Happy New Year everyone I cannot believe that today is December 30, 2009. Where did the year go? Heck, where did the decade go? It seems just yesterday I was working at Countrywide Home Loans in their IT department in Southern California. Well now Countrywide is part of Bank of America or someone like that. It is funny how things change but a lot stays the same or even makes a full circle

Let’s take a look at my year for a quick minute. I started this year self employed as a consultant for SecureMyCompany, which is now Cloud Services Depot. I left SMC to start coaching VARs making the transition to MSP. After an initial hiccup, I created the Trusted Advisor Program at Virtual Administrator. I was able to work with over 40 MSPs to help them find success and an average growth in revenue of over 68%.

This is a time to reflect on your year like I am doing. No matter what our experiences were through the year, positive, negative, up or down, we need to acknowledge them and be grateful for them so that we can grow and improve in light of them. If you dwell on the negative and don’t see it as a learning opportunity you will never get past it and never get out of your own way in order to succeed.

In our industry, we have seen a lot of vendors come and go, but there are some vendors who in my opinion have really stepped it up to help out their channel resellers. I would like to take a minute to recognize those vendors who have made it into Stuart’s 2009 Hall of Fame list.

AutoTask
CharTec
Connec+Wise
Exchange Defender
Intronis
IT Control Suite
LabTec
Microsoft
Reflexion
Storagecraft

There was one organization that I believe really took it to the next level in 2009 to help their partners. That organization is MSP Alliance. If you see or speak to Charles or Celia Weaver, please thank them for all that they do for you, the MSP.

2009 was a year of ups and downs. While many MSPs were complaining that the economy was down and business was slow, MSPs that were resilient found ways to help their clients profit and therefore profited themselves. The MSPs who changed their mindsets from being the people who “maintain the technology” over to the team of people there to “help the business increase revenue and productivity through technology” are the ones ending 2009 with record profits and heading into 2010 with a number of new opportunities.

There are a few people that I have had the opportunity to work this year that really stand out. I would like to take this opportunity to talk about them and their success.

Scott Hartley – Calibre Computer in Princeton, IN
Scott is an amazing person. He runs his business in an area of less than 70,000 people in 3 neighboring counties. Scott’s business is primarily residential/consumer based computer services. Scott thought he was doing well in 2008.  But, as he closes out 2009, his revenue has almost doubled.

Jeremie Scheiner – EZ MSP in Yonkers, NY
Jeremie has led the staff of EZ MSP into a new area.  That area is one of profitability for their clients. In 2009, they have learned to communicate internally as well as with their clients. This is one of the reasons that their revenue has increased over 300% in 2009. I can’t wait to see what they do in 2010.

Jacob Braun – WakaDigital in Amhurst, MA
Jacob is not a coaching partner of mine; he is one of my best friends. Over the years, going back to when I was an MSP, we would discuss our businesses and we would do remote work for one another. Earlier this year WakaDigital was the first company to receive a perfect score of 100% on the CompTIA Security Trustmark. It is because of the procedures Jacob has implemented that he was able to grow his business in this down economy.

Teresa Bell – Citrus Networking Solutions Group in Citrus County, FL
For those of us who know Teresa, we just expect her to succeed. Teresa doesn’t just run CNSG, she is the incoming President of the Citrus County Chamber of Commerce. Citrus County whose population is just around 150,000 with 42% of those over 65 years old sounds like a tough market, right? Not for CNSG! They not only grew their business over 30% in this economy, they added 2 FTE’s, purchased Kaseya and put on 2 marketing events in Q4. Their plan is for a 300% growth in revenue in 2010.  If anyone can do it in Citrus County, it is CNSG.

For those of you who had an off year it is now time for you to set goals and change the way you do things. If you had a less profitable year maybe you need some training or coaching.  There are a number of coaches, including me, who are willing and able to help you get on the right track. Whatever your excuse has been in 2009, don’t make the same mistakes in 2010. Get help, get focused, and get profitable.

Congratulations to everyone who had a good year. I certainly hope that you take the momentum of your 2009 in to 2010 and build upon it for greater profits.m

I want to wish all of you a very Happy New Year. I hope that your 2010 is safe, prosperous and that all of your goals are achieved.

All the best in success,

Stu