Time to Stop Rolling Your Own

Time to Stop Rolling Your Own - - Lessons Learned, Episode 33

Long ago, most people either didn't keep track of service requests in any meaningful way, or they used something like Excel spreadsheets to track what needed to be done. Many used Outlook or another email system, along with its calendar function.

More sophisticated folks (like us) either used a customized database built in MS Access or maybe even SQL, or they built their own ticket tracking system on their web site. Having been in the HTML business literally since it was invented, I built my own on our web site. 

The "front end" was surprisingly easy. Web forms with drop-downs for technician names, client names, priorities, etc. made everything super easy. And we hosted it ourselves, so it was easy to update. This was before WordPress, so you had to actually know something about HTML. 

The front end was password protected, but allowed technicians to log in from any client desktop or server and enter tickets or work tickets. Even back then, we required technicians to put all their time and notes into the system before they closed the ticket.

It didn't have all the bells and whistles of a "real" PSA, but it got the job done. 

For onsite monitoring, we used the alerts built into the Windows Server or SBS operating system, supplemented by alerts from Servers Alive. It was particularly easy to tell if any service went down, as SA allowed us to generate alerts if it couldn't access the network, a web site, an email system, and so forth. Servers Alive is still around (https://www.woodstone.nu/salive/), but I haven't used it in years.

But all of that took a bit of maintenance. Microsoft products needed constant attention and updates, so we were doing regular maintenance on our own systems as well as our clients.

And then, along came ConnectWise. It was crazy expensive, but it took about one minute to realize all the functionality it would bring to our operation. Not just the service board, but tracking time and billing as well. 

We also adopted the original Kaseya RMM product shortly after we adopted ConnectWise. We tried other RMMs, but none was really ready for primetime. Kaseya was also absurdly expensive, but provided great features. 

One important lesson we learned from evaluating, adopting, and implementing these tools has survived for the last twenty years. We configured the tools to do business our way. We did not reconfigure our business to fit the default configuration and functionality of the tools.

A secondary lesson, which we had suspected, was that our "roll your own" version of PSA and RMM functionality had been taking a great deal of overhead labor. People frequently kid themselves about the work involved in avoiding bigger, more expensive paid solutions. But when you track all your time, it becomes more difficult to hide this overhead labor from yourself.

Conclusions: 

1) There is always room for rolling your own solutions for running and managing your business, and delivering your services.

2) It's important to know when it's time to move to a more professional, paid toolset.

3) You need to develop and document your processes and procedures, and configure the tools to do things your way. Ultimately, your system is your brand and your unique selling proposition. If you view your system as a system, you can fix any problem and address any challenge.

4) As time goes on, you will waste more of your time and resources continuing to roll your own that you would have spent buying a system that already has more functionality than you will ever build in-house.

Feedback Welcome.

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All comments welcome.

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Episode 33

This Episode is part of the ongoing Lessons Learned series. For all the information, and an index of Lessons Learned episodes, go to the Lessons Learned Page. https://blog.smallbizthoughts.com/p/lessons-learned-blog-series.html

Leave comments and questions below. And join me next week, right here.

Subscribe to the blog so you don't miss a thing.

:-)

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• The Unbreakable Rules of PSA with Manuel Palachuk
• Making the Most of QuickBooks Desktop in an IT Service Business with Rayanne Buchianico
• Creating Your Lead Generation Program with James Kernan
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• Service Agreements for SMB Consultants with Karl W. Palachuk
• Cloud Services in a Month: Applying the Book with Karl W. Palachuk
• Powerhouse of One: How To Be A Super Successful Solo MSP with Lori Hardtke
• Position Your IT Firm for Growth or Sale with Rayanne Buchianico
• Absolutely Unbreakable Rules for Service Delivery with Karl W. Palachuk
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• Deep Dive Into Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn with Karl W. Palachuk
• Supercharge Your Social Media with Karl W. Palachuk
• Customer Service for IT Service Providers with Karl W. Palachuk
• Surviving the Success of Your Growing Business with Larry Mandelberg
• Profit Builder Blueprint for IT Service Providers with Lori Hardtke
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:-)

Should You Put Your MSP Pricing on Your Web Site?

(Hint: Yes)

I got a great question from one of my SBT Community members, Armando, based on something he saw in an email from Paul Green: Should you put your MSP pricing on your web site?

My answer is a solid yes. But it's not a simple answer. First, you need to accept the reality of the world we live in, in 2025. If you ask Google a question about "MSP Pricing" or "MSP Pricing in MyHometown," you're going to see a discussion from AI (Gemini), which may or may not be representative of the real world. But it's what prospects will see!

Then, to the right, you'll see references to specific sites. When I tried this, the third site was a defunct, abandoned company in my area. Why was it on the list? Because they have a very clear, very transparent discussion of MSP pricing in Northern California with "real" numbers and a list of services. In other words, even though it's completely out of date, it's very specific information that answered the question.

So, run three of four different queries for your city and see what prospects might find. That's the context in which they might wander to your web site.

You have three primary kinds of things you sell: Products, managed services, and custom projects/project labor. Let's look at each. 

1) I absolutely think it would be good to have a "store" where you post up your recommended desktop/laptop setups. You could offer up a a fully loaded desktop with your preferred hardware and software, including setup on their network. Price it fairly ... and take a credit card right there for those willing to buy.

