Five Disastrous Habits You Have to Dump Right Now

Imagine a snowstorm pounds the east coast. (It is happening right now!) You need to go somewhere urgently. You get in your car and start driving. There is a traffic light at the top of a small hill and the road is very icy. With some deft maneuvering, you manage to stop without sliding backwards. Then the the light turns green. You hit the gas but instead of moving you only start spinning.

Do you press on the pedal harder? Start screaming at the top of your lungs? Pound your fists on the steering wheel?

If you’ve driven in these conditions, you know the answer: You do none of the above. Doing so will only spin your tires, expend more energy and get you nowhere.

Despite the obvious answer to this dilemma, this is what many people do in this circumstance. Same for those in dicey situations in business. We think if we can put just a bit more energy behind our efforts, we will go further and stop spinning our wheels. But to get over some career hills, you need another approach. Sometimes you need to stop, back down, and take another run at a business challenge.

I’ve thought of at least five different instances when this advice applies to running a managed IT services business. Consider these suggestions before you run out of energy spinning your wheels in futility:

1. Stop hiring anyone with a pulse

When I attended the Entrepreneur.com event last December in Long Beach, one of the speakers opened my eyes to how we must hire new employees. No more interviews and hiring the wrong person. We are now going to audition every single person. Three-to-five days, paid time…lets see if they cut the mustard.

2. Don’t chase after loser clients

We have all done this. We have bills to pay so we pick up every loser client out there and they turn out to be a disaster. Scrutinize your clients just as much as they scrutinize you. Do your background checks on them and make sure they are a good fit for you. Say NO if they are not.

3. Make sure to take time for yourself

I live in Myrtle Beach during the winter and one of the things I love to do every day is take a walk on the beach with my dog, Archie. Archie loves it and it give me some time to think without being a slave to my email. It is only an hour a day and you must make time for it.

4. Stop going to bed late and sleeping in (even on weekends) 

The old saying “the early bird gets the worm” is so true. Why do most successful business owners get up early in the morning? There’s got to be some truth to this. I have been getting up at 5 a.m. since I was a private in the Army, and it seems to have worked well for me.

5. Don’t forget about sharpening your saw

Stephen Covey reminded us in his book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” that you must continue to sharpen your saw. This ties into point No. 3: you need to step back from the day-to-day grind and learn more about your craft and sharpen your skills. You need to do this everyday.

There are many more tips I can share with you. These are just five basic ones to help you get your managed IT services business on track.

I have one bonus tip: Find clients that you love to serve. Eric Taylor from IT Simplified shared this with me. He fired all his non-vet clinic clients a few year ago and focused in on one single vertical. He loves animals and he loves technology. Eric is very happy today and has a thriving MSP business in Charleston, SC.

If I can help you in anyway, give me a call at 716.799.1999 or drop me an email at stuart@ulistic.com. I would love to talk and share tips with you.