エピソード

  • Uncle Marv’s MSP Confessions (EP 1045)

    Uncle Marv’s MSP Confessions (EP 1045)
    2026/07/16

    I start by sharing a real-life update on my mom’s health and how that’s pulled my attention away from work and the podcast, because I believe family and personal life have to come before business—even when you run an MSP and a show that people count on. I talk honestly about what it feels like to keep pushing through while your head isn’t fully in the game, and why I’m finally letting the community in on what I’ve been dealing with.

    From there, I walk through several “confessions”: clarifying what I said about ThreatLocker and Microsoft updates after testing and confirming the issue was on my side, admitting my part in vendors calling my wife’s cell, apologizing for missing a DNS change email, and even revisiting an early-2000s server incident where I lost customer data before I truly understood that RAID is not backup. Those stories lead into a bigger conversation about how rarely IT pros simply say “I’m sorry,” how cliquish some peer groups and conferences have become, and how often MSPs oversell managed services and security stacks while under-delivering on real outcomes. I also touch on vendor and swag booth etiquette, podcast etiquette, and why community still matters more to me than endpoint counts or flashy growth.

    === Chapters

    • 00:59 Wednesday Show Opener
    • 02:48 Family Comes First
    • 05:23 Clarifying Past Comments
    • 09:43 Vendor Etiquette Explained
    • 14:59 Customer Apology Story
    • 23:32 Peer Groups and Cliques
    • 27:55 Managed Services Reality
    • 32:14 Swag Booth Etiquette
    • 36:39 Podcast Etiquette
    • 37:51 Community Matters Most
    • 39:58 Closing and Sponsors

    === Companies / Vendors / Products / Books

    • IT Business Owners Group (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/groups/ITBusinessOwnersGroup
    • The ASCII Group: https://www.ascii.com
    • Podnutz (Podcast / Community): https://podnutz.com/

    === SPONSORS:

    • Livestream Partner, ThreatLocker: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/threatlocker
    • Technology Partner, NetAlly: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/netally/
    • Technology Partner: Bvoip: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/bvoip
    • Travel Partner: TruGrid: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/trugrid
    • Digital Partner, Designer Ready: http://itbusinesspodcast.com/designerready

    === SHOW MUSIC:

    • Item Title: Upbeat & Fun Sports Rock Logo
    • Item URL: https://elements.envato.com/upbeat-fun-sports-rock-logo-CSR3UET
    • Author Username: AlexanderRufire
    • Item License Code: 7X9F52DNML

    === Connect with Uncle Marv

    🌐 Website: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/
    🎙 Host: Marvin Bee
    🛒 Uncle Marv’s Amazon Store (gear & tools I recommend): https://amzn.to/3EiyKoZ
    ☕ Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/itbusinesspodcast

    If you found value in this episode, share it with another MSP, IT provider, or tech entrepreneur. Your support helps keep practical, no-nonsense IT business conversations coming every week.
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    44 分
  • MSP War Stories with Mike Smith (EP 1044)

