#7 – From the Trenches - Whiteboard IT’s Steve Murphy - Fit, Focus & Resilience (Steve Murphy)

Buffalo’s own Steve Murphy (Whiteboard IT) kicks off the series with a candid look at building an MSP from zero, never having a “real job,” and learning to love clear direction over daily chaos. He shares the near-failure that reshaped his strategy, why he sometimes says “no” to good money, and how to filter the AI hype through a security-first lens. Meet our OG guest, Steve Murphy of Whiteboard IT in Buffalo, NY—an owner who literally never worked for anyone else. Steve fell into IT as a teenager helping his uncle’s print shop, then launched a company during college because he “didn’t want a job.” Early years were pure survival; today success is intentional: know the numbers, know the exit options, and build a vehicle that can fund the future—without needing to sell tomorrow.

Steve’s biggest scar (and lesson) came when a “unicorn” client grew into a majority of revenue—then went under overnight. He had to lay off most of his staff and dig out of vendor debt. The takeaway: concentration kills. Since then, he’s designed the business to avoid shiny-object dependence and to value long-term fit over short-term cash.

That ethos shows up in sales: he recently walked away from a lucrative Teams Phone project because the fit was wrong. The client called back to thank him. Steve’s rule of thumb: treat every decision like you’ll have a beer with the client later.

On market shifts, Steve’s watching AI—but through a security lens. He’s allergic to hype, happy to be “late” if it means stable tooling and fewer surprises. (He jokes nothing truly new has been invented in IT since the ’80s.) What is delivering? The Microsoft 365 ecosystem—when used deliberately—and clear reporting that business leaders actually understand. Also: never underestimate pen and paper; his company name comes from whiteboarding client plans.

Advice for ~$1M MSPs: plot the next stage now. Define the hires that bridge you to the 3–5M tier (management layer, senior techs), and be purposeful. Rapid-fire takes include: ConnectWise (reluctantly), documentation is non-negotiable, outsource NOC, invest $100k in people (L3s), track global utilization, run one-on-ones, hire for attitude, be “all-in on the right cybersecurity,” and yes—some clients do read QBRs when they’re meaningful.

[MSP growth strategy] [client concentration risk MSP] [MSP exit planning] [AI security for MSPs] [Microsoft 365 for business] [MSP sales qualification] [MSP reporting tools] [global utilization KPI] [outsource NOC strategy] [Buffalo MSP Whiteboard IT] [Teams Phone fit] [walking away from bad deals] [tool adoption timing] [LifeCycle Insights reporting] [documentation best practices] [hire for attitude MSP] [one-on-one meetings leadership] [pen and paper productivity] [compliance opportunity MSP] [senior technician hiring] 

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