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Live MSP Blog: TruMethods Schnizzfest 2016

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Bob Penland, CTO, TruMetods
Bob Penland
Gary Pica, CEO, TruMethods

TruMethods, one of the leading organizations educating MSPs, has gathered its membership in Philadelphia for Schnizzfest 2016. Why join the group? TruMethods members -- MSPs from across the globe -- have added about $1.5 million in valuation to their businesses since joining the group, based on MRR (monthly recurring revenue) improvements, CEO Gary Pica and CTO Bob Penland said. Here's the minute-by-minute update...

Keynote: TruMethods CEO Gary Pica

Pica sold his managed services provider (MSP) to mindSHIFT roughly a decade ago (here's a look at mindSHIFT today). Not your traditional industry coach, Pica has kept his business skills sharp by investing in Apex IT Group -- an MSP in Philadelphia.

Here's the minute-by-minute update.

  • Getting Focused: The average human has 50,000 thoughts per day. That's about a thought every second of every day. Your brain is your roommate. And there's a constant give and take between you and your brain as you navigate sales proposals, customer discussions and more. Often, your own brain works against you. Something often gets lost in translation -- you often spend too much time analyzing rather than implementing.
  • Overcoming Yourself: What would you do if you had a roommate that questioned your every move? You're stuck with your roommate -- your brain and its thought process. You need to change the way you see yourself. You can't control every though but you can influence every thought.
  • Embrace the Entire Pyramid Stack: RMM, PSA and monitoring are at the bottom of the basic MSP stack. Pica offered up a total pyramid that MSPs must embrace.
  • Concept: Every role in a business has a core, essence and results. This will be a central theme throughout the conference. Stay tuned for more on that.

Gary Pica and Bob Penland

The keynote session is now transitioning to Pica and Penland sharing the stage. Side note: Penland and Pica also are co-owners/partners in Apex IT Group, an MSP in the Philadelphia area. More info on that business is expected later today.

  • How are TruMethods members performing? The top 25 MSPs in the group have added $162,000 in new Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) since joining the group. See more stats in the photo.
  • myITprocess, a business management platform for MSPs, now has more than 450 members who manage 6,400 end-customer businesses.
  • MSP Benchmarking: A new TruMethods platform, called Project Slingshot, will allow MSPs to benchmark their businesses against TruMethods members. The platform is under development now... A Q4 benchmark is expected.

Keynote: Vinh Giang

Vinh Giang

In 2011, Giang and three of his close friends left their professional careers in accounting and pharmacy to pursue a dream. After three long years of hard work, they built an online platform that now teaches magic to over 48,000 students from all over the world. What magical words of wisdom will Giang share with Schnizzfest? Stay tuned.

  • Giang is a rather incredible speaker. Instead of recapping his session I'm closing the laptop and listening. The anecdote to open the session. His dad once told him: "Jump as high as you can in life. As long as you're alive I will be your safety net."
  • Giang then asked the crowd to give their families a round of applause because entrepreneurs don't exist without family support.
  • If I was hosting an entrepreneur-oriented conference, I would open my checkbook to have Giang speak.
  • That's all I'll share. Check him out for yourself.

Case Study: Gary Pica's Current MSP Business

  • I know, it's far more than Gary's business. But it's the simplest headline to get readers into the story.
  • Take a close look at Apex IT Group, a managed services provider (MSP) in the New Jersey/Philadelphia area.
  • You’ll discover the co-owners include CEO George Mach and COO Howard Borochaner, along with TruMethods CEO Gary Pica and CTO Bob Penland.
  • How is the business performing? Here's the case study as it unfolds here at Schnizzfest.

Keep checking back for more updates.

Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri is co-founder & editorial director of MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E, the two leading news & analysis sites for managed service providers in the cybersecurity market.

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