This is my third part in attempting to answer the question behind a highly emotional set of responses I’ve received to this post. Things in the IT world are changing radically and it’s natural for most people to resist change – most people enjoy their comfort zone and when comfort zone impacts your livelihood it’s natural to feel uneasy about it.

To read about the journey so far:

How do you create compelling value on top of something that is no longer a problem people will pay to solve.

Why things fail.

And the post that started it all: Success.

Let’s continue…

This part is something that is universal to us all in business, business owners and business employees alike. We have to meet expectations. If we don’t meet expectations, we don’t get promoted or even worse we get fired.

Whether we’re fired by the client or the boss is of little concern here. What should be a concern is: are we meeting expectations. Now, keep in mind that this is where things tend to get complicated because money (that which we spend on our happiness) is at stake. And to make it even more complex:

1. You don’t control the expectations. Your boss or your client does.

2. You don’t judge whether you’re meeting expectations. Your boss or client does.

Argue with it if you will, cry that it’s unfair, paint a sign to abolish the filthy western capitalism – whatever makes you feel better. But accept it. You are not in control.

If you can make it past that….

(by the way, most won’t / can’t – because they feel it’s unfair)

Now that you understand that you are not the one in control of the situation, try to figure out a way to manage those expectations and even more importantly – celebrate when you exceed the expectations that you have established in black and white!

That is easy to say but very hard to do. Because what really counts isn’t that you’re meeting or exceeding expectations, it’s the consistency that matters. You have to be great all the time or the first time you flop you’re back to everyone else – us humans down here that make mistakes from time to time but generally seem to move forward at a slow pace.

Establish a set of goals and a set of metrics that can be easily measured..

Again, just common sense. When you need to prove that you’re actually worth being kept around as a service or employee, you need to establish the set of metrics that both parties can agree on and then do your best to exceed them and make sure both parties are aware of it.

And this is where it all falls apart..

Keep in mind that I am not a motivational speaker.

Here is the thing – just because you can agree on a set of metrics, doesn’t mean that the other party considers them to be important. What’s even more infuriating (as discussed in the previous post) is that the level of importance of the things you’re delivering tends to diminish as you get further away from the original problem you’ve been hired to solve.

To wit, your ability to maintain your current service charges / salary or even increase them depends on your ability to consistently prove you can do more than what you’ve committed to. Here is how the decision maker thinks: If this service/person is only delivering what I pay them for, giving them more business is not really going to make me marginally better off so I’ll have to think about it. It means – they don’t buy. In the HR terms, if the person is constantly asking for a raise but never consistently going above the call of duty, then giving them a raise will only increase the output so much and may not be worth it (what if they decide they don’t want to work as hard?)

So now you know why as a business owner you don’t get a ton of business or why as an employee you aren’t paid. Truth is, no matter where we are – after the initial euphoria of the win – we all believe we’re not being paid enough.

So here is the secret:

1. Dedicate yourself to constantly improving.

2. Market your improvement to the decision makers.

3. Prove you can do something before you ask for money (ex: at OWN we give people free trials)

4. Always, always, always go back to #1 and solicit feedback. Because remember, it’s the person that parts with the money that defines the parameters of your job and their expectations of you – it’s not up to you to decide whether that’s fair or what the service/job is. Ever tried arguing with your client over an invoice? How well did that go?

Summary

The truth of the matter is, whether you feel you’re underpaid or your business is not successful, at the core is the fundamental truth that you suck. <gulp> The nice thing about life is that “suck” is relative and so long as you can dedicate yourself to both improving and being open to the criticism (otherwise people won’t tell you that you suck and you’ll just keep on beating your head against the wall) the only thing that matters is consistency and dedication.

If you’re really willing to be successful (and aren’t just faking it) and are committed to always improving instead of quitting because you’re either right or the grass is greener on the other side.. success is just a matter of time and a journey, not a specific point in time.

