March 27, 2025 • 34 mins
What if getting fired was the best thing that ever happened to your career? In this episode of Now That’s IT: Stories of MSP Success, host Chris Massey sits down with Chris Kraiss, founder of ClearPath Technology, to discuss his journey from corporate IT to building a thriving MSP—and the setbacks that shaped his success.
Chris shares:
✅ How getting fired pushed him to launch his own MSP
✅ The moment he realized he had to fire bad clients to grow
✅ Why mentorship and partnerships were game-changers for scaling his business
✅ The importance of company culture in attracting and retaining top talent
✅ His real-time insights on leadership, fearlessness, and strategic growth
Whether you're an MSP owner, IT leader, or thinking about making the leap, Chris’s story is packed with real-world lessons on resilience, business strategy, and scaling with confidence.
🎧 Listen now and learn how to turn setbacks into success!
Let us help you unlock your business's full potential.
N-able Business Transformation is Expert led and Peer informed.These valuable executive programs are tailored to provide effective guidance and a faster path to a scalable and successful business.
Book a Call with Chris Massey now to learn what Business Transformation can do for you!
'Now that's it: Stories of MSP Success,' dives into the journeys of some of the trailblazers in our industry to find out how they used their passion for technology to help turn Managed Services into the thriving sector it is today.
Every episode is packed with the valuable insights, practical strategies, and inspiring anecdotes that lead our guests to the transformative moment when they knew….. Now, that's it.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
One, two three, four.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
I had married a woman with a congenital heart defect
and wasn't quite sure how shewould take the news of me
getting fired.
But when I told her that, sheslapped her desk and she's like,
good, now you can start thatbusiness you've always wanted to
start, I started crying.
I was really impacted.
I mean, I didn't expect thatanswer, I didn't expect that
(00:24):
flood of emotion, but it hit mehard and I felt very supported.
So I started that business inWisconsin and then her and I we
ended up with an amazing year.
We went to Hawaii and had timeand really connected, you know,
just had a very strong year andat the end of that first year
(00:45):
she passed away.
It was a lot.
It hit me extremely hard and Ihad a partner who kind of, you
know, limped along, butultimately I sold that business
and my house and I moved to LA.
Yeah, you know, like I just Ijust really it took, you know, a
year to kind of come to that,but it was devastating.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Welcome to Now that's it stories of MSP success,
where we dive into the journeysof some of the trailblazers in
our industry to find out howthey used their passion for
technology to help turn managedservices into the thriving
sector it is today.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Today we're joined by Chris Crace, a senior IT leader
and founder of ClearPathTechnology.
With over 20 years ofexperience, chris has helped
countless businesses streamlinetheir IT infrastructure,
maximize their ROI and aligntechnology and business goals.
Thank you for joining the pod,chris.
Thank you, chris.
So you have an amazing journeyand I can't wait to go through
(01:43):
it with you.
But I want to go back to thebeginning of your IT journey.
When did you discover the lovefor technology, chris, and when
did you see it as a way for itto not only be be able to make a
living, but also make an impact?
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Yeah, I would say, when I was about 19 or so, I was
in college and I was studyingEnglish and but at night I would
just like tinker, you know, andtechnology and computers.
And back then they wereembarrassingly you know, slow
and old, but you know I'd playwith it.
And then it was my girlfriend'smom.
(02:20):
She's like Chris, you're you'remessing with technology, like
why don't you just studytechnology, you know, why go to
school for one thing and thenget you know, do all this with
the technology?
So she's like Chris, you'remessing with technology, why
don't you just study technology?
Why go to school for one thingand then do all this with the
technology?
So I did, I literally switchedmy major because of her and, man
, that was a great choice Didn'tend up marrying that girl, but
still thank her mom to this day.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
Yeah, the fact that she comes up in the podcast is
stuck in your memory.
That's right.
So let's talk about the podcastis stuck in your memory.
That's right.
So let's talk about thebeginnings of your MSP journey.
What inspired you to start yourmanaged service provider
business?
Speaker 2 (02:54):
So from there I went to the University of Wisconsin
and then went right into an ITcareer and was in corporate IT
for a while and then I got fired.
And I got fired and I drovehome early on a Monday and my
wife was there at home and she'slike, oh, you're home early.
And I'm like, yes, I am, andand I'm actually here, you know,
(03:18):
to stay.
But so I a little bit ofbacktrack.
