The IT Experts Podcast

In this episode of The IT Experts Podcast, Ian Luckett and Stuart Warwick sit down to share their Reflections of 2025, looking back on a year that has been full of growth, challenge, learning, and perspective. This is a candid and human conversation, where business lessons blend naturally with life lessons, offering MSP owners space to pause, reflect, and reset as another year comes to a close. The conversation opens with a shared acknowledgement of how quickly the year has passed and how important it is to take time to reflect before rushing into planning the next chapter. These Reflections of 2025 are not about performance for the sake of it. They are about understanding what truly mattered, what created momentum, and what quietly drained energy along the way. Ian and Stuart explore the idea that businesses exist to serve life, not the other way around, and that clarity often comes from slowing down rather than pushing harder. On a personal level, both hosts share openly about significant moments from the year. Stuart reflects on the long and emotional journey of moving house after many years, using it as a reminder that worthwhile outcomes often come with frustration, uncertainty, and moments where it feels easier to give up. The lesson is simple and powerful. If something feels right, staying with it and trusting the process often matters more than speed. These Reflections of 2025 highlight how resilience is built through lived experience, not theory. Ian shares deeply personal insights around family, vision, and legacy. One of the most meaningful parts of his year has been the progress made toward creating an assisted living home for his son. What began as a vision shared with clients and peers has slowly taken shape through conversations, introductions, and aligned support. This journey reinforces a theme that runs throughout the episode. When you are clear on what matters and willing to speak it out loud, the right people often appear at the right time. Reflections of 2025 show that vision creates movement long before results are visible. Professionally, the discussion turns to the evolution of The MSP Growth Hub and the lessons learned from working closely with MSP owners throughout the year. Ian reflects on how challenging sales and marketing have felt at times, particularly as buyer behaviour continues to shift. Funnels dried up during parts of the year, engagement patterns changed, and familiar tactics stopped delivering the same results. Rather than seeing this as failure, these Reflections of 2025 frame it as feedback. Listening more closely to clients, paying attention to how people are buying, and staying consistent with helpful content has proven more valuable than chasing quick wins. Stuart shares his professional highlight of the year, which has been building greater scalability and resilience into the Growth Hub. Expanding the team, strengthening delivery frameworks, and creating clearer structures has allowed more MSPs to be supported without Ian and Stuart becoming bottlenecks. These Reflections of 2025 underline an important truth for MSP owners. Sustainable growth comes from systems, people, and rhythm, not heroic effort. Both hosts speak about the privilege of watching clients grow not only in revenue, but in confidence, clarity, and leadership. Seeing MSP owners pay off debt, hire with confidence, improve cash flow, and regain control of their time has been one of the most rewarding outcomes of the year. These Reflections of 2025 remind listeners that numbers matter, though personal growth and resilience often come first. The conversation also explores frustration. Ian and Stuart are honest about wanting to help more people and feeling impatient at times with the pace of impact. There is recognition that consistency matters deeply, whether in marketing, leadership, or personal health. Stopping and starting creates drag, while steady effort compounds quietly over time. Reflections of 2025 reinforce that progress rarely comes from dramatic change. It comes from repeated, intentional action. Health and wellbeing feature strongly in the closing reflections. Stuart shares lessons learned from supporting family through illness and recovery, highlighting the importance of strength, resilience, and looking after yourself long before you need to. Ian echoes this, reflecting on how physical health underpins the ability to show up for family, business, and life. These Reflections of 2025 gently remind listeners that success without health is fragile. As the episode closes, Ian and Stuart thank listeners for their continued support and trust. The podcast exists to help MSP owners feel less alone, gain clarity, and make better decisions. These Reflections of 2025 are an invitation to pause, take stock, and move forward with intention into the year ahead. Make sure to check out our Ultimate MSP Growth Guide, a free guide that walks you through a proven process to take your MSP from stuck to scalable, without working even more hours. It's 44 pages rammed with advice, insights and inspiration to help you decide what support is available to you now if you want to grow and scale your business. Click HERE to get your copy. Connect on LinkedIn HERE with Ian and also with Stuart by clicking this LINK And when you're ready to take the next step in growing your MSP, come and take the Scale with Confidence MSP Mastery Quiz. In just three minutes, you'll get a 360-degree scan of your MSP and identify the one or two tactics that could help you find more time, engage & align your people and generate more leads. OR To join our amazing Facebook Group of over 400 MSPs where we are helping you Scale Up with Confidence, then click HERE Until next time, look after yourself and I'll catch up with you soon!

