The IT Experts Podcast

Graham Stead knows a thing or two about MSPs. He ran his own for over 20 years before selling it in 2016, and since then he's been leading sales and marketing teams and helping other MSP owners make better decisions, build stronger habits and get more sales. It was great to hear his story and experience, but more importantly, we unpacked the very specific actions MSPs can take to improve their sal...

Ali Stewart has worked with hundreds of businesses, including many MSPs, guiding individuals and teams to make leadership a way of life, not a job title. She explains that leadership is not something you do now and again. It is a consistent, ongoing commitment to developing people and helping them unlock their potential. This is especially important for MSPs, where many business owners are technic...

Scott Riley has worked with MSPs for over six years, helping them tighten up their security practices and take real control of their 365 tenancies. In this episode, be prepared for the shift in mindset that Scott encourages. The idea that you are too small or not interesting enough to be a target is no longer valid. The reality is that attackers are not selective. They cast a wide net. If your MSP...

We begin with a simple truth. If you want to attract and retain A players in your MSP, you need to lead like one. Many business owners want highly engaged, proactive team members who take ownership and drive the business forward. Yet when that energy is missing, the first step is not to blame the team but to reflect on your own leadership. Julie and I explore how your team's performance is often a...

This particular intensive was all about amplifying capacity , a key pillar of the Scale with Confidence model. Our focus this time centred around team performance – the challenges, the frameworks, and the mindset shifts needed to build a business that works for you, not because of you. What made this event stand out wasn't just the content or the planning, but the incredible maturity and vulnerabi...

Ken Roulston, a veteran of the IT industry and now self-proclaimed M&A addict, returns to share his deep insights and experience from building a £17 million MSP business through a series of successful acquisitions. Across this episode, we unpack the exact mindset, processes and practical steps MSP owners need to take when considering buying another MSP. Ken's journey is not just theory, it's real-...

Ken Roulston brings his decades of industry experience to the table and together we explore what it really takes to get your MSP into a position where it's not only ready to be sold, but where it attracts the right buyer and achieves a fair valuation.   Ken Roulston has walked the talk. He built his own MSP from the ground up, completed six acquisitions over 12 years and ultimately sold the busine...

Ken Roulston brings his decades of industry experience to the table and together we explore what it really takes to get your MSP into a position where it's not only ready to be sold, but where it attracts the right buyer and achieves a fair valuation.   Ken Roulston has walked the talk. He built his own MSP from the ground up, completed six acquisitions over 12 years and ultimately sold the busine...

Ken Roulston brings his decades of industry experience to the table and together we explore what it really takes to get your MSP into a position where it's not only ready to be sold, but where it attracts the right buyer and achieves a fair valuation.   Ken Roulston has walked the talk. He built his own MSP from the ground up, completed six acquisitions over 12 years and ultimately sold the busine...

To help guide us through it all, I'm joined by someone who's been there, done it, and got the multiple to prove it, the brilliant Ken Roulston.   Now, if you haven't come across Ken before, he's a bit of a legend in the IT channel. He started his MSP from scratch in 2009 and grew it through six strategic acquisitions before selling it in 2023. What I love about Ken is he doesn't just talk about th...

We kicked off with a discussion on how the past 12 months have felt for MSPs, and Greg was quick to point out the odd paradox we're facing. Despite global uncertainty, economic pressures, and geopolitical challenges, the MSP space is actually buoyant . Kaseya itself is growing significantly, and since around 98% of its revenue comes through MSPs, that tells us a lot about the health of the IT chan...

Now before you switch off thinking budgeting is just about spreadsheets and cutting back on your coffee spend, think again. Clare Elliott walks us through why budgeting, forecasting and cashflow management are the backbone of every high-performing, profitable MSP. It's not about being an accountant. It's about stepping into your CEO role and giving yourself the tools to make better, faster decisio...

The marketing space for MSPs is full of confusion. Vendors are pushing content that's really just product sales in disguise. Agencies are selling packages that might not suit your niche. And most MSPs we speak to are stuck trying to work out what to say, when to say it and who to say it to. The problem isn't a lack of effort. It's a lack of sequence. That's where this clock comes in.   We begin wi...

