Uncle Marv's IT Business Podcast (Products, stories, and tips for the MSP and IT Professional)

I am still here at ACES in Minneapolis, and this segment with Allen Edwards really hits home for any MSP owner who hides behind tickets and wonders why the pipeline feels dry. Allen talks about treating networking as a skill, not a personality trait, and walks through how he made a room full of techs actually stand up and practice real conversations instead of just listening to another slide deck. The big idea is simple, if you want more opportunities, you need to be present in the room, ask better questions, and leave people feeling heard, because that is how those chamber and BNI events turn into real business instead of just another stack of cards.

Then I pivot to Tim Fitzpatrick’s reminder that most of us do not have a leads problem, we have an execution problem. Tim’s “stop leaving money on the table” message pushes us to look at existing clients and ask where we are avoiding conversations about phones, internet, security, or projects they already trust us to handle. The practical play here is to make a short list of current customers, pick up the phone, send the emails, and have real business talks that uncover new revenue without chasing a magic campaign.

Chapters

=== Guests

Allen Edwards, Cdaeris

Tim Fitzpatrick, Rialto Marketing

=== Shout-outs

Justin Esgar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinesgar/

=== Companies / Vendors / Products / Books

=== 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.

Referrals are slowing down, phones are too quiet, and every vendor swears they have the magic funnel that will fix your pipeline—for a nice monthly fee, of course. Meanwhile, most MSP websites are still glorified digital business cards, and when a real prospect does reach out, that inquiry can sit in an inbox long enough for them to sign with another provider before you even know they exist. In this episode, I sit down with Nate Freedman from Tech Pro Marketing and MSP Sites to talk about what actually works for sub–5 million dollar MSPs that want predictable growth without handing their future over to yet another “black box” agency.

We get into modern SEO (or “search everywhere optimization”), why key phrases beat single keywords, and how MSPs can realistically show up when prospects search terms like “IT services company near me” instead of chasing vanity terms they’ll never rank for. Nate explains how top MSPs think about Google Ads, lifetime value and customer acquisition cost, and why private-equity-backed rollups are willing to pay 80 dollars a click while smaller providers need different, more human strategies to compete. We also talk about directories, Google Business Profiles, inbound call handling, and why speed to lead is still one of the most underrated growth levers in the MSP space.

Chapters

=== Guest: Nate Freedman

=== 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.

I caught Melanie Curtis at ACES 2026 in Minneapolis after her keynote, and this conversation goes way beyond “what does skydiving have to do with tech?” Melanie walks through how she went from traditional corporate track to professional skydiver, coach, and full‑time keynote speaker, and how that journey reshaped how she thinks about fear, risk, and reaching the edges of our potential.

We dig into what it really takes to prepare for a world record jump: years of skill‑building, coaching, repetition, systems, and mental discipline so you can perform when it counts. Along the way, we map those same ideas directly back to MSP life—landing clients, handling outages, leading teams, dealing with rejection, and learning to detach from outcomes so you can show up as a better leader for your staff and your customers.

Chapters

=== Guest: Melanie Curtis – Keynote Speaker & Coach

=== Shout-outs

=== 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.

Recorded on‑site at the Elliott Park Hotel during ACES 2026, this conversation kicks off with a quick behind‑the‑scenes look at the venue, the vibe, and why this Apple‑centric event cares more about P&L than power users. I walk through how ACES is structured as a business‑first conference for Apple IT providers, covering topics like pricing, marketing, HR, scaling, and work‑life balance, with zero tool pitches from the stage and everything bundled into a focused two‑day experience.

Then I catch up with Brian Best from Best Mac, who has attended and spoken at all twelve ACES events, and we get into the real talk about running a Mac‑focused MSP in a Windows‑dominated world. Brian shares how the Apple side of the channel is mostly small to mid‑sized MSPs, how his own M&A experience with LogicNow and SolarWinds reshaped his business, and why co‑managed Apple support is a powerful play for Windows‑first MSPs serving mixed environments.

Chapters

=== Guest: Brian Best

=== 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.

Most of us put huge effort into our tech stack and very little into how our team actually shows up in front of clients. In this conversation with MSP owner, branding coach, and author Lisa Shorr, we talk about why a “solid stack” is not enough if your clients experience you as slow, unresponsive, or robotic. We dig into real stories from the field, including a law firm that fired their IT provider for being “not responsive,” and how simple shifts in communication, presence, and expectations can completely change that story.

We also tackle the AI rush head‑on: how to decide whether a new automation actually strengthens or weakens client relationships, where QBRs and client touchpoints fit into a more automated world, and why empathy, adaptability, and critical thinking are still your unfair advantage. If you’ve ever felt the tension between “being efficient” and “being human,” this one will hit home.

Chapters

=== Guest: Lisa Shorr

=== 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.

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

=== 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.

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.