And then say that you offer a side variety of all systems, so folks can contact you to discuss their needs. The actual goal here is not to sell hardware off the web site, but if someone buys, you should take the opportunity to meet a new prospect. The actual point is to gather a few leads and get folks to engage you in a conversation.

2) Managed Services. I think you *should* list your core services, and probably the basic components of your 3-tiered offering or cloud bundle offering. Many MSPs just post up their complete 3-tiered offering, with pricing.

As for specific pricing, you should give some idea of the range that will be charged. You might even list actual pricing per person or device, but be sure to make clear that you say it's a ballpark and the visitor probably needs a customized solution.

I think it's better to give a range, but a realistic one. Write up a simple 1-2 sentences about how people are normally charged, and that this varies depending on the complexity of their network and support demands.

You might even give some common ranges of prices that people can expect. For example, an office with 1-10 employees ranges from about $X to $Y.

3) Project labor. I think you should clearly list your standard and after-hours rates. If you think you need to justify it, you can say something about your years of experience with a wide variety technologies and challenging circumstances. And brag about the fact that clients don't have to pay for your on-the-job training. 

I don't think you need to justify your hourly rate. We used to simply say something along the lines of, "Would you rather trust your business to an $80 technician or a $150 technician?"

And don't forget: With managed services, many clients don't buy a lot of extra hours outside the regularly monthly maintenance, so the hourly rate is interesting but not really a good indicator of what a given prospect's cost might be.

Overall, I believe that prospects who want to know the price of what you offer will keep looking until they find some web sites that giving them pricing. And they'll pick one of those. If they don't find it on your site, you will be eliminated. 

These are NOT just bottom-shoppers. I've tried to find pricing on services and been frustrated because I don't know if the cost is $100 or $10,000. I literally don't know where to start. So, I assume that a site is very expensive if they don't give me an idea of what the cost will be.

At that point, I am VERY reluctant to fill out a form and talk to a sales person in order to get pricing. Whenever I have to go through a sales process to get pricing, I'm immediately suspicious. And I assume the price is very high.

Remember: You're a consultant! You are not primarily trading dollars for hours. (If you are, then post your rates and be aware that price will be the only "feature" you have to offer.) As a consultant, you should offer enough honest transparency that people know who they're engaging with. And you should make it clear that every client is different and every engagement is unique. 

Ultimately, all of these options should be presented so that prospects are temped to 1) Fill out your contact form, and 2) Request a meeting or network assessment.

Bonus Tip: Your pricing page(s) should feature a number of client endorsements. Happy clients bragging about how you improved their business are a great way to put your pricing in the right context.

Feedback Welcome.

:-)

Microsoft Used to Love Us

- Lessons Learned, Episode 32

Success is always a combination of preparation, education, skill, luck, and timing. And your can throw into that mix finding the right partners at the right time. 

In the year 2000, I was prepared, moving my consulting business forward, trained, and skilled on the tech. And I enjoyed the lucky coincidence that Microsoft was about to spend ten years loving the SMB market. By 2010, the love had faded and Microsoft was moving away from loving this market and their onetime "Partners." Here's my perspective as an IT consultant.

The "Office" World 2000-2009

Having survived the Y2K rollover, many offices had discovered that investing in technology was a good thing. Everyone was convinced that "this Internet thing" was here to stay. The 1990's introduced so-called personal computers everywhere. And many offices didn't have computers, didn't have networks, and didn't have servers.

The only real options for small office servers were Novell Netware and Microsoft Windows. Novell was in a slow decline, and Microsoft had pumped a lot of money into a strategy that would see them own the SMB market very quickly.

If you were in business at the time, the short-term future was pretty clear. Computers were going into all the offices, they were all going to get networked together, and they were all going to get connected to the Internet.

The "IT Professional" World 2000-2009

If you were in IT consulting at the time, the streets were paved with gold and the streams were flowing with milk and honey.

If you had experience with Novell and networking, you were set. Your only real choice was whether to drink the Microsoft Kool-Aid slowly or quickly. If you were a Microsoft consultant, you needed to learn networking and then dig into the new server offerings.

I can honestly say that the one single, most important training I ever received as an IT consultant was the week-long TCP/IP networking course. Oddly enough, this course did not apply to any specific Microsoft exam. But the knowledge I gained in this course helped me cruise through many exams over the years.

I think I took that course around 2000 or 2001. At that time, I had about eighteen years experience working with a huge variety of networks, protocols, servers, and computer operating systems. I think all that practical experience and self-education helped me understand the material better and faster.

Mastering TCP/IP and all the details of networking hardware and software was critical to my success. And that course was a true turning point for me personally and professionally.

At that time, technicians were learning how to build and work with servers. Everyone was learning networking and how to get things connected to and through the Internet.

Lesson Learned: If you're going to touch IT infrastructure, learn TCP/IP. There have been changes in the last twenty years, but the core training that I received back then is still 99.99% relevant today and made learning everything much easier. If you're in this business, learn TCP/IP at a deep level and it will serve you well.

