Being a truly proactive vCIO takes more than making a few basic recommendations about software renewals or hardware refreshes. A proactive vCIO provides high-level strategic advice to clients through the technical alignment process. How do you do this? You align your client’s technologies against your standards. Some examples of standards are legal and compliance requirements, security requirements, industry requirements, or business-specific requirements.

The end of the year is a time of reflection for many of us, and for good reason. As the year comes to a close and the new year begins, it’s a great time to look back on how you’ve grown over the past year, reassess company values, principles, and direction. 

Put simply, I’m a sales guy. I’ve been selling for more than 30 years. I believe that sales is a craft more than a talent. Anyone who wants to learn the craft can become proficient at sales. Mastering the craft of sales has enabled me to start and successfully grow several businesses over the course of my lengthy career. We do our best here at TruMethods to help you learn the craft of sales. 

As we head into 2020, it’s clear that cybercriminals will continue using spear-phishing attacks as a go-to tactic for attacking victims. In these breaches, attackers heavily research their targets and craft carefully designed messages, usually impersonating a trusted colleague, website, or business. The attacks are designed to steal login credentials, financial data, and other information that can be used for other crimes.

I sat down this year with numerous TruMethods members to learn more about how they’ve leveraged the TruMethods framework to not only grow, but transform their businesses. While many of the conversations I had with members were thoughtful, engaging and downright interesting, there were a few that stood out among the rest.

Schnizzfest's agenda this year is jam-packed with panels, special content sessions and networking opportunities. While over the past few months I’ve covered what attendees can expect from this year’s education tracks, I haven’t reviewed the hours we’ve allocated to networking opportunities. 

If you’re a TruMethods member, you’re probably aware of our company’s obsession with standards, predictable results and process. Fortunately, our mindset has rubbed off on many of our members. It’s what’s helping them with generating more MRR, building strategic relationships and delivering consistent service offerings to their clients.

The TruMethods team produced a lot of informative and relevant blog content in 2019, much of which received very positive feedback. There are a select few — a couple of which are focused on the increasingly complex cybersecurity threat landscape — that you should take some time to read through.

Going into 2020, cybersecurity is top of mind for MSPs. Cyberattacks now more than ever are impacting businesses, hospitals, governments and other entities. For MSPs, there’s money to be made in the space, but to get a piece of the pie, they must understand how to position themselves.  

Even though you probably haven’t completed your 2020 business plan yet, you’ve at least started the process, right? If not, you’re behind many of your peers, but the good news is this: You can still make up for lost time as long as you take action today.