    MSP War Stories with Mike Smith (EP 1044)
    2026/07/09
    Mike Smith joined me live in South Florida after a day on-site with a client, and we turned his trip into a full-on therapy session for MSPs dealing with Adobe, ISPs, and over-engineered networks. We dig into Acrobat crashes, painful uninstalls, and why I lean on tools like Ninite Pro and Action1 to deploy and patch software without all the bundled nonsense. From there, we pivot into law firms that demand every browser under the sun, iCloud users getting winmail.dat instead of PDFs, and how a simple Microsoft 365 setting can make or break delivery. We also share some hard-earned lessons from ISP “solutions” like Comcast Security Edge that silently hijack DNS and cause more trouble than they solve, plus stories about move projects blocked by county approvals and wrong suite numbers. I wrap up with a NetAlly EtherScope tip where I walked into a seven-user shop running multiple VLANs for no good reason, and how simplifying that network instantly fixed their printing issues and future support costs. === Chapters 00:56 Mike Smith in the House04:02 TechCon Unplugged Details06:38 On-Site Client Stories08:03 Acrobat Troubleshooting10:55 Ninite Pro and Action123:59 Sponsor Shoutout24:54 Comcast Move Nightmare35:06 Verizon Move Disaster46:16 Faster Speeds, New Gear55:07 NetAlly VLAN Fix1:02:18 Client Acquisitions and Support === Guest: Mike Smith, Mike Tech Show Website: https://miketechshow.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smithmh/ === Companies / Vendors / Products / Events / Organizations Mike Tech Show: https://miketechshow.comTechCon Unplugged: https://techconunplugged.comPax8: https://www.pax8.comRevo Uninstaller: https://www.revouninstaller.comIObit Uninstaller: https://www.iobit.com/en/advanceduninstaller.phpNinite Pro: https://ninite.com/proAction1: https://www.action1.comSyncro: https://syncrosecure.com/NetAlly EtherScope: https://www.netally.com/products/etherscopenxg/TP-Link 2.5 GB NIC card: https://amzn.to/4vilg5GTRENDnet 10G PCIe Network Adapter: https://amzn.to/4vTwe2L === SPONSORS: Livestream Partner, ThreatLocker: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/threatlockerTechnology Partner, NetAlly: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/netally/Technology Partner: Bvoip: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/bvoipTravel Partner: TruGrid: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/trugridDigital Partner, Designer Ready: http://itbusinesspodcast.com/designerready === SHOW MUSIC: Item Title: Upbeat & Fun Sports Rock Logo Item URL: https://elements.envato.com/upbeat-fun-sports-rock-logo-CSR3UETAuthor Username: AlexanderRufire Item License Code: 7X9F52DNML === Connect with Uncle Marv🌐 Website: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/🎙 Host: Marvin Bee🛒 Uncle Marv’s Amazon Store (gear & tools I recommend): https://amzn.to/3EiyKoZ☕ Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/itbusinesspodcastIf you found value in this episode, share it with another MSP, IT provider, or tech entrepreneur. Your support helps keep practical, no-nonsense IT business conversations coming every week.
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    1 時間 7 分
  • Pivoting Beyond Your Dream Job (EP 1043)

    Pivoting Beyond Your Dream Job (EP 1043)
    2026/07/07
    Melanie Curtis joins me to talk about pivoting careers, building a coaching and speaking business, and choosing family, boundaries, and fun over the nonstop hustle grind. We start with Melanie’s shift from investment banking into pro skydiving, then from skydiving into coaching, driven by a subtle realization that her “dream job” still wasn’t the whole story. She unpacks the decision to lean into life coaching when it wasn’t cool, how she navigated the fear of it being a scam, and what it took to trust that quiet sense of calling anyway. From there, we get personal about missed flights to family events, the danger of filling your calendar with only client work, and the moment she decided she couldn’t outrun future regret. Melanie outlines how a coaching relationship starts with business problems and quickly hits deeper human patterns, why she pushes for year-long masterminds with real structure, and how she uses humor and her “comedy content creator” side to keep the pressure of entrepreneurship from boiling over. We close with her real-time experience of building a keynote speaking practice: long prospecting cycles, thousands of emails, warm intros that actually convert, and a clear stance on why discipline must sit alongside boundaries, rest, recovery, and connection if you want to stay in the game. === Chapters 00:24 Coaching Beyond Skydiving06:32 Family Over Hustle11:19 Coaching Deepens Personal14:22 Commitment Behind Coaching15:47 Peer Groups vs Masterminds19:41 Fun Fuels Serious Work24:48 Biggest Lesson in Pivoting25:41 Speaking Becomes the Focus31:02 Rejecting the Hustle Myth33:06 Wrapping Up and Contacts === Guest: Melanie Curtis, Melanie Curtis Coaching / Speaking Website: https://melaniecurtis.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melaniecurtis11/ === Companies / Vendors / Products / Books How to Fly Book: https://amzn.to/4vk3A9THow to Fly Challenge: https://go.melaniecurtis.com/howtoflychallengeGratitude Challenge: https://go.melaniecurtis.com/gratitude-challengeBuild or Rebuild Your Bucket List: https://go.melaniecurtis.com/build-your-bucket-listACES Mastermind: https://acesmastermind.com/MelanieCurtis11 (Instagram handle): https://www.instagram.com/melaniecurtis11Spinal Tap (film): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088258Instant Teleseminar: https://instantteleseminar.comZoom: https://zoom.us === SPONSORS: Technology Partner, NetAlly: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/netally/Technology Partner: Bvoip: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/bvoipTravel Partner: TruGrid: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/trugridDigital Partner, Designer Ready: http://itbusinesspodcast.com/designerready === SHOW MUSIC: Item Title: Upbeat & Fun Sports Rock LogoItem URL: https://elements.envato.com/upbeat-fun-sports-rock-logo-CSR3UETAuthor Username: AlexanderRufireItem License Code: 7X9F52DNML === Connect with Uncle Marv🌐 Website: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/🎙 Host: Marvin Bee🛒 Uncle Marv’s Amazon Store (gear & tools I recommend): https://amzn.to/3EiyKoZ☕ Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/itbusinesspodcastIf you found value in this episode, share it with another MSP, IT provider, or tech entrepreneur. Your support helps keep practical, no-nonsense IT business conversations coming every week.
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    35 分
  • Facing Fear in Business (EP 1042)

