Dan Tomaszewski | The Power of MSP Communities: Thriving Through Connection

[00:00:00] Today we turn the tables and we bring on a guest who's usually on the other side of the mic. I'm excited to have him join the show. I've been on his podcast a few times, so in a few minutes I'd like you to join me with Dan Tomaszewski of Everything MSP.

[00:00:25] Hey everyone, welcome again to the latest installment of MSP Business School. As always, I'm Brian Doyle. And I'm really excited today because it's always fun for me to be on the other side of the table in these podcasts.

[00:00:37] And I get to bring somebody that's interviewed me a couple times and given me the opportunity to be part of his world and allow him to have the pleasure of being on the other side of the desk as well.

[00:00:47] So with that, I'd like to welcome Dan Tomaszewski of Everything MSP. Dan, how are you?

[00:00:54] I'm doing great, Brian, and you're exactly right. It is weird being on the other side of the table right now.

[00:01:00] Normally, you know, doing interviews myself and flipping things around like this is interesting. So but I appreciate the opportunity to join you today. Thank you.

[00:01:12] Yeah, hopefully, you know, it's always fun to be on the other side, Dan. It's a lot less pressure packed because now the questions are just coming at you. Those are easy to answer.

[00:01:20] Yeah, you have to come up with them.

[00:01:23] Exactly, exactly.

[00:01:24] But let's kick things off. You know, we usually like to kick things off.

[00:01:27] You know, while I'm sure the majority of my listeners have encountered you somewhere, whether it be on Facebook, whether it be via your website or out on the road,

[00:01:35] I'm sure there's still a segment that may not know you.

[00:01:38] So why don't you tell us a little bit about your background and how you ended up in the crazy world of MSP?

[00:01:43] Yeah, I mean, you know, I look back in in my my career, even in before I started my career, I've always been entrepreneurial.

[00:01:55] You know, I had a couple of different businesses back in my high school days, which was, you know, of course, just a couple of years ago.

[00:02:02] Right. Right.

[00:02:03] You and I.

[00:02:05] Exactly.

[00:02:06] A moment ago. Just a minute.

[00:02:07] Yeah.

[00:02:08] Just a hot minute.

[00:02:09] And, you know, and, you know, my my background, I've always loved technology.

[00:02:15] I went to school for marketing, however.

[00:02:18] And, you know, and, you know, my, I guess, passion, you know, I started with Kinko's.

[00:02:23] I was a regional technology manager in the States back into the early 90s.

[00:02:29] You know, I worked for.

[00:02:31] So they were very large company, two billion dollar organization.

[00:02:35] Managed the technology for, you know, 20, 30 stores in the metro Detroit area.

[00:02:41] From there, I also worked for an organization that was a Silicon Valley startup, which very interestingly is what managed services is today with Haas built into it.

[00:02:55] And, you know, it was way ahead of its time.

[00:02:59] The company did not survive.

[00:03:02] You know, we had, you know, 20, 20 million that came from Dell.

[00:03:07] There was money from Intel, HP.

[00:03:10] And basically what we do is go into an organization and replace all their technology.

[00:03:15] And we had a network operations center out of Santa Clara, California.

[00:03:21] This organization actually is one of the first to be able to do like a multi-tenant exchange type setup.

[00:03:28] And the struggle was, is that we were selling it per user.

[00:03:33] And, you know, at that time, organizations didn't look at their technology.

[00:03:38] I mean, we were three, four hundred dollars a month per user and organizations were looking at the cost of, you know, of that per month and saying, well, I can buy new technology in a couple of months of that cost.

[00:03:51] And so it was really ahead of its time.

[00:03:54] But it really helped to get me where I am today.

[00:03:58] And, you know, technology has always been my passion in helping others from that perspective.

[00:04:04] I started an MSP in, well, actually started as BreakFix, of course, like everybody, in 2001.

[00:04:14] Eventually became an MSP.

[00:04:16] And then, you know, as I progressed, I found an opportunity, found a need, I should say, to help other MSPs in their journey to becoming successful.

[00:04:29] And, you know, I always felt that we need a community that allows MSPs to learn, share and grow.

[00:04:37] And so in 2017, that's where I launched Everything MSP.