The "Microsoft" World 2000-2009

Microsoft's big, big picture was simple: Get every business in the world to believe they needed to connect all their computers; make that easier with a server; and do it all with Microsoft licenses. The details of the plan were then divided into enterprise clients, mid-market, and SMB - small and medium business.

On the enterprise side of things, there are a limited number of companies like HP or Intel that could buy 100,000 user licenses at a time. So a whole lot of money went into the small and mid-market offices. This included three components that were clearly visible from my tiny window:

1) Design products and bundles for the SMB market

2) Design marketing programs for the SMB market

3) Engage Microsoft Partner resellers to act as a trained sales force to deliver all that marketing and sell all those servers, desktops, and office licenses.

Microsoft accumulated a mountain of data telling them that small business was the foundation for their future. Virtually every business in the world has 25 or fewer employees. Then and now, that number exceeds 90% of all businesses. 

A business with 1,000 employees might buy a lot of servers. But a thousand businesses connecting to the Internet every week were going to buy a lot more servers!

So, Microsoft committed money and people to develop SMB-focused products like Small Business Server and licensing that allowed partners to make a lot of money. They trained up partners, invested in communities where they could meet, and provided them with training and programs that helped they find businesses that needed "Microsoft Solutions."

My Business World 2000-2009

As we rolled through Y2K, I was seeing and selling more Microsoft servers, and had some exposure to the new Windows 2000 Small Business Server. It was decent but not amazing at the time. My attention was on the 2000 server generally, and getting trained up on Active Directory.

We spent several years fixing up mess-up or abandoned server installations. By abandoned, I mean that consultants would sell a server, set it up, and then walk away. They made no attempt to document or do regular ongoing maintenance. That maintenance had become the mainstay of my business, and I was happy to have the tools and remote resources that came with the 2000 servers.

As Microsoft introduced and rolled out SBS 2003, we jumped in with both feet. My company was growing and would add one or two people per year until 2008.  SBS was the perfect "first server" operating system. And Microsoft was really embracing and supporting the SMB consultants that sold their software to the world.

We got heavily involved with Harry Brelsford's SMB Nation and the SBS user groups worldwide. We became a Microsoft Certified Partner shop, even reaching Gold for a short while. We embraced the training and marketing programs that Microsoft provided. I sat on several product advisory panels/councils and met other partners all over the world.

SBS 2003 was like a license to print money for us. We had a system for selling it, a system for migrating clients to it, and a system for maintaining it. Recurring revenue was the natural result of all of that.

By 2008, it became clear, to those who paid attention, that SBS would not be around forever. I thought the 2008 version would be their last, and was quite surprised to see that 2011 was released at all.  But by then we had begun moving everyone to hosted ("cloud") services. That was so obviously the future, we did not see a reason to wait.

Just as SBS and Microsoft's Small Business Specialist programs served us well in the first part of the decade, cloud services became our bread and butter for 2007-2009. 

As the global economy collapsed, starting in October 2008, almost all of our clients were on hosted services. But not Microsoft. Not Azure. Not Sharepoint. Why? Three reasons: Profitability, flexibility, and friendliness to the SMB market.

Microsoft didn't love us any more. They now saw that they could cut us out of the middle and take all those clients for themselves. Once again, I think this was obvious to those who paid attention. But too many people were still in love with the Microsoft that used to be. 

More and more, Microsoft used the term "disintermediation." In other words, getting rid of the middleman. I was the middleman! The entire SMB IT consulting world was the middleman.

Microsoft marketing tried to pretend this wasn't happening as the SBS development team was gobbled up inside other departments and the pricing was focused completely on larger and larger partners serving much larger clients.

The love was gone. 

I don't know a source for the quote, but I've heard it said: "Most things end badly. Otherwise, they wouldn't end at all." The Microsoft relationship just faded away. They didn't love us anymore. We didn't love them.

In 2010, we took the Microsoft logos off our business cards. By 2011, we stopped maintaining our Certified Partner status. 

Lesson Learned: When you find a vendor who wants to embrace you, embrace them back. Learn what they want you to learn, let them educate you, and pay them back by selling their stuff. BUT always be aware that they have to make decisions that are good for THEIR business, not yours. Don't love them more than they love you.

This is particularly true of giant corporate partners. There might be a new CEO or new business plan tomorrow. The love can disappear in one calendar quarter. And someday it will. 

Sub lessons:

1) Don't let vendors tell you what your business model should be. It will certainly serve them; it might not serve you in the long run.

2) You can't be more loyal to a vendor than they are to you.

All comments welcome.

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Episode 32

This Episode is part of the ongoing Lessons Learned series. For all the information, and an index of Lessons Learned episodes, go to the Lessons Learned Page. https://blog.smallbizthoughts.com/p/lessons-learned-blog-series.html

Leave comments and questions below. And join me next week, right here.

Subscribe to the blog so you don't miss a thing.

:-)

Three Quick Questions about Training - No Email Required

 Hello.

IT Service Provider University has been offering 5-week courses for twelve years - 100% focused on managed service, IT consulting, and creating great business processes.

We have more than twenty-five courses, including two new courses this year.

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The ASCII Group Appoints Jerry Koutavas as CEO

I got this press release from my friends at ASCII. Congratulations to Jerry K!

