Mar 28, 2022
A lot of you already know who Richard Tubb is, I presume, but if you don’t, Richard humbly introduces himself. He briefly shares his journey, from selling his MSP business about 11 years ago to now helping MSP business owners avoid the many mistakes he made himself when he was running his MSP business.
Kicking off this energy-filled episode, Richard and I started talking straight about the mindset of an MSP business owner. I asked Richard what things that MSP business owners need to get their head around being a business owner with a technical background. Referring to the book Getting Things Done by David Allen, Richard says that one of the turning points from his experience was not just being busy taking care of the tech but also dealing with Sales, Marketing, Finance, etc., because that’s what being a business owner is all about.
It’s not just enough to be a good technician to grow an IT business.
Richard also highlights one of the many things he learned from the book was, “If you try and get all the ideas in your head, you end up doing none of them.” He says how important it is to optimize and maximise the tools we have around us rather than keeping everything in our heads.
The mind is not a good place to store ideas. Freeing your mind is key. It was after Richard has done the same, was also when a whole world of opportunities opened for him, and it reduces what he calls SPF or Single Point of Failures in the business.
Richard then reveals how he was able to sell his business. Although himself is his favourite topic in the world, the business wasn’t built about him. The future is uncertain, and you don’t want to make yourself the key component of the business.
Richard and I then talked about how to help MSP business owners who have the FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). Although it might come off as uncomfortable, Richard says that it all just surrounds the idea of one’s ego. Removing yourself, as a business owner from some of the processes and the conversation, will not make you lose the business. Do not believe if your mind tells you that it’s the other way around.
When Richard started the right task delegation to his team, he was able to work on his business rather than in his business, something that we also teach here at IT Experts.
For an MSP business owner who is too busy to do anything, Richard’s advice is to slow down, document the things to be done on a specific task, and make it a process. That’s how you start. Bottom line is, we can’t let our ego get in the way of thinking what we can and cannot hand to other people.
We then tackled the almighty DISCIPLINE, and how to have it. Both Richard and I agree that Discipline is just all about ROUTINE. Richard highlights how discipline gets a bad reputation because of how it has been used against us when we were growing up; disciplined in school or at home when you do something naughty, etc.
Richard then continues to explain how to get disciplined by developing a routine and he refers to his book, The IT Business Owner’s Survival Guide, which he wrote to help MSP business owners avoid the mistakes he made.
Although discipline gets a negative connotation, it is essentially doing the right things every day that are going to move you forward.
Wrapping up the episode, Richard reminds us that although MSPs are typically techie people, that alone is not enough to grow a business to build a life that you want. You’ve got to be a business owner to grow a business that runs without you.
Richard also recommends reading the following books that have helped him greatly and he believes that would help all MSP owners too. The books are Getting Things Done by David Allen and The E Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber.
I hope you enjoyed this episode and catch Richard Tubb on the next one where we talk and help you learn how to stand out from your competition in 2022.
Connect and listen to Richard Tubb on his website by clicking here – https://www.tubblog.co.uk/
At IT Experts, we have years of experience helping IT & MSP businesses of all sizes to leverage their talents and take back control so they can scale confidently.
To connect with us and find out how we can possibly help, simply book an intro call straight into my diary here:- http://bit.ly/ite-introcall
Alternatively, you can drop me an email at info@innovatetosuccess.com
Until next time, you look after yourself and I’ll catch up with you soon!