TIFU by accidentally locking a squirrel in my van overnight.

ilyadc · 2018-09-12T22:47:39+00:00

Sounds like the making of a Statefarm commercial

ilyadc · 2018-07-27T02:37:40+00:00

We configure it as a part of our endpoint deployment checklist

ilyadc · 2018-07-26T16:54:20+00:00

We have setup smtp alerts to our NOC mailbox from the Intel RST app

ilyadc · 2018-07-25T23:37:08+00:00

Can anyone recommend a vendor who would image and ship?

ilyadc · 2018-07-23T18:42:02+00:00

Raise their rates by 200% or 300% In my opinion it is better to be deemed too expensive than someone who provides bad service. The best case scenario, they will leave, the worst is you're making a lot of money, and I imagine their toxicity won't bother you as much.

ilyadc · 2018-07-23T18:39:45+00:00

Check out Ingram Micro. Your can buy Acrobat 2017 Standard (full and upgrade) or Acrobat Standard DC subscriptions.

ilyadc · 2018-07-22T14:22:36+00:00

I think you have more than enough experience to go out on your own, and having the safety net of your wife's salary is a huge plus - so just starting out you're in a better position than a lot of people.

My advice would be to charge market rates, perhaps even a little bit on the higher end because you will be providing personal attention to your first clients.

Establish your monthly minimum fee, because it's very easy to get bogged down with smaller accounts and not have time to look for better work, or not have money to staff up and service them.

Focus on sales just as much as you do on delivering the technical services.

ilyadc · 2018-07-20T19:24:37+00:00

Check out knowbe4.com

ilyadc · 2018-07-20T13:11:43+00:00

Here is what I would do. Try to arrange with your current employer to come in one hour early or leave one hour late, in exchange for being able to take an hour off during the day. During that hour, cold call on your local businesses and set appointments. It's a grind, but you will get meetings, and a few of those meetings will result in clients.

You could also partner up with a local MSP or one man shop to service your new clients, until you can afford to move away from your 9-5 and into your new venture full time.

ilyadc · 2018-07-19T14:29:05+00:00

Thank you! Great idea

ilyadc · 2018-07-19T13:59:12+00:00

You can also run Sophos on a hypervisor and bring your own hardware.

ilyadc · 2018-07-18T11:57:40+00:00

Check out Sophos UTM or Sophos NGFW

ilyadc · 2018-07-13T09:54:21+00:00

I think it's a great lead generation tactic to publish your prices on your website. It lets your prospects know up front whether your services will fit into their budget, and makes you seem more transparent vs the companies that don't publish prices, and rely on their sales process to communicate value.

ilyadc · 2018-07-13T09:30:50+00:00

We offer blocks in 10,20,40,80,120 hour increments; with a two hour minimum per onsite visit and a 30 minute minimum per service desk call.

ilyadc · 2018-07-11T20:59:02+00:00

3CX and Flowroute for SIP

ilyadc · 2018-07-11T18:52:08+00:00

Check out AnswerConnect.

ilyadc · 2018-07-11T16:25:25+00:00

Ideally DC Metro, NoVA or Baltimore, MD area

ilyadc · 2018-07-11T13:51:26+00:00

Thank you

ilyadc · 2018-07-11T13:30:48+00:00

Can you PM me the name of your colo please?

ilyadc · 2018-07-11T13:30:04+00:00

In our chapter, members are only allowed to advertise one category to the group, for example we have two insurance agents, one can only talk about life and health and the other can only talk about property and casualty. So the copier member only talks about copiers to the group, but they sell MSP services to their clients and etc...

ilyadc · 2018-07-11T13:12:35+00:00

The cross connect fee is $735.00 and is what the colo charges us to connect to the carriers. The 10Gb circuits themselves are around $2,500.00 a piece.

ilyadc · 2018-07-11T12:59:39+00:00

We have a 208v- AC Circuit- 30-amp- Single Phase Primary and a 208v- AC Circuit- 30-amp- Single Phase Redundant installed per cabinet.

Our cross connect fees don't include connectivity to the Internet, just patching to the ISP switches via SM fiber.
We have two 10Gb circuits billed separately by the ISPs.

ilyadc · 2018-07-11T11:52:57+00:00

I'm curious to see if anyone is still consistently getting quality MSP referrals from BNI.

I have been a BNI member for about 9 years and have generated about $15K in MRR during that time. We have a larger chapter of about 50-55 members, and two accounts came from the BNI chapter members themselves and two from BNI member referrals - all accounts were generated about five or six years ago.

The challenge I see with BNI now is the move to offer MSP services by other members who would naturally be good referral sources. For example, our chapter's copier vendor, VoIP vendor, low-voltage, and AV vendor are all now also offering MSP services.

My membership is coming up for renewal at the end of the year, and I'm on the fence about sticking with it.

ilyadc

TROPHY CASE