In this episode of The IT Experts Podcast I sit down with the brilliant Heather Macdonald-Alford from Counting Creators to explore how MSP owners can move from cash flow chaos to real clarity. This is a subject close to my heart because so many great MSPs work incredibly hard without truly understanding what their numbers are telling them. Heather Macdonald-Alford brings a level of honesty, energy and practical insight that cuts through the noise and helps owners see their finances in a completely fresh way. As we open the conversation I share a view that I see often inside The MSP Growth Hub. Most MSP owners do not really have a finance problem, they have a visibility problem. They look at their bank balance and assume it reflects performance. They tell themselves the numbers will make more sense when they have more time. They hope that the year end will reveal something encouraging. Heather Macdonald-Alford explains how this pattern keeps people overwhelmed and how clarity is always closer than they think when they start looking at the right information. Throughout the episode I hear again why so many MSPs believe they are doing well when the detail tells a different story. Heather Macdonald-Alford works with MSPs every day and sees the same issue repeating itself. Busy owners who care deeply about their clients still find they are undercharging, over delivering and carrying clients who take too much time for too little return. When she talks about profitability by service it becomes obvious why this is such a powerful starting point. When you know the true performance of each service, you can see instantly where the pressure sits and where value is being eroded. It changes the way you think about growth. One of my favourite sections in this conversation is when we talk about time tracking. Many MSP owners treat it as a chore and some even resist it. I have seen this in my own clients and I know how quickly it can become a cultural issue. I share exactly how we approach it in our own business and Heather Macdonald-Alford reinforces the point with real clarity. Time tracking is not about checking up on people. It is about giving the business the insight it needs to make good decisions. When your team understand that it protects them as much as it protects the business the entire dynamic shifts. We then explore the difference between profit and cash which is something that catches MSPs out repeatedly. I have had many conversations with owners who believe they have had a strong month then realise they have large commitments that sit outside the profit and loss. Heather Macdonald-Alford explains why so many owners look at the numbers mid-month, see more money than expected and start making decisions that create stress later on. She gives a clear and simple habit that every MSP can adopt straight away. Review your numbers to the most recently closed month. Not to date. Not part way through. Once that habit forms the risk of being blindsided drops dramatically. There is also a moment where I offer a long overdue apology for a comment I once made about bookkeeping. I share openly that it was a mistake and Heather Macdonald-Alford brings both humour and depth to the correction. Bookkeeping is not a low value task. It is a growth lever. When the right people manage the numbers the business gains clarity, rhythm, and confidence. When the wrong people manage the numbers, the business loses visibility, and the owner loses control. Heather explains how to spot the difference and what good financial support should look like. As we bring the episode to a close, I ask Heather Macdonald-Alford for the three actions she recommends every MSP owner takes. Her answers are simple and powerful. Block time every month to review your numbers. Ensure the right people are doing the right financial tasks. Be selective about events and ideas so you stay focused on the actions that genuinely move the business forward. These principles echo what we teach inside The MSP Growth Hub and they create structure around financial clarity that helps owners grow with confidence. For any MSP owner who wants more control, more insight, and more confidence in their numbers, this episode will give you practical steps that you can use straight away. When you understand your numbers, you lead your business with greater certainty and you create a path that supports both growth and quality of life. Connect with Heather Macdonald-Alford through her LinkedIn by clicking HERE. You can also visit their website and learn more about Counting Creators by clicking HERE. Make sure to check out our Ultimate MSP Growth Guide, a free guide that walks you through a proven process to take your MSP from stuck to scalable, without working even more hours. It's 44 pages rammed with advice, insights and inspiration to help you decide what support is available to you now if you want to grow and scale your business. Click HERE to get your copy. Connect on LinkedIn HERE with Ian and also with Stuart by clicking this LINK And when you're ready to take the next step in growing your MSP, come and take the Scale with Confidence MSP Mastery Quiz. In just three minutes, you'll get a 360-degree scan of your MSP and identify the one or two tactics that could help you find more time, engage & align your people and generate more leads. OR To join our amazing Facebook Group of over 400 MSPs where we are helping you Scale Up with Confidence, then click HERE Until next time, look after yourself and I'll catch up with you soon!

