“ There is nothing like looking across the table at your peers and digging into hard issues to find solutions.”
MSP Success: What role have peer groups played in growing your MSP business?
Bates: I’ m a member of TMT Producers Club peer group. I have been a member of other peer groups prior to joining TMT and am a huge fan.“ Iron sharpens iron” is always the first thought when people ask me about peer groups, assuming you are in a productive, well-structured peer group. The accountability, the camaraderie, and the friendships of... each group I was in led to incremental personal and professional successes. There is nothing like looking across the table at your peers and digging into hard issues to find solutions.
MSP Success: What were your biggest challenges this past year related to growth?
Bates: Trying to do everything I want to do at the speed at which I want to do it. [ In terms of ] manpower, just trying to make sure we didn’ t outrun the resources we have available. Growing organically was easy because we’ re servicing existing accounts. Adding accounts while doing that is more challenging. The challenge is finding the resources to help us grow and take on new accounts. Usually, it takes two or three tries to find somebody that fits our culture and sticks, because we’ ve got office cats and dogs that come in. It’ s very family oriented. I’ ve worked for some great organizations, and now the whole family is in the business. My VP of IT has been with me for 16 years, so I’ m doing something right.
MSP Success: Has there been a vendor or tool that has been instrumental in getting you to where you are today?
Bates: I consider TMT more of a partner than a vendor. I would say the relationship with Kaseya and TMT... have been the most impactful on our business.
MSP Success: Who is the most impactful business leader whose techniques or leadership style you try to emulate and why?
Bates: I worked at GE [ General Electric ] under Jack Welch, who was a great leader in a lot of ways and a bad leader in other ways. But from a business perspective, a lot of it is hire slow, fire fast. Your efforts are appreciated, but it’ s just results that I’ m looking for. Culture first, those types of things. I [ also ] learned a lot from my dad, who was a longtime corporate executive. I had some great leaders at GE, Peggi Trimble and Darryl Wilson, who were impactful. But I think I’ ve learned what not to do from bad leaders.
MSP Success: What is the top lesson you’ ve had to learn that has been instrumental to your company’ s growth?
Bates: My VP of IT says,“ Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.” Get as much data as you can and make data-driven decisions and don’ t rush it. Make sure you’ re taking the steps and checking the boxes and do it right.
You’ ve got to be committed. Employees matter. [ Author ] Lisa McLeod wrote a book called Selling with a Noble Purpose. I think what I do matters. We will fail in this business doing it right rather than succeeding doing it wrong. What’ s most important to me is doing my job, taking care of my family, and helping my clients. If I do my job helping my clients, that will take care of my family and everything else will fall into place.
MSP Success: What advice would you give to other MSPs looking to grow their businesses?
Bates: Do the right thing first. The client is the prize. Take care of the client. I tell my techs all the time,“ Your job is to take care of the client and solve the problem. I’ ll take care of everything else.” People come into this business with dollar bills in their eyes, and they don’ t want to leave money on the table— and that can give the industry a bad name. I’ m not saying we’ re not worth what we’ re worth, but you’ ve got to do the right thing.
Esther Shein is a longtime tech and business writer and editor. Her work has appeared in a variety of publications, including TechRepublic, FierceMarkets, Network Computing Magazine, and The Boston Globe.
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