PLEASE NOTE:
Much to my embarassment, my good friend Michael Siggins of the ChannelPro Network was kind enough to point out three (count ‘em three!!) errors regarding people’s names in the original send of this article. I have corrected all three and thank Michael profoundly for being a reader and for taking the time to point out these errors to me!!! Please enjoy the corrected version.
Time is your greatest enemy, right? You’ve got a million things to do and no time to do them. At the same time, you need to keep feeding your mind good ideas to drive you forward. Famed horror writer Stephen King tells us, in his book On Writing, that reading is mental telepathy. The writer sends the message in the writing, and the reader receives it in the reading.
You and I have things in common. I used to run or help run MSP companies from 1982 until 2009. You run one or help run one today. I read voraciously to learn everything I could learn to make my business bigger and better and still do. Since you’re here I’m sure you do too.
What to Read?
What you won’t find here is news. You won’t find the latest story about what IT manufacturers and software developers are doing, nor distributors, cloud hyperscalers, or any other kind of vendor. If that’s what you want to read there are many amazing journalists serving our community. For owners, ChannelE2E puts all the vendors’ activities in fantastic context. For everyone, my fellow Substacker Rich Freeman’s Channelholic covers a huge swath of what’s going on. Jeff Schwartz regularly reports in Dark Reading.
If you’re challenged to figure out what to pay attention to, you merely have to invest ten minutes a day watching Dave Sobel’s MSP Radio: The Business of Tech. Dave who, like me, spent years working in the channel, now delivers the most pertinent headlines with only the pertinent details and then the most pertinent thing, his observations on “why do we care?”
There are plenty of other sources for news. These are a great start.
Actionable Insight & Best Practices
Distilling down what readers have asked me for since I started writing for and about the channel, it boils down to actionable insights and best practices. MSPs, CSPs, MSSPs, and other ITSPs like you want to read something that will provide them with something valuable to do to build their business bigger and better.
Here in techChannel:Results I combine my own decades of experience with insights from my many great channel friends to deliver just that. Strategies that produce. Tactics that move things forward. Resources you can use to create new services, new offerings, and new success.
What Else You Won’t Find Here… but Will Find Nearby!
Besides new, there are two other things I won’t be providing here, but will be providing elsewhere!
This newsletter is and will always be free for you to read regularly. I’ll always keep it short and never tl;dr so you can justify the time it takes to read it.
If you’d like to tap into my years of marketing and business development experience, please consider investing a few bucks a month in my techChannel:Marketing Substack. From crafting effective marketing to event strategies to networking on steroids, you’ll find insight, advice, and great guidance there.
How MSPs Leverage AI to Improve Their Business and Their Customers’ Businesses
My experience studying, learning, and applying AI brings me back to my earliest days when the Apple ][ and the IBM PC (44 years old this month) were brand new and I lived in the back of Byte Magazine searching for new applications and information to help me sell more. Never since then has the crush of new information been so exciting and stimulating. There are GREAT ways to put AI to work in your MSP business, and even more ways you can significantly improve life for your customers with it. You’ll find that covered in my upcoming new Substack AgenticMSP. Also, just a few bucks a month.
What I Need from You
When you find that you love the guidance you’re getting from these pubs, PLEASE share them with your colleagues. Suggest they start here with a free sub to techChannel:Results.
Even more valuable, please respond in the Chat!!! My goal is to foster a growing conversation among our colleagues in the channel community. Substack makes that insanely easy in the chat.
My email address is hmc@howardmcohen.com. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.
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I create compelling content for every kind of channel company. Learn more at http://www.howardmcohen.com.
I'm not sure I like "time is the enemy," but I do agree that "time is our most valuable commodity!" And, I believe it's a gift.
I like that you're defining what you're about... Keep up the good work, Howard!