deciding when to use N-Able’s tools versus rolling your own. Ben and Marc‑Andre share what they’re hearing from more mature MSPs—concerns about governance, edge‑case risks, and how to create AI offerings that sit alongside resiliency and security packages—while still keeping things practical and grounded.

Chapters:

Guests

Companies / Vendors / Products Mentioned

=== SPONSORS: 

=== SHOW MUSIC: 

=== Connect with Uncle Marv

🌐 Website: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/
🎙 Host: Marvin Bee
🛒 Uncle Marv’s Amazon Store (gear & tools I recommend): https://amzn.to/3EiyKoZ
☕ Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/itbusinesspodcast

If you found value in this episode, share it with another MSP, IT provider, or tech entrepreneur. Your support helps keep practical, no-nonsense IT business conversations coming every week.