[00:04:43] However, it wasn't until March of 2020 where things really kicked off for us, where we were doing daily calls, talking about all the challenges that COVID brought.

[00:04:56] And, you know, whether it was PPP loans, whether it was just the whole change of, you know, our clients moving into their homes and the security issues, things really kicked off for us from that point.

[00:05:10] And the community really grew from that point forward.

[00:05:15] Yeah, I think, you know, that was interesting.

[00:05:17] I mean, obviously, it was interesting times, right?

[00:05:19] We don't have to go down the road and say that.

[00:05:21] But, you know, we kicked off the podcast.

[00:05:23] Originally, I did this podcast with Rob Rogers and Tim McNeil from OSR Manage.

[00:05:28] And, you know, we kicked it off just as a way to stay engaged because we didn't know what it was going to be.

[00:05:33] We're like, all right, well, let's throw this out there and see what happens.

[00:05:36] And you saw a lot of that.

[00:05:37] But I think the communities that really had a great opportunity during that period, like your own, were those that already had kind of an established base that were really able to accelerate the message.

[00:05:47] And people definitely started directing traffic to where that message lived because everybody was confused, right?

[00:05:52] Looking for information, especially when it came to PPP, how that was going to work.

[00:05:57] You know, what are working conditions going to be?

[00:05:59] Are people really being responsive to Rello?

[00:06:01] I mean, you know, the day we got locked inside, we were all wondering if we were going to have jobs in two weeks.

[00:06:05] Right, right.

[00:06:06] And, you know, and really, you know, we, you know, at that point, we had a Facebook group.

[00:06:13] We had an online presence.

[00:06:14] But, you know, we weren't doing a ton.

[00:06:18] It was more collaboration, you know, from a community collaboration perspective.

[00:06:23] And, you know, we really did build out a lot of things.

[00:06:26] You know, we didn't have a podcast at the time.

[00:06:28] We didn't have our weekly calls at the time.

[00:06:31] But then when COVID hit, you know, I threw out into the group saying, who wants to jump on a call, talk about the impacts of COVID.

[00:06:40] And, you know, I was expecting it to be, you know, a one-time call.

[00:06:44] It was an overwhelming, I mean, it was like a magnet.

[00:06:48] You know, it was an overwhelming amount of MSPs that were joining in.

[00:06:52] And they were like, when's the next call?

[00:06:54] And, you know, and all of a sudden we're like, you know, I was asking, you know, how often would you like to talk?

[00:07:01] And they were like, every day.

[00:07:03] You know, so we were doing, initially, we were actually doing calls seven days a week just because people wanted to talk.

[00:07:12] You know, they wanted to come in and collaborate.

[00:07:15] Yeah, it was almost therapeutic, right?

[00:07:17] Because the reality is, while you and I are blessed to live in houses with families and people around us, certainly a lot of our community were alone during those times, right?

[00:07:26] You know, living on their own, somewhat isolated.

[00:07:29] And to have a community like yours that was meeting every day gave people a purpose, right?

[00:07:33] A place to go, a place to share thoughts.

[00:07:35] What was being talked about was probably not as important as just being there to talk.

[00:07:40] But that's how great communities are built, right?

[00:07:42] It's not just on the message.

[00:07:44] Absolutely.

[00:07:45] And, you know, we had some vendors, some MSPs that became vendors.

[00:07:52] They identified opportunities in the market.

[00:07:55] They started building products.

[00:07:56] And, you know, there were scenarios where they're like, there are no more conferences, you know?

[00:08:01] And so they were, you know, coming in and, you know, they were talking about their products and services.

[00:08:08] And, you know, and MSPs, you know, we still were in operations, right?

[00:08:11] I mean, even though everybody was moved home, you know, you still had an MSP that you needed to run.

[00:08:18] And if you could find something new to add your stack or something to replace in your stack, it became a great opportunity for MSPs to become educated about, you know, other vendor products.

[00:08:30] But also just about what other MSPs are doing out there.

[00:08:35] And, you know, I've always said that, you know, and this is one of the catalysts for starting Everything MSP is that often MSPs feel as if they're on an island to themselves and that their challenges are unique to them.

[00:08:49] When in reality, other MSPs are either, you know, experience the same thing or have experienced the same.