    Facing Fear in Business (EP 1042)
    2026/07/06

    Melanie Curtis joins me to unpack how skydiving, world records, and adversity actually map to client issues, cash flow stress, and growth decisions inside an MSP. We explore smart risk‑taking, realistic timelines for “overnight” success, and how to build an IT business that matches the life you want instead of someone else’s revenue goals.

    Melanie explains why fear around leaving a steady paycheck feels like mortal danger, and why that reaction is normal for MSP owners whose livelihood supports families, staff, and clients. She shares how she spent eight to ten months saving money, paying off her car, and pitching a brand‑new role at her drop zone so she could move into skydiving with a safety net instead of a blind leap.

    === Chapters

    • 00:25 Welcome Back, Melanie Curtis
    • 06:38 Leaving Banking Behind
    • 10:59 Working Through Fear
    • 16:12 Chasing Bigger Goals
    • 24:07 Success Takes Time
    • 26:10 Redefining Business Success
    • 28:45 Books, Coaching, and Resources

    === Guest: Melanie Curtis, Melanie Curtis Coaching

    • Website: https://www.melaniecurtis.com
    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melaniecurtis11/

    === Companies / Vendors / Products / Books

    • ACES Conference: https://acesconf.com
    • How to Fly Book: https://amzn.to/4vk3A9T
    • How to Fly Challenge: https://go.melaniecurtis.com/howtoflychallenge
    • Gratitude Challenge: https://go.melaniecurtis.com/gratitude-challenge
    • Build or Rebuild Your Bucket List: https://go.melaniecurtis.com/build-your-bucket-list
    • What Color Is Your Parachute?: https://amzn.to/4f0qs86

    === SPONSORS:

    • Technology Partner, NetAlly: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/netally/
    • Technology Partner: Bvoip: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/bvoip
    • Travel Partner: TruGrid: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/trugrid
    • Digital Partner, Designer Ready: http://itbusinesspodcast.com/designerready

    === SHOW MUSIC:

    • Item Title: Upbeat & Fun Sports Rock Logo
    • Item URL: https://elements.envato.com/upbeat-fun-sports-rock-logo-CSR3UET
    • Author Username: AlexanderRufire
    • Item License Code: 7X9F52DNML