In this episode of The IT Experts Podcast we explore why transparency in leadership plays such an important role in creating a confident and high performing team inside your MSP. The conversation opens with the truth many owners recognise. Leaders often hold information close because they feel unsure about what to share. When you move from the early survival stage of running your MSP into a growth stage, you realise that the team need more clarity, more context, and a clear view of how the business works. This is where transparency in leadership becomes a genuine accelerator for engagement and performance. Ian and Stuart explore the common fear that many owners experience when the subject of financial openness comes up. There is a feeling that people might judge you for the revenue or the bank balance or even assume you can offer pay rises every time numbers increase. When transparency in leadership is missing, the owner ends up carrying most of the weight alone. The team remain in the dark and make up their own stories about how the business is performing. When you introduce a simple rhythm of sharing the right information with the team, the atmosphere changes. People understand how the business works, why certain decisions are made and how their daily actions influence the results. Stuart talks about how many MSPs begin with a lifestyle mindset and then evolve into a growth focused business. As this shift happens, the owner needs greater leverage across the team. The only way to create leverage is to help your people understand what they are contributing to. They do not need a detailed profit and loss. They need clarity. They need to understand the vision, the values, and the purpose of the business. They need to see how their role supports the goals of the company. Transparency in leadership helps them see that connection clearly. A key point raised in the episode is the importance of education. You cannot walk into a Monday stand up and announce that you are suddenly talking about numbers. You ease the team into it. You tell the story of why the business exists and what it is there to deliver. You explain why profitability matters for job security, growth, bonuses, new equipment, and new opportunities. When you frame your message through a story rather than a spreadsheet, people lean in. Transparency in leadership creates a sense of belonging rather than pressure. The conversation also highlights the practical side of sharing numbers. You pick three or four simple metrics that matter. These could be customer satisfaction scores, service gross margin, the value of monthly quotes raised by the service desk or age debtors. You then update the team regularly and show them how their work influences these figures. When people see progress, they feel motivated. When numbers slip, they understand where focus is needed. This rhythm of transparency in leadership builds accountability without creating fear. Ian and Stuart share examples of how service desks often create thousands of pounds worth of quotes without recognising that they are contributing to sales. When you show them this, they sit up straighter because they realise they are part of something larger. That awareness strengthens culture, confidence, and teamwork. It also encourages healthier conversations about how projects deliver margin, how time is used, and where improvements can be made. Everything becomes lighter because the team understand what success looks like. As the episode closes, the message becomes clear. If you hold all the numbers close, the business slows down. People guess what is important. They guess what success looks like. They guess what they should prioritise. That kind of guesswork never scales. When you embrace transparency in leadership, you gain momentum. You create clarity. You show people how they can help move the business forward. This opens the door for stronger culture, aligned behaviour, and a shared sense of progress. Make sure to check out our Ultimate MSP Growth Guide, a free guide that walks you through a proven process to take your MSP from stuck to scalable, without working even more hours. It's 44 pages rammed with advice, insights and inspiration to help you decide what support is available to you now if you want to grow and scale your business. Click HERE to get your copy. Connect on LinkedIn HERE with Ian and also with Stuart by clicking this LINK And when you're ready to take the next step in growing your MSP, come and take the Scale with Confidence MSP Mastery Quiz. In just three minutes, you'll get a 360-degree scan of your MSP and identify the one or two tactics that could help you find more time, engage & align your people and generate more leads. OR To join our amazing Facebook Group of over 400 MSPs where we are helping you Scale Up with Confidence, then click HERE Until next time, look after yourself and I'll catch up with you soon!