[00:08:57] And the thing I love about the IT channel is people like to share.

[00:09:02] People love to help each other out.

[00:09:04] You know, it's that coopetition.

[00:09:06] You know, there's no fear of, oh, you're going to take business away from me.

[00:09:09] You know, people are willing to help each other out, jump on a call, maybe even local MSPs, you know, they're visiting each other to say, hey, let me come visit you for a day and just see what things are, you know, how you're handling your operations.

[00:09:26] And, you know, all of that helps us from an operational maturity perspective to grow and be stronger.

[00:09:33] And it helps us as an IT channel, as an industry, to become stronger and better and to be more successful at what we're doing.

[00:09:43] I love the concept of coopetition, right?

[00:09:45] Because the reality is most of us live in regions.

[00:09:48] I mean, I'm in Connecticut.

[00:09:49] We're not a huge state.

[00:09:50] We have over 90,000 what are classified as small to mid-sized businesses.

[00:09:54] And if I got 200 good ones out of that, I'd have a great company, right?

[00:09:58] You know, so it's not like I was stepping on toes or running into the same competitors everywhere I went.

[00:10:04] But the other part of it is none of us could scale if we needed to staff every skill set that existed out there.

[00:10:10] And coopetition, quite frankly, is how we grew.

[00:10:12] You know, we made deals with other folks and said, okay, you're the Cisco experts.

[00:10:16] We're the system experts.

[00:10:17] Let's not compete with each other.

[00:10:18] Let's do it together and make ourselves stronger.

[00:10:21] We've even seen mergers come out of those kind of, you know, relationships.

[00:10:26] Yeah, absolutely.

[00:10:27] Absolutely.

[00:10:27] And, you know, and we, you know, I think a lot of times we feel as if we need to know all the answers, you know, that, you know, we, I think we're our own worst critics.

[00:10:40] And sometimes we, you know, give ourselves a dig because we feel like, well, I don't know this or I don't know that.

[00:10:46] But it's 100% okay.

[00:10:48] Because as long as you know how to find the answer, that's what matters.

[00:10:51] You know, if you're able to, you know, leverage the resources available, the resources around you, you know, that's what's key.

[00:11:01] You know, that's allowing you to become, you know, better to help someone else.

[00:11:06] But you never know when you're going to need that help as well.

[00:11:09] And you'll get that in return.

[00:11:12] Now, Dan, have you exited your MSP or do you still have that in parallel with what the work you're doing here at Everything MSP?

[00:11:18] Yeah, I still have it.

[00:11:20] And I, you know, basically I use it, you know, as a proving ground is a way to continue to educate MSPs.

[00:11:30] You know, regardless of what, you know, the case may be, you know, successes, challenges, you know, it's hard to help others if you're not doing it yourself.

[00:11:42] And so, you know, while, you know, I would like to be singularly focused, I do know that it's of great value to Everything MSP and all of our followers.

[00:11:56] There's no doubt about it.

[00:11:58] Like it, it's, you know, a lot of us vendors are former MSPs.

[00:12:03] And I think if you talk to the majority of them, there becomes this inflection point in what we did where you had to let go at some point if you were really going to grow the other side of the equation.

[00:12:15] Right.

[00:12:15] I think you probably talked to a number of the folks in our industry and you kind of hear that.

[00:12:20] Yeah, we know I'm still in the MSP space until we got to about two, three years into it and then it was just impossible to juggle.

[00:12:26] And one of the things I always say to my customers is the reason we need your feedback, the reason we need you to criticize even is because we can't get better any longer because we are not in the field like you.

[00:12:36] You know, we understand it intrinsically.

[00:12:38] We have the good experience to know what you're feeling, but, you know, we're not doing the same activities as you.

[00:12:44] As the technology evolves, we need your input to know where we can be better.

[00:12:48] And that's one of the great things about this community.

[00:12:50] They're willing to share both constructively.

[00:12:52] You know, there's always a little sarcasm in the water there, too.

[00:12:56] But, you know, it's really a good group.

[00:12:59] And I've always said that with the IT community.

[00:13:01] It's so servant based, right?

[00:13:03] It is.

[00:13:03] The mentality is so much different.