    === Connect with Uncle Marv

    🌐 Website: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/
    🎙 Host: Marvin Bee
    🛒 Uncle Marv’s Amazon Store (gear & tools I recommend): https://amzn.to/3EiyKoZ
    ☕ Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/itbusinesspodcast

    If you found value in this episode, share it with another MSP, IT provider, or tech entrepreneur. Your support helps keep practical, no-nonsense IT business conversations coming every week.
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    32 分
  • Maximizing SaaS Usage Visibility with ScalePad (EP 1041)

    Maximizing SaaS Usage Visibility with ScalePad (EP 1041)
    2026/07/03
    This conversation starts with a confession: I’ve been living in Lifecycle Manager just for hardware reports and ignoring the big SaaS management piece sitting right in my Pro license. Ryan breaks down how ScalePad pulled in tech from their Produce8 acquisition to build a SaaS management layer that finally gives MSPs visibility into the cloud side of the stack—apps, users, time in app, and historical usage—so you can see what’s actually being used and what’s burning budget for no reason. We also zoom out and talk about the bigger picture of where ScalePad is heading. Lifecycle Manager has been rebuilt to bring more of the MSP workflow inside the platform: assessments, comparables, initiatives that sync to your PSA, roadmaps tied into budgets, and automated QBR reports that save you from copy-paste hell. On top of that, ScalePad is going API-first and AI-enabled, exposing Lifecycle Manager through MCP, adding an AI agent and ScalePad Copilot, and lining up CSAT, NPS, UI refresh, and alignment modules so you can measure client sentiment and grow inside existing agreements. === Chapters 00:21 Podcast Row and New SaaS Tools04:41 Agent Deployment for SaaS Tracking06:25 SaaS Visibility and Reporting Value09:18 API-First AI Integration Roadmap11:09 MSP Feedback at Pax8 Beyond12:26 Pricing and Included Features14:05 Why AI Vibe Coding Falls Short17:09 Upcoming CSAT and UI Refresh19:41 Signing Off from Salt Lake City === Guest: Ryan Sigouin, ScalePad Website: https://www.scalepad.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-sigouin === Companies / Vendors / Products / Books Lifecycle Manager (ScalePad): https://www.scalepad.com/lifecycle-managerIT Glue: https://www.itglue.comConnectWise: https://www.connectwise.comDNSFilter (Needs Verification for exact reference): https://www.dnsfilter.comClaude (Anthropic): https://www.anthropic.com/claudeMicrosoft Copilot: https://www.microsoft.com/copilotModel Context Protocol (MCP) (Anthropic): https://www.anthropic.com/news/model-context-protocolPax8: https://www.pax8.comPax8 Beyond: https://www.pax8beyond.com === SPONSORS: Livestream Partner, ThreatLocker: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/threatlockerTechnology Partner, NetAlly: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/netally/Technology Partner: Bvoip: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/bvoipTravel Partner: TruGrid: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/trugridDigital Partner, Designer Ready: http://itbusinesspodcast.com/designerready === SHOW MUSIC: Item Title: Upbeat & Fun Sports Rock Logo Item URL: https://elements.envato.com/upbeat-fun-sports-rock-logo-CSR3UETAuthor Username: AlexanderRufire Item License Code: 7X9F52DNML === Connect with Uncle Marv🌐 Website: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/🎙 Host: Marvin Bee🛒 Uncle Marv’s Amazon Store (gear & tools I recommend): https://amzn.to/3EiyKoZ☕ Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/itbusinesspodcastIf you found value in this episode, share it with another MSP, IT provider, or tech entrepreneur. Your support helps keep practical, no-nonsense IT business conversations coming every week.
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    21 分
  • Automating MSP Payments with FlexPoint (EP 1040)

    Automating MSP Payments with FlexPoint (EP 1040)
    2026/07/03

    I caught up with Victor Lopez from FlexPoint live at Pax8 Beyond in Salt Lake City to talk about one of the least‑loved parts of running an MSP: getting paid. Victor breaks down how FlexPoint sits alongside QuickBooks and your PSA to automate accounts receivable, from credit card and ACH payments to client self‑service through a portal, all while keeping your existing billing workflows intact.