I had married a woman with acongenital heart defect and
wasn't quite sure how she wouldtake the news of me getting
fired.
But but when I told her thatshe slapped her desk and she's
like good, now you can startthat business you've always
wanted to start.
(03:39):
And I started crying.
I was really impacted.
I mean, I didn't, I didn'texpect that answer.
I started crying.
I was really impacted.
I mean I didn't, I didn'texpect that answer, I didn't
expect that flood of emotion,but it hit me hard and I felt
very supported.
So I started that business inWisconsin and then her and I we
ended up with an amazing year.
We went to Hawaii and had timeand really connected.
(04:02):
You know it was our seventhyear of marriage but just had a
very strong year and at the endof that first year she passed
away.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
Yeah, that had to be very difficult for you
personally.
And how did you get throughthat?
Obviously, you're running abusiness and then this personal
thing happens, tragedy happensto you.
So how do you get through that?
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Yeah, that's a great question.
In a lot of ways I didn'treally, you know, it was a lot.
It was a lot.
It hit me extremely hard and Ihad a partner who kind of, you
know, limped along butultimately I sold that business
and my house and and I moved toLA.
(04:43):
You know, like I just I justreally it took you know a year
to kind of come to that, but itit was devastating.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
Why.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
LA.
Why LA?
Yeah, that's what everybody inWisconsin wanted to know too,
Like you know Los Angeles.
But uh, for me I had gone outfor a business trip and just was
really tired of cold winters.
Uh, I told A that it took 18months for my bone marrow to
thaw out, so I hated the cold,Always did so having a permanent
(05:11):
summer was really nice and thenjust very different.
I was ready for differenteverything and I just loved the
challenge.
La is like crazy tough and Iliked that.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
I appreciated that Was it a little, was it a little
bit of therapy, sort of gettingaway from Wisconsin and sort of
starting something fresh.
Obviously, you never, you nevercompletely leave home, yeah,
but just sort of getting awayand starting something fresh.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
It was yeah, it was what my, my heart needed.
And you know, if I had it to doover again, I'd probably do it
differently.
But you know, that's what I didin the moment.
And there was a time in LAwhere I came to kind of a like
decision point.
You know, was this a season?
Was this temporary?
Was this in no, no, like I cando this.
I this in no, no, like I, I cando this, I want to do this.
(06:10):
You know.
And that was really when I kindof began the msp part of my
journey.
Yeah, um and uh went from beinga solopreneur, which is what I
was kind of committed to yeahlike I'm just gonna do this on
my own.
I had a friend who owned a chickfilet and he's like chris, like
if I have an employee thatdrives their car through my
lobby I might get out of payingunemployment, but probably not,
(06:32):
and I it was.
It struck some fear into me,you know.
I'm like I don't know if I wantto deal with all that, and so I
was solopreneur just the IT guydoing that thing for a while.
And then I listened to apodcast with Dave Wilkerson.
He's a friend of the family youknow the Enable family and he
just made a lot of sense to meand so I reached out to Dave and
(06:53):
I said, would you help me?
And that really because Ididn't want to do it on my own.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
And I didn't have to, and so I began to build the
true MSP and really build asolid foundation.
My first hire was actually anadministrative assistant.
It was not a tech, which isunusual, I guess, but she was
also my cousin, so I knew I hada good, trustworthy person.
And she's still with me to thisday, eight years later, and,
(07:22):
yeah, it's been an amazingjourney.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
And she's great.
I've met her and she's sort ofyour better half there, right?
I mean for sure, yeah, that'sgreat.
So take us back to those firstsort of months and years of
going from solopreneur to MSP.
What was it like getting thatbusiness started in LA?
Speaker 2 (07:45):
Yeah, it was a journey of confidence, like you
know.
I had to become more confident,you know, and more capable, and
and so I began to practice youknow confidence, kind of fake it
till you make it which isreally good in LA.
You know that's a, that's right, that's a strength of LA.
But I did, I, you know, Iwalked into you know offices and
(08:07):
businesses and I just said, hey, you know this is what I do and
, um, and you can trust me andand that was kind of my value, I
was like cause, trust is a high, you know, highly valued
commodity in LA.
You know it's it's notfrequently there but, um, but I
just say here's, you know, justtalk to these people and so you
know you can trust me.
(08:28):
And then you know, let me dofor you what I've done for them.