[00:13:06] Most are technology leaders that found themselves in a situation of either opportunity to go start or forced opportunity through a layoff or something else that made them need to figure out a living.

[00:13:17] And as a result, they didn't come from that pure B-school kind of mentality of let's go out and capitalize.

[00:13:24] It was more let's go serve.

[00:13:26] And as a result, it's amazing to see how they help each other.

[00:13:30] 100%.

[00:13:31] I couldn't agree more.

[00:13:33] So, that said, while they serve each other, you're serving them.

[00:13:37] So, let's talk a little bit more about everything MSP and some of the things that you're providing to an MSP.

[00:13:43] And I'm going to switch the URL that was on the screen to the one that really drives to the different services we're probably going to talk about right now.

[00:13:51] Everything MSP.com and then go over to the resources tab.

[00:13:55] Yeah, I mean, there's a number of things that we've developed over the years.

[00:14:00] One of the, you know, primary things that we talked about is our MSP discussion group, which we hold each Friday at 12 noon Eastern time.

[00:14:09] And there's no cost in what I'd like to say is it's more of a casual, you know, informal peer group, you know, where a group of MSPs will join.

[00:14:20] We talk about successes.

[00:14:22] We talk about challenges.

[00:14:23] We talk about changes that are occurring in the channel.

[00:14:26] And, you know, we've got MSPs that have been on that call ever since the beginning in March of 2020.

[00:14:36] And, you know, and their contribution is just invaluable.

[00:14:40] And so, again, that's each Friday noon Eastern time.

[00:14:45] We were also hosting the same thing on Wednesdays, but we changed up the format and we now call it WTF Wednesdays, which stands for what the function.

[00:14:58] And it's all based on different business functions.

[00:15:01] And so each week we have a different guest that will focus on different aspects.

[00:15:06] Could be legal, could be marketing, could be sales.

[00:15:09] You know, regardless of the different business function, we, you know, try to bring somebody on that's going to provide value and help educate it for a certain topic in that business function.

[00:15:21] Legal is a big one.

[00:15:23] You know, a lot of times MSPs are challenged by, you know, what should my contract look like?

[00:15:30] You know, what are some of the elements of the contract that I should be concerned of?

[00:15:34] You know, there's so much from a liability perspective that we as MSPs have on our shoulders and we need to make sure that we're, you know, following expert advice from that perspective.

[00:15:48] And so that format, WTF Wednesdays, is also at noon Eastern time each Wednesday.

[00:15:56] And that's also free.

[00:15:58] So all of the things that we're providing, we provide no charge to MSPs, WTF sponsors.

[00:16:06] And, you know, so those sponsors are help making what, you know, helping us do what we do.

[00:16:13] And, you know, and that's the beauty of that from that angle.

[00:16:17] And there's a number of other things that we do too.

[00:16:21] You know, as far as our, you know, when you go to our website, you'll learn a little bit about our podcast called The Stack, where we focus on people, business and technology.

[00:16:32] So that, and that's where, you know, you have been on our, you know, on our podcast and, you know, and we've had talks about, you know, VCIO services.

[00:16:42] Yeah, just a variety of things.

[00:16:44] And it's just, again, it's all about education.

[00:16:47] I want to be able to get as much education out there for MSPs, you know, allowing them to be more successful at what they're doing, to be able to clear through the clutter and get to where, you know, those best practices are.

[00:17:02] Yeah.

[00:17:03] I mean, there's a couple of things I love, like being a guest on The Stack, and I think most vendors are aware of this.

[00:17:09] Come in with information that will help the MSP.

[00:17:12] They'll find their way to your product.

[00:17:13] So it's not, you know, don't, we don't come in with that infomercial.

[00:17:17] And I want to step back to WTF, because that's something I've been attending regularly.

[00:17:20] I wasn't sure what the, so listener, just in full disclosure, I am a sponsoring vendor for everything MSP.

[00:17:26] But that said, you know, I started attending WTF, not knowing if vendors were allowed, right?

[00:17:32] So I kind of showed up.

[00:17:34] And the thing I will say is, it's a great place for the vendor community to even attend if you're willing to keep your mouth quiet and call upon when called upon and not otherwise.

[00:17:43] Because you can hear the challenges that the MSPs are going through.