    We get into cash‑flow friendly features like same‑day ACH funding, short‑term financing that lets clients spread big projects over 30 days to 12 months while you still get paid upfront, and a fixed monthly subscription model that doesn’t scale your fees every time your revenue grows. Victor also previews FlexPoint’s AI voice agents that can call clients, explain invoices line‑by‑line, resend invoices on the spot, and show you opens and clicks, all designed to protect the MSP–client relationship while reducing back‑office friction.

    === Chapters

    • 00:31 Introduction and Salt Lake Visit
    • 02:15 FlexPoint Billing Basics
    • 04:23 Flexible Payments and Financing
    • 06:43 Collecting Past Due Payments
    • 09:34 Pricing and QuickBooks Integration
    • 11:07 Pax8 Marketplace Growth
    • 12:54 Smooth Switch and Workflow Fit
    • 15:36 AI Agents for Collections

    === Guest: Victor Lopez, FlexPoint

    • Website: https://www.flexpoint.io
    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victorlopez

    === Companies / Vendors / Products / Books

    • Pax8: https://www.pax8.com
    • American Express: https://www.americanexpress.com
    • Microsoft 365: https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365
    • Microsoft: https://www.microsoft.com
    • Wu‑Tang Clan: https://wutangclan.com
    • Delta Air Lines: https://www.delta.com
    • Claude / Claude.ai: https://claude.ai
    • Anthropic: https://www.anthropic.com

    === Connect with Uncle Marv

    🌐 Website: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/
    🎙 Host: Marvin Bee
    🛒 Uncle Marv’s Amazon Store (gear & tools I recommend): https://amzn.to/3EiyKoZ
    ☕ Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/itbusinesspodcast

    If you found value in this episode, share it with another MSP, IT provider, or tech entrepreneur. Your support helps keep practical, no-nonsense IT business conversations coming every week.
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    21 分
  • Absolute Security Joins Pax8 (EP 1039)

    Absolute Security Joins Pax8 (EP 1039)
    2026/07/02

    Gene Kim brings a channel-first perspective to Absolute Security’s move into the MSP space, after years of working as a reseller and service provider himself. He shares how Absolute grew from the “LoJack for laptops” days into a firmware-embedded platform already present in over 600 million devices worldwide, enabling location, geofencing, and security controls that don’t depend on the OS.

    We dig into real-world concerns MSPs have today: increasing attacks targeting providers, management tools being turned against us, and the operational pain of agent drift and offline tools. Gene explains how Absolute can maintain integrity for EDR and RMM agents, auto-heal disabled services, and even restore devices that were wiped via tools like Intune—all delivered with MSP-friendly consumption-based licensing through Pax8. If you’re trying to improve uptime, reduce tickets, and differentiate your security story, this one will get you thinking differently about what “endpoint resilience” should look like.

    === Chapters

    • 00:27 Introduction and Radio Row Setup
    • 00:42 Meet Gene Kim from Absolute
    • 02:39 From Computrace to Absolute Security
    • 04:51 Firmware-Based Device Resilience
    • 07:33 Pax8 Marketplace Launch
    • 09:05 Why MSPs Matter Most
    • 10:30 Rethinking Security for MSPs
    • 12:39 MSP Breach Risks and Recovery
    • 15:46 Working with Firmware-Embedded Tools
    • 17:11 Better Inventory and Asset Data
    • 20:18 Co-Managed Access and MSP Fit
    • 22:18 Future Growth with Pax8

    === Guest: Gene Kim, Absolute Security

    • Website: https://www.absolute.com
    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/genekim5/

    === Companies / Vendors / Products / Books

    • Pax8: https://www.pax8.com
    • Ivanti (formerly LANDesk): https://www.ivanti.com
    • SentinelOne: https://www.sentinelone.com
    • Datto: https://www.datto.com
    • Microsoft Intune: https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-intune
    • Fortune 500: https://fortune.com/ranking/fortune500/
    • Dry Bar Comedy: https://www.drybarcomedy.com