And so I began to kind of buildthe business with those
conversations and and followingthrough on my word showing up
when I said I would, you know,keeping promises.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
That Midwest or East coast work, uh, work, uh
mentality.
Yeah, that goes a long way inin California, doesn't it?
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Yeah, it's a little unusual.
Yeah and um, I was my, myproposition, my value
proposition, and and then itcreated the kind of clients I
wanted.
And so I had this kind ofinitial, you know, growth spurt
and got all a lot of greatclients and then a few kind of
not so great clients.
Yeah, and I read a book by mikemccallow.
(09:10):
It's called pumpkin plan andit's basically you just you put
clients on a pumpkin catapultand you launch them.
You know, I just love theimagery, yeah, and so I did that
, like I went through and I Ifired about five different
clients.
Yeah, and so I did that Like Iwent through and I fired about
five different clients and itwas very nerve wracking it was,
it was terrifying.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
That shows a lot of maturity.
There are still MSPs that Italked to today that they don't
see the difference between goodrevenue and bad revenue right.
It's hard for them to walk awayit may have been a past
relationship, their first client, whatever, and and for them to
look back and go, ah, I know I'mlosing money, but it's a, it's
(09:52):
a, it's a family friend orwhatever it is.
And so you made that harddecision early on and said or
whatever it is.
And so you made that harddecision early on and said we're
going to define what our ICP is, our ideal client profile, and
anybody outside of that, anybodythat's losing money, we're
going to shed them.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Yeah, and it actually wasn't the money, Really it was
yeah, assholes.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
Really, I'm just keeping it real Interesting.
Maybe you can beep that out.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Yeah, you that up, but like I just didn't want to
deal with them, I'm like, wow,like this is terrible.
Why would you say that to me,or my tech, you know, like we
can't do this.
And so, yeah, it was reallythat was the category that I was
ejecting.
And then, right after that, Igot so much new business yeah, I
kind of, and it wasn't related,yeah, directly.
(10:38):
New business yeah, I kind of,and it wasn't related directly,
so I called it spiritual youknow, cause it was unexplainable
, you know.
And I was like what happened?
Like why did all these peoplecome in?
I had two clients that uh gotbought by bigger companies, and
so both those companiesscheduled meetings with me and I
knew what they were going to do.
Like I get it, you know.
Like yeah it.
(10:58):
You know, like, yeah, you know,thanks for all your, your help.
But we've got our own team now.
And so I met with the first one,a big medical, you know, pe
startup, and they had bought oneof my doctor's offices.
And I'm just like I, I, youknow, I, I knew they were gonna
fire me, so I just was havingfun with the conversation.
I'm like, what do you guys do?
How do you manage yourcomputers?
How do you manage yourendpoints?
You know how's that going foryou?
(11:19):
And uh, and they're like, yeah,well, we're using this.
I'm like, okay, but thatdoesn't do patch management.
Like I don't understand.
Like how do you really do it?
And they're like, well, weactually wanted to talk to you.
(11:40):
You know like, do you think Icould, you know?
And then a cpa firm same thinghappened.
They got bought by a biggercompany and I said so you know
how's your it company.
And they're like yeah, we, wereally like them, like that's
great, you know, I'm glad tohear that.
And then, as the conversationdeepened, they're like you know,
our it company actually doesn'tdo that.
You know, how do you?
You know how do you do that,why do you do that?
And they then they end up firingtheir it company and bringing
us in too.
So both those cases we ended upmoving into the bigger clients,
(12:01):
and that was literally onemonth after both of them, one
month after I fired those otherclients.
So that's been interesting.
And now, keeping it very realtime, I I was fired recently by
a client and I was firedrecently by a client and it was
not because of performances,because they just moved into a
(12:22):
different model, basically, andI actually agreed with them, but
it was a big client and it hurtfinancially and I waited I
actively waited to see whatwould happen, whether this
spiritual process would continueand it didn't Not the same way,
(12:43):
but something's happening veryreal time.
It's not completing yet, butI've now had three conversations
with providers of services thatare highly complementary and
synergistic to ClearPath, thatare all nationwide, and so it's
interesting now to see, like I'mnot getting clients, I'm
getting groups of clients, Ithink.
(13:05):
You know, just keeping it real,I'm not sure, but I think that
I'm now moving into groups ofclients and client attractors
and partnerships, which ishonestly way more fun for me.
I love seeing my partnerssucceed, and so it's a new
season again and it's a really agreat season.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
I love it.