This one's inspired by a comment we heard recently at one of our events: "Don't let the diamonds in your business go." It struck a chord. And it got us talking about what it really takes to stop losing your best people and start building a leadership team who can genuinely help you grow – not just fix tickets or manage a few tasks. If you're an MSP owner stuck in the day-to-day firefight, unsure h...

Over the years, through coaching hundreds of MSPs, one recurring pattern shows up time and again : business owners who've built something great but are now the single point of failure. You're the one the team turns to for answers. You're the one the clients call on a Saturday morning. You're the one holding everything together , and that, my friend, is both the blessing and the curse of being a co...

We had an honest and practical discussion about the current broken state of recruitment and how the smart use of AI is giving MSPs a genuine edge in finding the right people — not just the most available ones.   We kicked off with a bit of fun, noting how just using the term 'AI' in the title gets everyone's attention! But in all seriousness, the technology is no gimmick. As Dean Watmough explaine...

It's a jam-packed episode where I'm joined by two absolute champions of the channel, Alex Harris and David Maguire, the driving force behind this standout industry event.   Let's be honest – this one's a bit of a shameless plug. But for all the right reasons. The 2025 MSP Show isn't just another exhibition – it's quickly becoming the place where MSP business owners and their teams come together to...

Or more accurately, the fear of niching. It 's t hat internal tug-of-war between wanting more leads and being scared that if you narrow your focus, yo u'll s omehow lose out on opportunities. So i n this episode, I turned the tables and interviewed my co-host Ian Luckett, wh o's b een doing some seriously powerful work with our clients on this very subject over the past 12 months.   Let's get this...

Now, for those of you who don't know Scott, he's been helping MSPs since 2016 after experiencing the all-too-familiar frustration of lead generation in his own MSP. As he says, once you're in the room with a prospect, it's usually straightforward to talk about tech, pain points and solutions. The hard bit? Getting in the room in the first place. That challenge became the mission behind IT Rockstar...

Now we all know M&A – mergers and acquisitions – can be one of the fastest ways to grow and scale your business. Once you've got your house in order, and you're running at a solid EBITDA with strong operational maturity, bolting on new businesses might seem like the logical next step. But – and it's a big but – what's often overlooked is what that really means for your people. And if your culture,...

But is that really the end of the road, or is there something you can do to keep that client, maintain profitability, and avoid unnecessary churn? In this episode of the IT Experts Podcast, I sat down with our resident finance coach, Clare Elliott, to explore what MSPs can do when faced with clients who are reconsidering their contracts.   Clare works with MSPs every day inside the Growth Hub, hel...

I'm j oin ed by fellow MSP Growth Hub coaches Stuart Warwick, Julie Hutchison, and Clare Elliot t , as we reflect on the key takeaways from our January 2025 two-day intensive.   These intensives are the cornerstone of the MSP Growth Hub's Scale with Confidence model, bringing together MSP owners and leaders to reflect, reset, and refocus on their business growth. The January event was centred arou...

Many MSPs start with a handful of technical people, then bolt on account management, sales, marketing, and operations as they grow. But without a clearly defined structure, this approach can create inefficiencies, miscommunication, and stalled growth.   That's why we brought in Alison Whitfield from Cultivate People Services, a people and culture expert with a wealth of experience working with MSP...

As business owners, we often pride ourselves on pushing forward, solving problems, and keeping things moving. But what happens when we don't stop to reflect? What are the hidden risks of ploughing ahead without taking a moment to reassess our strategy, our goals, and even our own leadership? Stuart and I unpack exactly that in today's conversation, and trust me, if you're an MSP looking to scale,...

Now, if you've ever been in the frustrating position of recruiting someone you thought was perfect for the job, only to find out they're not the right fit at all, you're not alone. This happens more often than you might think, and in today's episode, we uncover exactly why MSPs keep attracting the wrong people—and more importantly, how to stop it from happening.   Julie shares a story from a recen...