To give you an idea: I run a multimillion dollar software company. Nobody gave me money to start it. I’m at a business conference where my sole purpose for being here is to ask people to give me their money because I can do something better than they could and for far less. It took a ton of time, money and sacrifice to build what I’m about to offer them. It took a ton of time to perfect my ability to communicate what I will do for them and why they should choose me over someone else. And then when I finally win the deal (or job) I have to keep on kicking butt every day, deliver more than what they are paying for (consistently, or they’ll switch to a lower cost solution) and keep on asking them if we’re doing a good job. It didn’t happen overnight. It didn’t happen in a single spurt either. It’s process. Nobody is just going to give you stuff. You have to completely blow people away before you can ask them to part with their money.

The beauty of capitalism is that (on the average) so long as you can execute all the above, you can drive a red Ferrari and take your kid to Disney World. Or whatever brings you joy.

The MSPU bootcamp monster is growing – if you’ve never seen MSP University bootcamp in action you’re missing out. It’s 3 days packed with MSP training on sales, management, HR, service desk – basically building and running a business from how to manage your hardware to how to manage the cleaning detergent supply for the office cleanup crew We’ve proudly sponsored every single one of these and will continue to because they remain as (as biased as this may seem) the best resource for MSPs out there.

But now it’s growing again with pre-day events. Next week in Dallas, should you happen to come early, you can check out CompTia’s security workshop.

P.S. Your head will spin with ideas when you go through one of these – and they are free as well – so it’s not for everyone.

Merry Christmas.

We’re nearly at the end of 2009 and I wanted to give a present that so many have asked for over the past year. To be honest, it is long overdue and given my road schedule somewhat embarrassing that it took so long. But here it is:

Cell Phone:

(407) 536 – VLAD

Powered by Google Voice.

This is the cell phone number that you can reach me at, directly, from 10 AM to 10 PM. Through the years I’ve aggressively supported the IT Service Provider industry (and at times some in the industry didn’t want to hear it) and my company has profited from that attitude handily – because when you have a big mouth people tend to hold nothing back. Our new business model, and nearly all of our relationships in the industry, have been built on the ability to discuss strategy and collectively build something great on feedback, trial and error, experiments and generally social stuff.

In 2009, I’m ashamed to admit, reaching me has been almost impossible unless you have my cell phone number and catch me between meetings. Now you have a solution for at least half of that problem

On the bright side, I’ve spent 2009 on the road learning what solutions will push MSPs in 2010 and beyond and have spent all of my in-office with my staff trying to guide us in the right direction. With the launch of ExchangeDefender 5 and the death of nickel-and-dime pricing model you’re starting to see the results.

In 2010, I want to step it up a notch. What we’ve built may not be perfect but I believe that by being open and accessible we can minimize any pain points that come up by giving you a straight connection to the very top.

SLA: Generally accessible 10 AM – 10 PM. SLA response within 24 business hours (during conferences or product launches when I’m generally blocked from the outside world entirely). Phone calls are screened automatically, all texts and voicemails are logged and stored on third party (external system) and do not have a confidentiality guarantees of any kind. Calls may be screened and reviewed by Own Web Now Corp staff and you may receive a phone call directly from a member of Own Web Now staff if I feel that they are able to quickly assist you with the issue. I will follow up all calls.

Keep in mind, this is still 2009 and just the continuation of the message I’ve delivered you all year: We stand behind our s#$%. When you trust us with your business you know exactly who stands behind it and I’m not hard to find.

In 2010, I intend for OWN to blow you away with what we’ve got going on. I’ve been hinting that huge things are ahead for ExchangeDefender MSPs. Every time I post on this blog and tell folks they need to work with us, the response is in triple and sometimes quadruple numbers. I have no words to express how much that means to me and justifies everything I do in this business.

So Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and thank you from the bottom of my heart, pocket and the Vlad’s Ferrari Found – taking the beatings over the ExchangeDefender stuff while we were building ExchangeDefender 5 was tough to take at times, the talent has been an issue, virtually everything here had to grow up and it was tough. Thank you for pushing me, around the clock, and sticking with us. I can’t even convey the joy that I get from the constant stream of “thank you” and “wow” messages I am getting now. And the VFF is doing better than ever so thanks for that to.

From my family, everyone at Own Web Now Corp and all the ExchangeDefender SPAM filtering rackmounts…. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Holidays!

Hi again, from 30,000 ft again, flying back home. I love Los Angeles, I love the climate, the spots, the energy and the feeling of endless opportunity and people struggling to make it. But I married someone that I love far more than all that put together, so whenever I leave my little quiet village, it recharges my batteries and drives me even harder. Since Sunday AM, I’ve clocked 11 hrs of sleep and am currently on a redeye flight with wifi.. and I’m happy.

One of the most fulfilling moments of this week was meeting and hanging out the people that absolutely love this blog.

Listen, I know it’s been a tough year for many of you – and I’ve tried my best to put on an act that entertains you and cheers you up. It’s been a fantastic year for us, I know from conversations that some of that enthusiasm and energy has rubbed off on you and made you push harder and become more successful as a result of it.

Most of all, thank you for taking the blog for what it is – a venue for fun. For me, hopefully for you. I’ve met so many of you that read the blog and do business with Own Web Now and ExchangeDefender despite (or maybe in spite) of the stuff you see here.

I got to spend the last few days with some very close friends I have in this business and I can tell you that we extend this level of effort because we care and we want to push this industry forward. There is a reason I hit the road and you aren’t only seeing the sales drones and marketing popups.

The day you no longer see me blog, post jokes on Facebook, throw pot shots on Twitter, go out and hang out with people regardless of what their “lead quality” happens to be and the podcasts and webcasts die… is the day that Own Web Now Corp ceases to exist because you’ll know that I’ve moved on.

To those of you that see and feel that in everything I do, that work with us, that keep pushing me directly… thank you.

My mind is racing with 10,000 ideas and agenda points that I’ve accumulated over the last week, all of which I will sum up and tie together over the next 5 hours of flight, but for now I just wanted to thank you for your attention.

Relax. Slow down. Wait a minute.

It’s what I’ve been offering my folks that are dealing with a ton of questions about the launch of ExchangeDefender 5, Shockey Monkey, OWN Portals, OWN Configurators and all the cool stuff we’ve been working on.

“For news about Own Web Now products please keep a close eye on www.ownwebnow.com/blog for announcements and promotions.”

That’s the only response they are allowed to provide in portal and in tickets and over the phone. Now, naturally, if you know them – they’ll tell you more but allow me to explain..

For Santo’s Sake

A while ago Stanto asked for the Vlad-to-English dictionary so here is the translation of the above. For years, Own Web Now was a geek organization. To call it a business would be a compliment because it didn’t behave as a business, it behaved like a bunch of kids who got distracted by the latest coolest feature and just went for it.

Boy was it fun.

But somewhere along the path the company got successful.

That’s when it all went to shit.

At a point, features no longer become the thing that makes your product awesome but turn into a magnet for stupidity that you then have to document, fix, tweak and otherwise dumb down or coat in vinegar to keep people off.

Over the past year Own Web Now Corp went from a global geek empire to a corporation, with all sorts of evil roles and people that spend time tracking user satisfaction, peak performance, problem resolution times, etc.

Now that our flagship product is launching we’re not going to do what we did every single time in the company history:

“Hey, check this out! Doesn’t work? Try now? Works? Awesome! Yeah, I know it’s cool as hell!”

No.

On 16th of November we’re launching series of webcasts introducing you to the ExchangeDefender 5.

A week after that we’ll actually start talking about the feature set.

A week after that we’ll start a sales promotion.

You will know this product and love this product before we talk it up to high hell.