That's exciting.
So I've gotten to know you.
I think I met you first timefour years ago and ever since
the first time I met you, I'vealways seen you as someone
that's pretty outgoing and notafraid.
You know, can talk the talkjust like you mentioned Not an
IT, not an introvert.
Have you always been that way?
(13:47):
When you started out as atechnician, did you always want
to get out and speak to people,or did you have to build that as
a business owner that I need tobe more of a salesperson?
Speaker 2 (13:59):
yeah that's a good question.
Yes, good questions.
I think that, uh, my, that ishave grown and, you know, into
(14:23):
my mid 20s and my 30s I had todo quite a bit of healing
emotionally and, you know,internally, and I ended up kind
of coming out of my shell, youknow, in a lot of ways, and
finding who I am, and even tothis day I'm almost 50 now but I
really feel like I'm kind ofcoming out of my shell, you know
, in a lot of ways, and findingwho I am, and even to this day
I'm almost 50 now but I reallyfeel like I'm still beginning or
(14:45):
progressing in the embracing ofmyself and who I really am and
what I'm capable of.
I kind of love it Like.
I feel like it's like openingChristmas presents.
I don't know, this might soundreally weird, but I just feel
like I love this process ofcontinuing to grow and discover
who.
What can I do?
(15:06):
How far could I go?
You know.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
Yeah, I love that about you, chris you always come
across very positive, eventhough I'm sure there's a lot of
bad stuff, difficult stuffgoing on in the background.
You find some way to put apositive spin on stuff and keep
positive in front of everybody.
How do you do that?
How do you do that on a dailybasis, because life's hard right
(15:30):
.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
Yeah, it is, and for me that process is a spiritual
one.
My relationship with God hasbeen extremely dynamic.
I grew up in traditionalChristianity and in my mid-20s I
kind of began a process ofdeconstruction and coming out of
(15:53):
that environment and beginningto pursue God in a way that was
much more one-to-one.
Yep and try to figure it out,you know, and these last few
years have been extremelyfreedom-giving in that area.
My relationship with God hasbeen very, very life-giving, and
(16:17):
so part of my deal with him isI want to learn to live without
fear and anxiety.
You know, like completely.
And so when we got fired by thebig client, I didn't sleep.
I was full of anxiety, to behonest with you, and that
bothered me more than the lossof the client.
(16:38):
Like damn it, like I reallythought I had made some better
progress here.
And so I went back to him likelisten, like you know we, I need
some more help here, clearly,you know.
So help me understand how tokeep moving this fearlessness
back until it simply is part of.
(16:59):
It's the way I live, it's justwhat I do, and so he's helping
me, it's real time, and you know.
And so we're in this process.
And then I've surrounded myselfwith other people who are
incredibly insightful andhelpful, and I've I've almost
come to believe that it's notabout being fearless, um, but
(17:24):
it's.
It's about being connected toother people who are in a state
of no fear in that moment.
So when I'm in a state of nofear and they feel it, they can
come to me, and so now, together, we are in a state of
fearlessness.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
Yeah, that's beautiful.
So we've definitely hadconversations, you know, offline
and I love how this is workingfor you and I love the
interactions that you have.
Again, I love the positivity.
It's interesting.
The MSP community, I think, is a, is an is a unique one in which
there's definitely some somecompetition.
Right, we want to own sort ofour market, but in the end, msps
(18:06):
want to help each other.
I mean, we're here this week,we're getting a bunch of
colleagues together and this isall about moving our businesses
forward, or at least a part ofour business forward, and so I
think you're that point aboutconnecting with others is really
, really powerful in the MSPspace, right, because you don't
know everything, yeah, and youhaven't.
You know, maybe you haven'tgone through an acquisition
(18:29):
before or you haven't tried totry to sell a part or a piece of
your organization or a business, and so being able to have
people to bounce ideas off ofthis is really powerful, that's
right.
So let me ask you this You'restarting the MSP off in LA and
you're and you're starting to gofrom solopreneur to
(18:50):
entrepreneur and you got alittle business.
Was there ever a moment whereyou thought about giving up and
saying this?
This isn't for me.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
Only at the very beginning.
But as the tougher things havehappened in growth, I can
honestly say I haven't.
I just tend not to give up to afault.
I probably hang on too long,but in this business I haven
tend not to give up to a fault.