-- -- -- 

The ASCII Group Appoints Jerry Koutavas as CEO, Founder Alan Weinberger Named Non-Operating Chairman of the Board

Washington, D.C. – June 18, 2025 – The ASCII Group, North America’s original vendor-neutral community for Managed Service Providers (MSPs), today announced the appointment of Jerry Koutavas as Chief Executive Officer. Alan Weinberger, founder and former CEO, will transition into the role of Non-operating Chairman of the Board, continuing his decades-long mission to advocate for the IT channel.

Weinberger founded The ASCII Group in 1984, pioneering the first collaborative organization of its kind for IT solution providers. At a time when MSPs had limited resources and little collective representation, Weinberger’s vision created a peer-driven, vendor-free community focused on growth, independence, and shared success. Under his leadership, ASCII became a respected force in the channel—uniting thousands of IT providers across North America.

“Building The ASCII Group from the ground up and watching it evolve into a true community has been one of the most meaningful journeys of my life,” said Weinberger. “This organization has always stood for trust, collaboration, and independence. Jerry has been a steward of that mission for many years, and I have full confidence in his leadership as ASCII moves into its next chapter.”

Koutavas, who has worked in the IT channel for nearly 30 years, played a key role in helping thousands of providers transition from break/fix to managed services. During his tenure, he helped establish one of the industry’s most effective vendor-free peer networks—facilitating over 500,000 member-to-member exchanges that have solved technical issues, improved service delivery, and guided critical business decisions.

“Alan built something truly special—a values-driven organization that puts people first and has stood the test of time,” said Koutavas. “I’m deeply grateful for his vision and leadership, and it’s an honor to carry that legacy forward as we continue to support this incredible community through its next phase of growth and opportunity.”

David Stinner, President of US itek and member of ASCII’s Advisory Committee, shared, “I’m excited to see Jerry take on the role of CEO and lead The ASCII Group into its next chapter. His leadership and deep understanding of the MSP community have been instrumental in bringing together valuable vendor relationships, industry experts, and meaningful programs that support members like myself. I look forward to seeing how ASCII continues to grow and evolve under his guidance.”

Rob Rae, CVP of Community and Ecosystems at Pax8, added, "Few organizations in our industry have stood the test of time like ASCII. Alan’s vision created a community that has empowered MSPs, and what continues to set ASCII apart is the leadership behind it. Jerry’s ability to anticipate where the industry is headed allows ASCII to adapt while fostering trust, collaboration, and long-term value for its members.”

This leadership transition reaffirms The ASCII Groups commitment to its founding principles while positioning the organization to meet the evolving needs of today’s IT and MSP landscape—through community, innovation, and a shared commitment to excellence.

About The ASCII Group, Inc.

Founded in 1984, The ASCII Group is the original IT community of the channel, uniting Managed Service Providers (MSPs) across North America. As a vendor-neutral organization, ASCII provides unbiased resources and a collaborative environment to support business growth. Members span the U.S. and Canada, ranging from SMB-focused MSPs to international solution providers. ASCII offers leveraged purchasing programs, education, marketing support, peer networking, and more, complemented by a vibrant ecosystem of technology vendors. Learn more at www.ascii.com.

-30-

:-)

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Summer 2025

Summer arrives next week - and we've got some cool freebies just for you.

We did an "MSP Freebies" give-away last year. It went over well, so we did another in Q1. So we're doing it one more time.

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I'm always amazed how my "famous" 68-point checklist has been a great lead generator for my services (Check it out at this link to our store). That freebie inspired me to reach out to my network with a simple question: Do you have something valuable to share with MSPs and ITSPs?

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Of course, these contributors hope you’ll find value in their work and stay connected, but that’s entirely up to you. 

Check out the list below. I think you'll recognize many people who seem to give and give and give. I assure you that any new-to-you names on the list are just as generous with their time and talent.

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Explore the offers below. If one or more looks interesting, follow the instructions.

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Say thank you! If you find something particularly helpful, close the loop and say thank you! A quick note or shout-out on social media is also a great way to express your appreciation.

With all the big bucks in our industry these days, it's good to remember the people who focus on community first and giving first. Yes, they still need to sell *stuff* and make a living. But the give-first approach is a great way to make new friends and build meaningful relationships.

I'd love to hear your feedback about this program - and don't forget to check out MY give-away as well!

Note: ALL offers expire July 31st. Don't forget, and don't delay.

Thank you. - Karl P.

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HOW TO CLAIM

Browse to https://biggermsp.com/branded-msp-video/. You can license the branded version of these videos from Bigger Brains for $499, or get them free with the promo code 'Karlsentme'.

-- -- --

From: Dave Seibert / SMB TechFest

FREEBIE

Security-AI-Sales Conference (Onsite or Online) - $595 Value 

DETAILS

Receive a full conference pass. Highlights are partner panels, top speakers, breakout sessions (Security, AI, Sales), IT Mixer, Open Bar. Attend onsite or virtual, and receive the full event video recordings to share with your team. Created by a partner for partners.

HOW TO CLAIM

Register at https://www.smbTechFest.com/Go/Karl

-- -- --

From: Loren Williams / PCs for People 

FREEBIE

No-Charge Certified Data Deletion and e-waste disposal - $400.00 Value

DETAILS 

Our dedicated team will dispatch a truck to collect devices directly from you or your clients. We ensure all data is securely erased and can provide a certification of data deletion upon request. By partnering with us, you support our non-profit mission to bridge the digital divide and empower communities through technology.