[00:17:47] You know, I respect that peer group you do on Friday a little bit more.

[00:17:50] That should be MSP focused.

[00:17:51] But, you know, coming in here and seeing Brad Gross talk about legal or having, you know, some of the other guests you've had talk about other products.

[00:17:58] You know, help me understand where they're coming from.

[00:18:00] As a vendor, I can see if there's a relationship synergy there through integration or something that can make both tools powerful.

[00:18:06] But the biggest thing is I understand a little bit more about what the listener or what your MSPs want.

[00:18:12] And I learned that all in an hour on a Wednesday without having, you know, without being obtrusive to that group.

[00:18:17] You know, you've got to respect the fact that they're there to help each other.

[00:18:20] Yeah, I mean, being that fly on the wall as a vendor, being able to hear what their challenges are is, you know, it provides so much value for both the vendor and the MSP.

[00:18:32] Because, you know, the MSPs appreciate that because they know that the vendors are, you know, they've got their ear out there.

[00:18:40] They've got the ear to the wall trying to listen to, you know, what the true challenges are for MSPs.

[00:18:46] And, you know, in order to deliver a superior product and service, you know, you need to truly know what the MSPs are battling.

[00:18:57] You know, what are the bottlenecks that they have in their business?

[00:18:59] What are the issues that they're experiencing when it comes to delivering, you know, a spectacular client experience?

[00:19:07] And, you know, we all want to exceed expectations.

[00:19:10] We all want raving fans.

[00:19:12] And, you know, it comes down to not just what an MSP does to deliver, but also partnering with proper vendors that, you know, are going to be a good fit, you know, a true partnership.

[00:19:24] And just like, you know, in my own MSP is, you know, we're not looking for a, you know, a client vendor relationship.

[00:19:33] We're truly looking for a partnership.

[00:19:35] You know, we want a partnership, you know, with our clients.

[00:19:39] But we also want that same partnership with our vendors.

[00:19:42] And because together we can all be successful.

[00:19:47] And so it's truly a win, win, win.

[00:19:50] A win between the vendor and MSP and a win between the MSP and their clients.

[00:19:56] That's one of the things that, you know, I like about what you're doing within your group because it really is focused on the MSP first.

[00:20:03] You're bringing the vendors in as educational resources for them, but not as the primary piece of what, you know, what they're going to gain from everything MSP.

[00:20:12] And again, being that, you know, being that voice, that community, people love community, you know, love to be part of communities, but everybody doesn't follow the same style.

[00:20:21] Right.

[00:20:21] We've got a number of folks that are built communities in our industry and the, you know, communities take on the personality, usually the person that's running it.

[00:20:29] Right.

[00:20:29] So for end users, they can find the ones that have the personalities that mesh with them.

[00:20:34] But in that finding that, in the spirit of finding that community, they find people that are willing to help too.

[00:20:39] And that's so critical.

[00:20:40] Absolutely.

[00:20:41] And, you know, and as MSPs are looking to, you know, add something to their stack or even replace something to their stack, you know, we've introduced, you know, well over a year ago, maybe a couple of years ago now, what's called elevator pitch.

[00:20:56] And we host each month, it's a one hour event, and we'll bring on three different vendors that will each get 10 minutes to give us their elevator pitch.

[00:21:07] And then what we do is we open up demo rooms, allowing those MSPs to jump into, you know, one or all three of those vendors demo rooms to be able to get some hands on learning and additional Q&A.

[00:21:21] And, you know, like in those types of scenarios, you know, I like to tell our vendors, truly, in those cases, talk all about yourself, talk about your product and service, because those MSPs are there to learn about, you know, what you do and to see if you could be a good fit for them.

[00:21:41] And, you know, and the MSPs look forward to that.

[00:21:43] You know, we typically have anywhere from 40 to 100.

[00:21:46] I know it's a wide range of MSPs that are, you know, joining the live call.

[00:21:52] And then, you know, we typically get about a thousand views up on our YouTube channel.

[00:21:57] And, you know, so the MSPs truly love to be able to learn.

[00:22:04] A lot of MSPs aren't able to go to conferences, you know, and so, you know, that's the one of the, you know, one of the key things is, you know, you know, there are some MSPs that are out there that, you know,

[00:22:13] you see at all the conferences and so on, you know, but then there's scenarios where, you know, you know, could be a smaller MSP that just can't get away.