In this episode of The IT Experts Podcast, we explore one of the most common questions MSP owners face, how to charge more without losing clients. Ian is joined by Justin Neale from Value Alchemists, a specialist in value-based pricing who works closely with MSP leaders who want to increase margins, strengthen client loyalty and feel more confident about the prices they set. This conversation brings a welcome sense of clarity to a topic that often feels heavy for business owners, and it explains why price increases can become a natural and healthy part of running a modern MSP. Ian and Justin Neale begin by unpacking the fear that stops many MSPs from reviewing their pricing. Many owners worry that even a small increase will shake client relationships or trigger a wave of cancellations. Justin Neale explains that this feeling is normal for business owners, although the reality is far calmer than the story they tell themselves. He highlights how remaining static with prices can damage credibility, weaken perceived value and make an MSP look like the budget option without ever intending to. He walks through the idea of the premium pricing paradox, a pattern he sees across the industry where higher prices often result in stronger client loyalty because the shift signals confidence, quality and leadership. Ian and Justin take the discussion into the world of value. They explore why MSPs struggle to move away from selling deliverables and why so many owners feel attached to long lists of tools, subscriptions and platforms. Justin Neale explains that MSPs are experts in their craft, so they naturally focus on technology. Clients do not make decisions this way. Clients want outcomes, protection, time savings, security and clarity. When MSPs step back and look at what a client is really trying to achieve, the entire pricing conversation becomes simpler. The MSP begins to position a complete solution rather than a menu of choices, and the client feels understood rather than overwhelmed. A key part of the episode focuses on confidence. Ian shares a story about belief and how vital it is for an MSP owner to feel certain that their service improves the lives of their clients. This leads to a powerful section in which Justin Neale explains how MSPs can build internal confidence by digging deeper into the value they already create. Many MSPs have clients who have scaled successfully, saved money, increased productivity or avoided significant risk because of the work done behind the scenes. When an MSP reconnects with these stories, they often gain the certainty they need to approach pricing with more structure and leadership. The conversation then moves to practical action. Justin Neale introduces the idea of customer scoring, a method that removes emotion from pricing decisions and helps MSPs understand which clients value them most. By using a simple scoring model, MSP owners can identify the clients who love working with them, spot those who are price sensitive and plan price increases with confidence. The aim is never to keep every client forever. The aim is to build a client base that aligns with the service, values and direction of the business. Healthy attrition is part of this process, and both Ian and Justin reinforce that stronger clients create stronger margins, which in turn create more stable and meaningful long-term relationships. Ian and Justin then explore how client journeys shape value. Many MSPs operate in a reactive cycle where they solve issues as they arise. Justin Neale encourages owners to look at the complete customer journey and identify patterns that signal a deeper problem or a chance to improve the client experience. When MSPs understand the journey from the client's perspective, they make better decisions, improve service flow and create opportunities to add value without increasing workload. This mindset also helps owners feel more comfortable with premium positioning because the service becomes clearly aligned with outcomes. The episode rounds off with a practical summary. The message is clear. MSPs who want to charge more need to stop selling lists and start selling outcomes. They need a pricing rhythm that feels calm, confident and predictable. They need to understand their ideal clients and build their service around the problems they can solve. And above all, they need the courage to lead the conversation on value rather than waiting for clients to raise it. Ian closes the show with the reminder that every MSP can take steps to increase margins without creating disruption when they approach pricing with confidence, clarity and a focus on outcomes. With guidance from experts like Justin Neale, the path becomes much clearer and far more achievable. Connect with Justin Neale through his LinkedIn by clicking HERE. You can also visit their website and learn more about Value Alchemists by clicking HERE. Make sure to check out our Ultimate MSP Growth Guide, a free guide that walks you through a proven process to take your MSP from stuck to scalable, without working even more hours. It's 44 pages rammed with advice, insights and inspiration to help you decide what support is available to you now if you want to grow and scale your business. Click HERE to get your copy. Connect on LinkedIn HERE with Ian and also with Stuart by clicking this LINK And when you're ready to take the next step in growing your MSP, come and take the Scale with Confidence MSP Mastery Quiz. In just three minutes, you'll get a 360-degree scan of your MSP and identify the one or two tactics that could help you find more time, engage & align your people and generate more leads. OR To join our amazing Facebook Group of over 400 MSPs where we are helping you Scale Up with Confidence, then click HERE Until next time, look after yourself and I'll catch up with you soon!