    === SPONSORS:

    • Livestream Partner, ThreatLocker: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/threatlocker
    • Technology Partner, NetAlly: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/netally/
    • Technology Partner: Bvoip: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/bvoip
    • Travel Partner: TruGrid: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/trugrid
    • Digital Partner, Designer Ready: http://itbusinesspodcast.com/designerready

    === SHOW MUSIC:

    • Item Title: Upbeat & Fun Sports Rock Logo
    • Item URL: https://elements.envato.com/upbeat-fun-sports-rock-logo-CSR3UET
    • Author Username: AlexanderRufire
    • Item License Code: 7X9F52DNML

    === Connect with Uncle Marv

    🌐 Website: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/
    🎙 Host: Marvin Bee
    🛒 Uncle Marv’s Amazon Store (gear & tools I recommend): https://amzn.to/3EiyKoZ
    ☕ Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/itbusinesspodcast

    If you found value in this episode, share it with another MSP, IT provider, or tech entrepreneur. Your support helps keep practical, no-nonsense IT business conversations coming every week.
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    25 分
  • MSP Boundaries With Aggressive Vendors (EP 1038)

    MSP Boundaries With Aggressive Vendors (EP 1038)
    2026/07/02

    I share some summer MSP war stories—court reporters with broken Wi-Fi, a small airport’s noisy digital logger, and my go-to Windows commands for quick network checks—and then I get honest about vendor behavior that crosses the line.

    From hidden billing and broken portals to reps calling my wife’s cell phone, I lay out what respectful partnership should actually look like in our channel.

    === Chapters

    • 01:05 Show Kickoff and Summer Plans
    • 05:00 Managed Switches Versus Real Problems
    • 10:11 Airport Logger Troubleshooting
    • 15:32 Netstat as a Quick Diagnostic
    • 26:34 Vendor Complaints and Boundaries
    • 44:31 Partner Portals and Wrap-Up

    === Companies / Vendors / Products / Books

    • TechCon Unplugged: https://www.techconunplugged.com
    • Learn netstat: https://www.ionos.com/digitalguide/server/tools/introduction-to-netstat/
    • Ruckus Networks (CommScope): https://www.commscope.com/ruckus
    • SonicWall: https://www.sonicwall.com
    • AppRiver: https://www.appriver.com
    • Pax8: https://www.pax8.com
    • ZoomInfo: https://www.zoominfo.com
    • Google Business Profile: https://www.google.com/business
    • Microsoft / Microsoft 365 / Microsoft Teams: https://www.microsoft.com
    • NetAlly EtherScope: https://www.netally.com/etherscope-nxg
    • NetAlly LinkRunner: https://www.netally.com/linkrunner-10g

    === SPONSORS:

    • Livestream Partner, ThreatLocker: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/threatlocker
    • Technology Partner, NetAlly: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/netally/
    • Technology Partner: Bvoip: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/bvoip
    • Travel Partner: TruGrid: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/trugrid
    • Digital Partner, Designer Ready: http://itbusinesspodcast.com/designerready

    === SHOW MUSIC:

    • Item Title: Upbeat & Fun Sports Rock Logo
    • Item URL: https://elements.envato.com/upbeat-fun-sports-rock-logo-CSR3UET
    • Author Username: AlexanderRufire
    • Item License Code: 7X9F52DNML

    === Connect with Uncle Marv

    🌐 Website: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/
    🎙 Host: Marvin Bee
    🛒 Uncle Marv’s Amazon Store (gear & tools I recommend): https://amzn.to/3EiyKoZ
    ☕ Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/itbusinesspodcast

    If you found value in this episode, share it with another MSP, IT provider, or tech entrepreneur. Your support helps keep practical, no-nonsense IT business conversations coming every week.
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    48 分