[00:22:23] Or the fact that, you know, if you, you, you know, you want to go to event, you might go to one or two events, but you still need to get educated about, you know, what's changing because, you know, technology is moving at such a rapid speed.

[00:22:36] Things are changing and you want to learn about the new things that vendors have available.

[00:22:41] Yeah. And I think, you know, to that end, that's something to keep in mind too.

[00:22:45] I think everybody kind of get, you know, with social media can get into that.

[00:22:48] Oh, there's a show everywhere and I need to be at the mall.

[00:22:51] But if you talk to the traditional MSP, most of them are saying they go to one or two shows a year, right?

[00:22:56] You know, that's, that's the average MSP.

[00:22:58] And it makes sense to me when I was an MSP, you know, I would go to one or two shows.

[00:23:02] We would try to reward our team, you know, our key players on our team with one or two shows a year.

[00:23:07] So we'd find ourselves at maybe seven or eight shows throughout the year as attendees across the board, but nobody was there, you know, with regularity.

[00:23:15] And, and the reason for it is we do have work to do, right?

[00:23:19] You know, things to do back at the office.

[00:23:22] So, no, that's great.

[00:23:23] So, you know, I probably want to hit one last topic because I'd like to see how you control some of this, Dan, you know, within your community.

[00:23:31] You know, one of the things I find challenging within some of the communities when you look at like the Facebook groups in particular.

[00:23:37] Yeah.

[00:23:38] I think people forget that every participant there is at a different stage of their career.

[00:23:44] And you'll see sometimes when somebody asks a question that, you know, the tech community will feel is a little bit below standard.

[00:23:52] You should absolutely know that.

[00:23:54] I think we have to be a little bit more gracious and think about, well, where is this person in the arc?

[00:23:58] I mean, certainly if they tell you they're a 20-year engineer and they, they don't know some common principles, that can be a little frightening.

[00:24:04] But I think you have to remember everybody is in the place they are at that moment.

[00:24:09] And, you know, and we all learn through our experiences over time.

[00:24:12] But I'd like to hear as, as a community leader, how do you manage through those processes when you hear about things getting a little unruly that way?

[00:24:20] Yeah, you know, so we, we started our Facebook group, you know, I want to say maybe 2017, 2018.

[00:24:29] We originally started with a Facebook page and then we converted it to a group.

[00:24:34] And we wanted it to be a private way for MSPs to be able to feel comfortable sharing, you know, what their questions are.

[00:24:44] Because, you know, again, everybody is at that, you know, those different stages.

[00:24:49] You know, what we like to say is there's those aspiring MSPs, there's the growing, and then there's the mature.

[00:24:56] And I've always, you know, tried to express to all of our members that you all learn from each other.

[00:25:04] We all do.

[00:25:05] And none of us know all the right answers all the time.

[00:25:09] Again, it's learning the best way to find those answers.

[00:25:13] But the, the mature MSPs can help educate those that are aspiring and growing.

[00:25:20] But those that are aspiring and growing help the mature ones because over time you can become complacent.

[00:25:29] And, you know, I mean, it just happens, you know, and then when those newer MSPs or those that are in that growth mode, you know, are sharing their ideas, they're fresh, they're new.

[00:25:41] And it can inspire those mature MSPs to say, you know what, we haven't done something different in a while.

[00:25:48] You know, we, our website might be stale and it's time that we do something different here.

[00:25:53] You know, and I just really encourage everyone to definitely realize that we all started at the same spot.

[00:26:02] And, you know, we all put our, our pants on the same way, one, one leg at a time, one foot at a time.

[00:26:09] And, you know, and, and just to be kind with others.

[00:26:13] You know, of course there are going to be those odd questions, but, you know, social media can just be cruel sometimes.

[00:26:19] And I just, you know, like to say, just move on, you know, just move past that if you see something that's odd.

[00:26:26] But help, help, help everybody out, you know, share your ideas, be encouraging.

[00:26:33] And, you know, in addition to commenting, you know, if you want to reach out to someone, reach out to them, you know.