We will thank you and promote your business on LinkedIn following pickup of equipment.

*Geographical restrictions and minimum quantities apply.

HOW TO CLAIM

To claim this give-away, head to https://www.pcsforpeople.org/schedule-a-pickup/

-- -- --

From: Paul Green / MSP Marketing Edge

FREEBIE

10 free copies of our flagship training course - MSP marketing: Start Here - $1,000 Value

DETAILS

If you know your MSP's marketing needs a LOT of work but you don't know where to start - Start Here. That's the name of Paul Green's flagship training course at MSP Marketing Edge.

And we're giving away 10 free copies.

This course has the answers. And Paul's made it as easy as possible for you.

Inside, he lays out an easy 3 step lead generation system that’s been field tested by hundreds of MSPs across the globe.

You'll go through every aspect of it, step by step. It's easy and fun.

HOW TO CLAIM

To enter, take Paul's super quick marketing quiz. 10 winners will be pulled at random. https://growth.mspmarketingedge.com/freebie

-- -- -- 

From: Howard Cohen / The TechChannel Partners' Results Group, Inc.

FREEBIE

One Year Free Subscription to techChannel: Marketing - $50 Value

DETAILS

Designed for IT service providers who consider themselves professional practitioners, four decades of IT marketing experience come to your inbox every month. Learn how to craft your own messaging, develop your clearly identifiable brand, produce effective events, develop compelling content for your collateral, build your pipeline, and create compelling marketing programs and campaigns from IT channel veteran http://howardmcohen.com.

HOW TO CLAIM

To receive the first year free subscribe to http://techChannelResults.blog and then email your request for the free year to [email protected].

-- -- --  

From: Terry Hedden / Marketopia LLC

FREEBIE

Free Sales Training and Marketing  Platform for 6 months - $594 value

DETAILS

Marketopia's Teach and Enable plan is the leading platform that includes unlimited access to 5 Sales certifications including over 70 courses.  Also included is a leading msp marketing platform with access to over 200 msp campaigns. Share your growth goals and receive a step by step plan to achieve them and access to the training and system to achieve it absolute free!

HOW TO CLAIM

Visit https://marketopia.com/who-we-serve/managed-service-providers/growth-assessment-msp/

-- -- --  

From: Scott Millar / IT Rockstars

FREEBIE

Get The AI Client Maturity Assessment Free Access For 7 Days - $500 Value 

DETAILS

MSPs—listen close. Get FREE 7-Day Access to the AI Client Maturity Assessment, part of Karl Palachuk's exclusive giveaway. Quickly identify your clients' readiness for Microsoft Copilot and unlock instant access to the complete Copilot Revenue Roadmap for MSPs.

It's yours, totally free, for seven days. Act fast—click below now!

HOW TO CLAIM

Claim Your Free Access - https://www.skool.com/mspgames/

-- -- --

Thank You for checking out these offers. I hope you found many useful.

Once again, if you find this valuable, and we get a good response, we'll continue to put together these great community offers.

As always, I would love your feedback. Is this kind of "Free Valuable Stuff" email worth receiving? Send me a note.

. . . and have a great Spring!

All my best . . .

:-)

Time to Go Back to the Home Office Market? (SOHO, part 2)

A fun – and very dated – book I’ve had for about twenty years is Microsoft’s old spoof book for kids: Mommy, Why is there a Server in the House? I put it on the shelf with books for my granddaughter, and she brought it to me the other day. Of course, the pictures were nice, but she had no interest in the story.

And neither did anyone else, apparently. Windows Home Server was not a resounding success. It was Microsoft’s attempt to take the SBS (Small Business Server) “all-in-one” technology approach into the home market just as hosted services were coming of age.

Lots of IT consultants and MSPs simply don’t serve home offices. As I mentioned in the last blog on this subject (https://blog.smallbizthoughts.com/2025/06/home-offices-largest-opportunity-hiding.html), home networks used to be low-end, used junk, and share with very outdated and insecure kids’ games. They were the lowest priority to their owners and to their IT consultants.

But today, working from home often means dedicated resources, good equipment, and commitment to keeping things secure. And that means that it also need remote monitoring and management. Hmmm. Sounds perfect for managed services!

 

Who Works from Home in 2025?

In some sense, everyone does. But some industries (e.g., retail, restaurants, transportation, and manufacturing) require folks on-site, even though the owners and managers might have great home offices.

See the tables and graphs cited below (1). The data show that the most frequent fully-remote workers are in

• Finance and Insurance
• Professional and Business Services
• Utilities

But, even better, is the market for those in hybrid work settings. They need both office support and home office support, and probably a way to keep them connected. Most frequent hybrid remote workers are in

• Finance and Insurance
• Professional and Business Services
• Arts and Entertainment
• Wholesale
• Real Estate

(Note that I’m not included IT folks in this as you can support your own stuff.)

 

In each of those industries, more than 35% or workers are in hybrid home office environments. Like the home office of twenty years ago, these environments are still complex. But unlike twenty years ago, they have a serious budget, far more complexity, and a strong need for security.