I understand that there is always that element of curiosity associated with a launch, and I promise you won’t be disappointed… but give OWN a chance to do this right. I did it my halfass way for 12 years which was fine enough to get us to this point. But the list of Ferrari collectors and enthusiasts is growing and I don’t want to be at the bottom of the order book anymore. Let’s focus on what’s really important here and why we’re all doing this to begin with.

Seriously – relax. We’ll take really good care of you. Those of you that have talked with us at ConnectWise and HTG know that there is simply no comparison for what we’re offering in the next wave and price point – so the two weeks aren’t going to kill you. I know you want it now, I feel your pain – I’ve endured months of bitching while this product was being designed and tested to a lot of personal and professional beatdowns – Dec 1….

Blogs are free for a reason: We rarely talk to you about what we’re going to be doing tomorrow, much like books and articles, it’s about the past and the present. So let’s look at today in the little world of IT: the HTG cult is pushing with cutting the lowest performers and making sure everything grows every single month, yet I can tell you from discussions with a few members that we work with that it’s not so easy out there. Even No-Recession-Karl is finally being affected by the downturn, though to his credit he did hold out for a year. To our OWN credit, we’re about to smash the revenue and profit figures again as August wraps but primarily due to the strength of our cloud services.

Let’s face it folks, business is still slowing down. Many people have cut people, lost big projects, clients that were around for years, etc.

If you want some of my success, call OWN and figure out how to offer cloud services.

Though to be honest, I see a world in which even that will very soon be available for free or so close to free that it won’t really matter.

If you are under impression that big projects are right around the bend, where you can charge a big hourly premium to make up for lost ground, don’t bother: Wallstreet Journal: ‘Billable Hour’ Under Attack.

Fearmongering

The recent post I wrote about Future View scared many of you. What was really just a post acknowledging rebalancing of our training and support services to a new era where the basics of technology are worthless (ie, anyone can do it) and towards things our clients are actually willing to pay for brought many to the edge. I got everything from “is own shutting down” to “will I still be able to buy stuff from you” and even “so are you going to sell direct?”

These are fears our industry is facing as it becomes every man for himself type of an environment. Between big corporations being bought for pennies on the dollar because they can’t make payroll and conglomerates fighting one another over which industry they can devalue faster, the premium of technology is going away.

So assuming that folks that are successful in the industry aren’t about to blog it, and that people on the outside that write books and articles for money only do so because they couldn’t make it in the industry in the first place.. where are you going to fight for the survival of your technology business?

Tip: Start asking your clients what they are willing to pay for.

I’m sure the SPFs, if they were still around and not selling Kia’s and Huyndai’s right now, would strongly disagree and do the song and dance about being a trusted advisor and how business people are really just stupid and would rather pay $100/hr for someone else to do it…. let’s look at the big picture for a moment: In less than 10 years, back when we used to dial up to the Internet, newspapers, encyclopedias, local garage sales and just about everything in between got decimated. Are your stills REALLY that invaluable that you’re foolish enough to think the same tide won’t take you under? Hope not.

Survey Monkey. It’s free.

From one of the most respected and fair people in the IT industry, Walt Mossberg of the WSJ. While I totally agree with Walt’s assessment that Windows 7 migration will suck for Windows XP users I wonder just how fair it is to expect a flawless transition from an OS that came out in 2001. Can you really beat up a company, even if it is Microsoft that ought to be held to a different standard, for recommending a hardware upgrade / drive wipe to an OS that was released that long ago? Seriously, how smooth will be the upgrade from OS X 10.0 to 10.6 / Snow Leopard that comes out about a month before 2007?

My wife has been running Windows 7 and I wouldn’t say she loves/likes it but I haven’t heard any complaints. On the same laptop she has been a vocal hater of Vista.