[00:26:40] You know, we can all, without it being like a formal mentorship, we can, we're all mentors, you know.

[00:26:48] And being that mentor can mean the world to another person.

[00:26:53] They might be pulling their hair out, working on a challenge, whether it be a technical challenge or a business challenge.

[00:27:02] And giving them one little point of information that, that advice could make or break what they're working on at that point.

[00:27:11] Well said, well said.

[00:27:13] Well, we're getting near the end of our time here, Dan.

[00:27:15] And so I don't know if you have any last thoughts.

[00:27:18] And I know we have, as we're heading into the holiday season, a promotion that you run each year that we might want to talk a little bit about.

[00:27:24] Yeah, yeah.

[00:27:25] You know, so five years ago, we started an event called A Very Merry MSP Holiday.

[00:27:32] And one of the things that we do is each from each year, from the 1st of December through the 25th of December,

[00:27:41] we give away a different gift, a different prize.

[00:27:44] And it could be an iRobot.

[00:27:46] It could be a grill.

[00:27:47] We've given away e-bikes.

[00:27:50] They're all fun, very cool prizes.

[00:27:53] And MSPs will, very shortly, will start promoting this.

[00:27:58] We'll be able to register to win.

[00:28:00] And the vendor community has come together to help us sponsor this.

[00:28:06] And thank you so much as well for VCAO Toolbox being one of our sponsors of Very Merry this year.

[00:28:14] And that's how we make it happen.

[00:28:16] And we want it to be a fun event to give back to the MSP community.

[00:28:21] And because this is our fifth annual event, we're doing something unique this year.

[00:28:26] The first 1,000 registrants will get a physical gift box in the mail.

[00:28:32] Which is awesome.

[00:28:33] And there'll be some gifts in there for the MSPs.

[00:28:38] And there's no cost.

[00:28:39] No cost to enter.

[00:28:42] You know, and it's just a fun event.

[00:28:44] You know, we'll have more information on our website as well as on our Facebook group.

[00:28:49] So if you're not part of our Facebook group, be sure to search for the Everything MSP Facebook group.

[00:28:55] So that you can stay in tune with that.

[00:28:58] But again, it's just something that each day we give away a prize.

[00:29:03] And MSPs look forward to it each year.

[00:29:06] Because each day within the Facebook group or via email, we'll just announce who the winner is.

[00:29:11] And, you know, and someone just wins something.

[00:29:15] You know, no strings attached.

[00:29:17] Most of us are the ones paying for the gifts around the house.

[00:29:19] So it's nice to get a little something coming back your way.

[00:29:22] Like, on the other side, I'm really glad you didn't put me on the spot and ask me what we sponsored.

[00:29:26] Because I can't recall.

[00:29:29] I just know we're one of the days in the middle of the month.

[00:29:32] Yeah.

[00:29:33] Yeah, absolutely.

[00:29:34] And it's fun.

[00:29:35] It really is a fun event.

[00:29:37] Well, you know, Dan, I want to close out with, you know, thanking you for doing what you're doing for the community.

[00:29:43] Right?

[00:29:43] You know, I think as we talked about, most people want to help, want to cooperate, want to be servants.

[00:29:48] But it takes special people to build the community and best the time to actually make that happen for those end users.

[00:29:55] And certainly appreciate you seeing the opportunity, you know, scaling your opportunity as we head into the COVID season and really making sure that the MSP has a place to get some education, but also some community in the process.

[00:30:08] So kudos, man.

[00:30:09] Thanks.

[00:30:10] Thank you.

[00:30:10] I appreciate that.

[00:30:12] All right.

[00:30:12] Well, in the meantime, listener, as always, you can get the you will be able to see this episode up on YouTube or anywhere that you get your podcast.

[00:30:21] Dan, I want to thank you again for joining us.

[00:30:24] I'll give you one last shot if you've got any other closing comments.

[00:30:27] Otherwise, we can say goodbye.

[00:30:30] All I would say is, you know, just get out there, make it happen.

[00:30:34] Don't be afraid to try things.

[00:30:37] There's always the next day to start all over and enjoy what you do.

[00:30:42] Well said.

[00:30:43] Well, Dan, thanks again for joining me and we'll talk again soon.

[00:30:46] Thank you, Brian.