You know, I I probably hang ontoo long, but in this business I
haven't gotten to that point.
The toughest parts of thisbusiness have been hiring great
(19:25):
people and and then contributingto their greatest good and
inviting them to contribute toclear past greatest good.
And so I I probably have grownthe most in leadership and
hiring practices, you know.
And then, yeah, just learninghow to really help you know my
(19:47):
people and asking where do youwant to get to?
And the answer is usually theydon't know.
And so not just asking that,but being part of that journey
and, at the same time, makingsure that ClearPath is being
served well and our clients arebeing served well.
So I would say, if there's, youknow, I haven't thought about
giving up, but the toughestmoments have been with those
(20:09):
employees and making sure thatthere's bidirectional value
adding.
Speaker 3 (20:16):
I think that's really powerful.
I mean, you mentioned Dave, andDave and I worked together for
a long time and I alwaysremember, when I was a young
tech and trying to figure thingsout, and having him as a mentor
to say, like he came to me andsaid, well, what do you want to
do, like, long term?
I'm like, I love my job, I'mmaking good money, and you know
there's bad days and good days,but he's like no, what do you
(20:37):
want to do?
Do you want to be a CIO?
Do you want, you know, toreally have that long-term plan
for me and I thought that waspretty unique and so for you to
be able to provide a verysimilar you know conversation
with your.
You know you're there, you'refamily, right, you spend most of
the time with people you workwith right, and so you know they
need to be mentoring you andguiding you and being there to
(21:01):
be able to bounce ideas off of.
So that's pretty powerful, huh.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
Yes, and they have to be trustworthy because the
company is, you know, supplyingall of us with a livelihood and
so, yeah, it's really a funchallenge to learn how to
contend while learning how toexpect.
You know from, as giving andexpecting at the same time
(21:24):
Speaking of trust.
Speaker 3 (21:25):
How transparent do you try to be with your
employees about the directions,the ups and downs of the company
?
Obviously, I'm sure theyrealize that you were losing
that large client.
Did you guys have a discussion?
Well, this is how we're goingto get through this together.
These are the sacrifices weneed to make.
How did you handle that?
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Yeah, I did.
I have a morning huddle witheverybody.
I just said here's what'shappening.
They're going away and here'sthe plan.
Here's how we're going to moveforward together.
Here's what's needed from youas an individual and as a team.
It probably sounded a lotbetter in my head than it did to
(22:06):
their ears.
We've been quite cohesive inthis season, but this is very
real time.
We've got some time to see howthat all went.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
I wish you the best of luck.
I'm confident that you willfind a way through it.
It's interesting.
It First of all, people.
Most people don't like change.
In general, I feel like ITtechnicians are very resistant
to change Right.
Once you do it one way, whywould I change the way that I do
it?
Because there's a better way todo it.
There's an easier way to do it,so that's great.
(22:41):
Let's talk about culture.
You've obviously built, I think, a really amazing culture For
you to be able to say I'm goingto fire clients because they
don't treat us right.
That's pretty powerful.
What's the culture like atClear Path?
Speaker 2 (22:58):
I love our culture, I love our people and the best
thing I did was hire my cousin.
She really is the better halfyou weren't exaggerating.
She is amazing, and it's notjust how hard she works.
She's a very hard worker butpeople naturally come to her.
She was a social worker beforejoining us in Chicago, so she's
(23:25):
seen some tough stuff and she'sdealt with a lot and so she's
just a natural empathizer, anatural people person and she
cares a lot.
I mean just an amazing woman,and so you know our people tend
to go to her to be honest.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
You know it's great.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
I don't, I guess I don't create warm fuzzies, but
but that makes us a good teamand you know she really has
filled in a lot of that for me.
Served our employees quite well.
Bridges a lot of gaps, you know, between employees, between
employees and customers, youknow, fills that in, so I feel
like I got quite lucky.
(24:05):
I mean, working with family canbe catastrophic and for me it's
nothing but amazing, and so I Idon't consider that a skill.
There's definitely a lot ofluck there, but at the same time
, you know, our culture isstrong and so we've got, you
know, a great team.
We do have some people overseas, you know, have some people in
(24:27):
LA, and I just love the hybridinteractions, the teamwork
between remote and on-site itgoes quite well.
Speaker 3 (24:39):
Yeah, yeah, with all that teamwork, it actually goes
quite well have you thoughtabout how you will maintain that
culture as you grow thebusiness?