The “kids” part of the equation is actually a lot easier than it used to be. There are no four-year-olds putting DVDs in machines. They connect the Internet via the TV, tablets, and smart phones. Ms. Rachel and Elmo are safely behind secure firewalls somewhere in the cloud.

At the same time, there’s increased complexity from network cameras, connected doorbells, and thermostats with default security settings. Home networks need security at least as much as office networks. And they are constantly under attack from very well funded folks on the dark web.

In addition to all that, there are gamers and home audio and theater enthusiasts that bring another bundle of always-on, well-connected, and probably-insecure devices into the home network. More devices with more operating systems and more holes to plug.

 

The Opportunity

Obviously, you could “secure” this environment, although that might take some time. But first you need to scan it. 

How many networks are there? For example, my home office firewall serves up networks at both 5G and 2.4G with separate DHCP scopes and no bridging. So you can’t easily get to one from the other. But with the right tools and the right software, anything’s possible.

In my opinion, scanning, documenting, and securing the network is a billable job.

Some, but not all of it, needs to be backed up. Backups need to be tested.

Network monitoring is a good idea. Reports need to be generated.

Patches and updates need to be applied to everything, if possible.

And the word “secure” is in quotes because the best security in the world is good for about fifteen minutes. Things change. People plug things in. Software is downloaded to devices. So, security is a never-ending job. The only question is, how often do you need to be onsite or remote in to run updates?

If I were going to build a recurring revenue model for a SOHO market, I would probably not be in the software game. In 2011, Marc Andreessen said, “Software is eating the world.” I think today he’d say that cloud services are eating the world.

I would not try to help home offices buy one license of MS Office and one license of QuickBooks. I’d let them pay me $175/hour to sit with them and help them buy the right thing. Then I would charge them to set it all up securely, and document it.

(Exception: If this is a business client with a contract at their big office, then I’d sell and deploy what they need for the home office as part of that contract.)

And then I’d create a recurring revenue program to monitor, patch, fix, and update all those operating systems and all the software. Everything needs to be under warranty or a service contract. But we’ll make sure all the updates are happening, and we’ll fix things when they break.

As always, managed service covers maintenance of the operating system and software. It does not cover adds, moves, and changes. And it doesn’t cover hardware. The contract should definitely include backups and testing backups.

What does the labor look like? I haven’t dug too deep here, but I’m thinking that the three tiers are simply based on complexity and frequency. So maybe Silver is one visit per quarter; Gold is one visit every other month; and Platinum is one visit every month. Visits might be remote. In all cases, you’ll do some monitoring remotely.

Then the calculation is based on how long each visit is, which tasks are on the monthly maintenance checklist, and how much you charge per hour. Add an hour per quarter for average onsite labor and you’ll have a cost for annual support. Divide by twelve and round up.

Note: We recently started working with Fing Professional, and I would definitely add that to the mix. It works across multiple networks for a very affordable price. See note below.

 

Is It An Opportunity?

Is this really an opportunity? Quick math might say each client is in the range of $300-$700 per month. Is that worth your time? You have to decide. But remember that this market is made up of people who are professionals. Most of them are connected to some real office somewhere. If you shine at the home office, you have an in for the office office.

And these folks are probably not going to be in the same job forever. They’ll need help setting up their office again once they change employers and get a whole bunch of new equipment shipped to them. And that’s a possible introduction to another business.

There are probably no $5,000/month opportunities in the SOHO market. But they’re also not $300/year, which is about what you could expect when you were trying to hock a Home Server.

 

What do YOU think about the small office/home office opportunity in 2025?

Comments welcome.

-- -- --

 

(1) See the table/graph here: https://backlinko.com/remote-work-stats, compiled from the Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes, available here: https://wfhresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/WFHResearch_updates_September2024.pdf.

See, also, my recent post Home Offices: The Largest Opportunity Hiding in Plain Sight.

-- -- --

Note on Fing: This is not a sponsored post, but Fing is sponsoring some posts of my posts on social media.

I'm very happy to be working with Fing as they roll out their Fing Professional network monitoring service. Fing has been helping consultants monitor small offices and home networks for more than fifteen years. Now they offer a single dashboard across all client installs.

Many IT Professionals have used Fing to scan client and prospect networks. With Fing Professional, you now have an MSP-friendly dashboard for all your client networks – at a very affordable price.

That means you can manage multiple workspaces, invite collaborators, (giving them different roles such as admin, editor, viewer, contributor), and basically manage multiple networks all from a single dashboard.

Check them out at https://www.fing.com/msp/?utm_source=Influencer&utm_medium=socpost&utm_campaign=Karl_MSP&utm_id=Influencer_Karl.

#fingapp #ITConsulting #ITProfessionals #managedservices

:-)

Tax Filings and When to Outsource

- Lessons Learned, Episode 31

When I quit my last real job, in 1995, I knew I'd have to pay state and federal taxes with payments I had to make (since no employer was making them). And I knew there were lots of other little taxes, but I wasn't sure what they were.

Required: Minimum of four payment calculations and payments for state and federal. And, of course, I had to file business income tax for each entity.

Tally so far: Ten filings per year.

Then I got a local business license that needs to be re-filed every year

Tally so far: Eleven filings per year.