Congratulations to Microsoft and Windows 7 on getting this one out. I hope it spells a new era for Microsoft and I hope it is a rock solid release for their sake. I don’t think Microsoft has another “Let’s tell a story, and hope people will be able to still stay on our platform if we keep a free beta out there of something more optimized” because it’s switch time for many and Mac, for all it’s lack of applications and overpriced hardware, still offers a better experience and can emulate XP for business tasks. And when you lose your enthusiasts (almost done) and get pounded by competitors (check) and your former partners (double check), there is really nowhere else to go.

So Microsoft / Windows 7, I’m rooting for you!

I’m on my way to the HTG Summit right now and I’m trying to figure out what else I can talk about during my presentation on Monday. I’m doing one of those lunch and learn things that often become monotone sales pitches while you’re trying to eat or have a business discussion. Since I’ve got nothing to sell that isn’t painfully obvious to everyone in attendance, what would folks like to know about being successful in a services business?

If you have an idea, drop me an email. I’ll develop it.

Here is the problem that is going to be tough to swallow and will leave a lot of the current IT businesses, even very successful ones, out in the cold: when it comes to IT services consumers and businesses want to buy. They don’t want to meet with you, to get to know you and your business and your cats name, what you did on the last vacation or else.

The same things that are critical to closing a high end sale or a high value reoccurring revenue are the the nail in the coffin of a successful services business. If you are signing up someone for a $3K all you can eat support contract you probably want to sit down with them and figure out if they are going to require $10K of network renovation up front. But if they want business / enterprise class email, just how much are you going to mark up that $10 service to make a profit?

We are often asked by our “prospect” partners how much other partners charge for the service. The cookie cutter response and the company policy is to say “We do not track that information, each reseller positions our products in a different way with a different value and identical product can be sold at different rates by different people. Because we do not track this, we don’t have any idea.” – Truth is, I know exactly how much people make because I talk to every even marginally successful partner out there! But it’s not my business to share those conversations or create success stories because, at the end of the day, you are either in it or you aren’t and the relative cost is never the telling part of a person who is going to make money on services as opposed to one that will have it as a loss leader.

Generally, it’s not my business to teach folks this stuff. But for HTG, I’m willing to make an exception. What would you like to hear?

There will be no more Dell laptops or workstations @ Own Web Now. I had my final conversation with the Dell Gold Team rep (BJ) to find out if anything could be done and cancel orders.

“I hate to lose your business to another computer manufacturer, let’s look at some models on the home site…”

Goodbye Dell, hello HP & Lenovo.

In another story, I got invited to sponsor an event organized by a person that promotes and sells our competitors software. They didn’t want to sell ExchangeDefender which supports and contributes to the community because they saved a few cents with our competitor, but they want our money to throw an event. Err, no.

Sometimes this crap rubs off on me. But then I realize these are not my problems.

Own Q1 has destroyed all previous records. We’re throwing additional capacity around the clock and two new products launch in April. Every day people give me more ideas for what we could build to make them more money and that’s what it’s all about.

Now I’ve come under some criticism from my pals over my (overly accurate) depiction of the Microsoft Partner Program last year. But nobody is immune. Check these winners out:

Go Green

Or we will feed you to the ugliest printer, scanner, paper shredder / human chopper on the market. Seriously folks, I know it’s Kyocera which specializes in ugly, but this monstrosity? What’s the angle? If you print something you’ll have to touch this device?

Now I’ve seen some ugly MFC systems but nothing quite like this. From the web site: “It makes a bold impression.” So does a bathroom without a door, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea!

Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

This one came to me courtesy of Dave. Now despite colorful language here, I’ve never stepped a foot inside of an “Adult Entertainment” restaurant. It just does not sound sanitary.

But how big of a problem do you have when you’re hitting the joint for LUNCH?? That’s something to bring up at 11 AM:

Amy: Lunch anyone? Anyone up for Chillis? TGIF? McDonalds?

Bob: Hey, the strip joint is serving discount lunch specials!!! <wack>

And another thing! Show some pride in your work damnit, what’s with the spacing and indentation? Recession doesn’t give you the right to do a half ass (heh, heh) job on the marketing!