In this episode of The IT Experts Podcast, Ian Luckett and Stuart Warwick explore why getting to "no" faster strengthens the way you grow your business. This conversation brings real clarity to the habits that shape confident decision making, especially when you want to build a cleaner and more focused MSP sales pipeline. You will hear why many owners feel weighed down by slow moving leads, how that drains energy, and how simple shifts in the way you qualify can transform the shape of your growth rhythm. Ian and Stuart open with a truth that every MSP will recognise. Sales always sounds simple from the outside, yet the reality feels very different when you are the one carrying the pressure. The MSP sales pipeline often feels full, although most owners know it is filled with names that are unlikely to convert. The desire to keep every lead alive comes from a natural fear of scarcity. When you have a smaller base of clients, each opportunity feels precious. The irony is that this mindset creates friction and slows you down, because you spend time speaking to the wrong people for too long. Ian and Stuart talk about the emotional weight of this and how freeing it can be when you learn to release poor fits earlier. Stuart shares a story from early in his career which shaped the way he thinks about conversations. He describes reading every sales book he could find and learning one lesson that has stayed with him for decades. The quicker you reach a clear decision, the easier sales becomes. When someone is not the right fit, the next suitable opportunity is already on its way. The MSP sales pipeline becomes stronger when you remove those who do not align with your pricing, your standards or your approach. This mindset gives owners permission to be open, direct, and decisive. It also removes the fear of missing out, because clarity creates space for better prospects. The conversation moves to confidence. Both hosts explain how confidence is one of the most attractive qualities in any sales process. Prospects want an expert who stands tall, explains things clearly and leads with structure. Ian talks about how this shows up at events and networking conversations. When you know your value, you ask better questions and you guide the discussion in a way that respects your time and theirs. The MSP sales pipeline works best when you feel comfortable enough to ask whether the person in front of you is a right fit now, rather than keeping them in the wings hoping they return one day. Scripts and prepared questions play a powerful role here. Ian and Stuart highlight how simple prompts can uncover intent quickly. Asking whether something is a now decision or a later decision helps you avoid months of soft chasing. Many MSP owners avoid clarity because they fear hearing something they do not want to hear. Ian compares this to checking your financials. You may feel anxious about seeing the detail, although seeing the truth always helps you make stronger decisions. The MSP sales pipeline becomes healthier when you know where each conversation sits. The episode also explores how targeting sharpens every stage of sales. When you understand your ideal client profile, you know who you serve best and why. This shapes your questions, your positioning and your confidence. Stuart talks about specialists who focus on accountants or professional services and how this improves every conversation. When your targeting is precise, you get to yes faster without forcing anything. The MSP sales pipeline fills with people who already understand your relevance, which shortens the sales cycle and lifts conversion rates. Toward the end of the episode, both hosts underline the importance of consistency. When you have a steady rhythm of leads, qualification feels lighter. You feel less attached to every single conversation. This freedom helps you sound clearer, gain trust, and hold stronger boundaries. You say no with ease when someone is not right. This shapes a high-quality MSP sales pipeline that contains engaged prospects who value your advice and want to move forward. This episode equips you with a practical and confidence building way of thinking about sales. It encourages you to take control, ask better questions, and give your future clients the experience they need from the moment they meet you. When you embrace this approach, you create clarity, shorten your sales cycle and grow with far more ease. Make sure to check out our Ultimate MSP Growth Guide, a free guide that walks you through a proven process to take your MSP from stuck to scalable, without working even more hours. It's 44 pages rammed with advice, insights and inspiration to help you decide what support is available to you now if you want to grow and scale your business. Click HERE to get your copy. Connect on LinkedIn HERE with Ian and also with Stuart by clicking this LINK And when you're ready to take the next step in growing your MSP, come and take the Scale with Confidence MSP Mastery Quiz. In just three minutes, you'll get a 360-degree scan of your MSP and identify the one or two tactics that could help you find more time, engage & align your people and generate more leads. OR To join our amazing Facebook Group of over 400 MSPs where we are helping you Scale Up with Confidence, then click HERE Until next time, look after yourself and I'll catch up with you soon!