Somewhere along the long, I found out that I needed to pay county property taxes on my business, which is more annoying than monetary.

Tally now: Twelve filings per year.

Next up, I got a seller's permit, which allows me to buy products through wholesale distribution in California. And that meant filing tax forms with the state to pay them the taxes collected. This started with quarterly filings and grew to monthly as my sales grew. Add twelve tax filings.

Tally now: 24 tax filings per year.

When I incorporated, I also had to pay an annual fee to keep my corporation name valid. 

Tally now: 25 tax filings per year.

Note: At this point, I had elevated my first administrative assistant to office manager. She had great accounting and QuickBooks skills, so it made sense for her to manage a lot of the details in all this.

In this case, I delegated the preparation of all filings. Then she walked me through the filings and I signed on the dotted line. The key for me was that I felt like I still understood every piece of the process. That's the level of comfort I need.

And then we looked at our growing payroll.

We pay twice per month. And, in a good year, we have a separate bonus payroll (so the taxes taken in one check are not out of line). For me, this was too much.

To run our own payroll, we had to deal with all those details I took advantage as an employee - state and federal deductions, plus unemployment, SUI, SUI and gawd knows what. As the number of employees grew, the calculations grew.

Payroll added twenty-five filings per year.

Tally now 49 tax filings per year.

And, to be honest, there was another one I can't remember. I just remember that I had a big spreadsheet to make sure we didn't miss anything, and it totaled fifty.

That's when we decided to hire a service to run payroll. We used our bank until they had a major screw-up. So we changed to a national firm. They messed up from time to time. One day it was just too much and we moved to the other national firm. 

All payroll companies are over-worked and running with thin margins. In my opinion, there is no "winning" when you choose a national or bank firm. But it is what it is. 

In the end, outsourcing payroll was one of the best decisions we ever made. As we grew to five, ten, fifteen employees, the time it took to make sure everything was right grew month by month. Outsourcing that for less than the cost of one hour of billable labor was absolutely worth it.

Because someone will ask, here are my favorites.

Number one without any doubt is Gusto (https://gusto.com), a totally-online service. They are also the only service we've used that hasn't screwed up any payrolls. We put in hours and dollars and out comes direct deposits. It's beautiful.

Number two, in our experience, was Paychex Online (https://paychexonline.com). It should be as simple and easy as Gusto, but it's not. They are horrible and slow in communicating. What meager "service" they have seems to be unaware that timing is very short when you have strict deadlines and problems need to be settled fast. They were the least troublesome of any of the old-school payroll processors. But we are happy to no longer be using them.

My IT companies never outsourced basic bookkeeping as we've always had someone very qualified on staff. In my opinion, it makes sense to have one person (working with the owner as needed) who manages client invoices, internal spending, payroll processing, distributor invoices, etc.

And that includes taxes as well.

In other businesses I own, I have tried to outsource bookkeeping services and found it to be more trouble than it's worth. That's my personal opinion. I delegate to someone on staff, not to someone outside my office.

YOU have to find your own way. Managing the money side of your business can go very wrong, very fast. And (in my opinion), 100% of fraud and embezzlement comes down to abdicating control of your finances to the point where you do not know where your money comes from or goes to.

Feedback Welcome.

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All comments welcome.

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Episode 31

This Episode is part of the ongoing Lessons Learned series. For all the information, and an index of Lessons Learned episodes, go to the Lessons Learned Page. 

Leave comments and questions below. And join me next week, right here.

Subscribe to the blog so you don't miss a thing.

:-)

The Ultimate Resource for MSPs of Any Size

What's your challenge? We've got you covered with the Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community. Really. 

Hiring? We got an entire Hiring Roadmap with job descriptions, sample ads, interview questions, evaluation criteria, all the onboarding paperwork, quarterly goal sheets, performance review forms, and more. Repeat all that for Technicians, sales people, and admin.

That's ONE resource available to all members of the Small Biz Thoughts Community.

Need your entire team to get on the same page regarding managing your service board? Teams Plus members can go through a 5-week course together with group- and one-on-one coaching. For no additional charge. 

That's ONE resource inside the Small Biz Thoughts Community.

Want hundreds of Standard Operating Procedures, including checklists, calculators, spreadsheets, documentation, and thousands of pages of downloads?

That's ONE resource inside the Small Biz Thoughts Community.

Want hundreds of video and audio training programs design 100% for IT consultants? We got that.

That's ONE resource inside the Small Biz Thoughts Community.

You want BOOKS? How about ALL of the best-selling books for managed service providers? We have them all - in all available formats. Whether you prefer PDF, Kindle, ebook, and audio, you get all my books in all available formats. 

No extra charge. They're all available with any membership level. And members get all new books FREE - before they're released to the public.

That's ONE resource inside the Small Biz Thoughts Community.

You want Classes? We have dozens of classes. Right inside the Community, we have lots of trainings that range from 1-5 hours each. PLUS, all members receive at least one free 5-week course at IT Service Provider University.

Check out twenty-five courses at ITSPU. If you want to buy them individually at $399, you can do that. But if you want to grab free courses on top of all the goodies above, just join the Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community.

On Top of All That . . .

We are a community. We meet as a group once a month. Those meetings are recorded, transcribed, and posted inside the community. Everyone is welcome to review the conversations and shared links.

In the last few months, we've discussed just about everything from vendors to hiring, marketing, and more. Meetings are scheduled for an hour, but frequently go for 1.5 or even 2 hours.

And we have focused breakouts - including "Back to Basics," marketing, and more. Some of these are recorded for everyone in the community and some are just available live. So, if you want to get in on the juicy good topics, you need to be there. 

Since 2018, hundreds of MSPs of all sizes have found resources, community, and success in the Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community. We exist to help you with the business side of running your business. 

Join us. There are three levels of membership to choose from. They all include complete access to all of our books, checklists, SOPs, training, community meetings, and more.

Whether you're just getting started or you've built a team you want to take to the next level, we can help. 

Just because you're in business for yourself doesn't mean you have to go it alone.

Check us out at www.smallbizthoughts.org.

-- -- -- 

Here's a sample of some of the resources and downloadable materials you'll find in the Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community. We are adding more all the time. 

• Audio program: Create a Hugely Profitable Cloud
• Audio program: Chandler Own Your Niche
• Audio program: Build Robust Email Marketing
• Audio program: Build 8 Hour Work Week in Cloud
• Audio program: Consistency and Success
• Audio program: How to Get Rich Small Business
• Audio program: Organize for Success or Die
• Audio program: Only the Excellent will Survive
• Audio program: Book Relax Focus Succeed
• Audio program: SOPs That Instantly Increase Profits
• Audio program: Seven Stages Of Building Wealth
• Book: Network Documentation Workbook
• Book: Cox Quote Me On This
• Book: Palachuk Publish Your First Book
• Book: SAN Primer for SMB
• Book: Book Relax Focus Succeed
• Book: Project Management in Small Business
• Book: Chandler Palachuk - The Nonfiction Book Book Publishing Plan
• Checklist: 68 pt checklist v3 2017
• Checklist: Printer Setup Sample
• Checklist: Cloud Readiness Checklist
• Checklist: 68 Point Checklist
• Class: Relax Focus Succeed Class
• Class: 5W01 Core Standard Operating Procedures
• Class: Build Your Brand Through Service
• Class: Five Mistakes of Self Publishers
• Class: 5W10 Managing Service Board (2015)
• Class: Mini Course on LinkedIn
• Excel Spreadsheet: Billability Calculations
• Excel Spreadsheet: Contracts Schedule
• Zip file: Employee Onboarding Forms
• Workbook: Self Assessment Operations Procedures
• Workbook: Change Plan
• Workbook: Kernan One Page Business Plan
• Workbook: Business Plan Worksheets
• Workbook: Landers Accountability Workbook
• Workbook: Monthly Meditations
• Whitepaper: SOPs for SMBs
• Whitepaper: Build SOP Folders
• Whitepaper: Client Status Memo
• Whitepaper: Building SOPs
• Whitepaper: Billability Calculations
• Whitepaper: Overcoming Fear of Change
• Whitepaper: Building a Change Plan that Works
• Whitepaper: Absolute Basics of Promotion
• Whitepaper: SOP Monthly Maintenance
• Whitepaper: Backups
• Whitepaper: HaaS Starter Kit
• Word Doc: Service Manager Roles
• Word Doc: Technician Roles
• Word Doc: Hiring Process Overview
• Word Doc: TSR Log
• Word Doc: Draft client service portal AT
• Word Doc: Draft client service portal CW

Find Out More and Join Today!

:-) 

Home Offices: The Largest Opportunity Hiding in Plain Sight

Ten years ago, many IT consultants gave up on the SOHO (small office, home office) market. At the time, home offices shared equipment and networks with four-year-old, outdated operating systems, and a growing market of unsecure devices. For the most part, these offices had one business user and a family full of security holes that weren’t worth the investment it would take to make the environment safe.

Skip ahead a bit to the global pandemic. In Spring 2020, we all went home. Many took their computer setups with them. Lots of people bought cameras, of course. But they also invested in newer systems, anti-virus, and a host of do-it-yourself security tools. You probably made money with all that. But are you still making money?

The US Census reports that the number of home offices tripled between 2019 and 2022. And even when people started going back to the office part time, many continued to work from home some of the time. And, of course, a whole lot of old equipment got replaced somewhere along the way. 

In February 2025, Gallup reported that 52% of “remote-capable” workers operated in a hybrid environment while 27% worked exclusively remote. It’s estimated that more than 32 million Americans are working from home.

Home offices are now far more professional – and complex – than they used to be. And that’s not a market you should ignore.

I’m actually writing this because of an email I got, asking the simple question of whether it’s time to take another look at the SOHO market. It definitely is! The next question is, how does this compare to the “standard” managed service contract based on monthly maintenance and recurring revenue. I’ll address that in a follow-up blog.

Questions:

1) Do you support small offices and home offices (the SOHO market)?

2) Do you sell a bundle of “managed services” into the SOHO market with recurring revenue?

Next time:

Building a SOHO managed bundle, and the best verticals for custom SOHO MSP services.

Sources for stats above:

• https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2023/journey-to-work.html
• https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-13/remote-work-productivity.htm
• https://invedus.com/blog/remote-work-statistics/

Comments always welcome.

:-)