Speaker 2 (24:47):
I have thought a lot about that, yeah, and for me it
comes down to partnerships, youknow, and choosing those right
people with which to grow.
And then I'm finding it easierto be transparent.
You know I now enjoy it and so,inviting them into this journey
, I've invested in someexecutive leadership and brought
(25:09):
my team, some of my team, intothat and that language.
Those tools have been quitehelpful, and I've done that with
a couple different programs.
But you know, I'm trying tobuild those pillars so that as
we grow, we are building onpillars and not on quicksand.
And at the same time, I do feellike I'm experimenting.
(25:30):
You know it's a bit of anexperiment as I go, but it feels
really strong.
Speaker 3 (25:35):
So far Excellent.
I love it.
I think if you keep thatpositive attitude and bring that
energy that I know you have,I'm sure it will continue to
last.
If you want to think back overthe last several years, what
have been the most rewardingmoments for you as a MSP owner?
Speaker 2 (25:54):
oh, man, it's been so fun and in so many ways, for me
it's hearing the stories frommy employees about, you know,
the families.
A couple of them had babies thisyear and, you know, realizing
that clear path is extendinginto families and, you know,
(26:14):
know, supporting kids.
But then in the businesses thatwe serve, you know, just last
week we had an administrativeassistant who was an extremely,
you know, solid part of abusiness that left unexpectedly
and then the owner called us indesperation and you know we have
(26:36):
done a lot of handholdingthrough that situation and you
know, just a wave of gratitude,you know, coming into the
company from that client Like,oh my gosh, what would we do
without you?
And so I see that as arewarding, not just, you know,
to hear the thanks but to knowthat these systems we've
invested in, you know the tools,you know the products that
(26:58):
we've gotten to learn and know,and that we can rely on them and
use them to actually do suchgood as well as that normal
daily maintenance that we neverwill get thanks for.
It's fun for me to see thatmaturity with real fruit and
real results in a time that is,you know, really tough for one
of our clients.
(27:18):
Wow, but I know we sorry onemore thing yeah.
I just know we're adding thatkind of value, Even if we don't
hear the thanks.
I know that the better we do atour jobs, you know, the
smoother things will go for ourclients.
Speaker 3 (27:30):
That's right, that's it.
I remember the days of the MSPwhen you'd make that sale and
you'd, all of a sudden you'd youknow, their call volume peaked
up a little bit because they'vebeen saving all those problems,
uh-huh, and then you startedsolving the problems and it was
oh thank you so much that one'sbeen out there forever, yeah.
And then at some point in timethey stopped calling you and
they're like do we even need youanymore?
(27:51):
But you've made life so goodfor them that not there's
problems anymore.
So yeah those are fun, chrisGrinding challenges For sure.
All right, so you talked alittle bit about the real time
what it's been like forClearPath but how about the
future?
What do you envision the futureto be like?
Speaker 2 (28:11):
Yeah, for ClearPath it's going to be a lot of growth
.
We have invested in a solidplatform for the last few years
and we're just now ramping upthe sales engine marketing so
we're primed for a lot ofsuccess, a lot of growth.
And with that comes thechallenges right of how to
(28:32):
maintain that ethos and makesure that people are still happy
doing what they do in new waysor a new scale.
But I envision bringing it withwith that growth, the ability
to bring in more resources forhelping the maturity level, or,
you know, the capability levelsof our people in the ways that
(28:52):
they've always wanted to grow oralways wanted to learn.
This executive leadership stuff.
You know it is life-changing.
You know you start applyingsome of these tools to the home
life you know marriages andrelationships as well as at work
, and it really is life-giving.
And that holistic return oninvestment is what I live for.
(29:15):
I love, you know, the off theclock successes as much as on
the clock, and so experimentingwith ways, not just in our
people but in our customers, andhow we can add even more value
and, you know, create that uh,unbelievable customer experience
every time, or a lot.
I just that's where I getreally excited.
(29:38):
So, as ClearPass scales, I'mintentionally freeing myself to
create those experiencesinternally and externally, and
I'd love to have you know just awhole bunch of new stories for
you next year, let's do it again.
Yeah, yeah, where we can sharethat kind of growth.
Speaker 3 (29:54):
That'll be great.
So if you were to start allover again today, Chris, knowing
what you know now, what wouldyou do differently?
Speaker 2 (30:05):
I would have started with confidence and I would have
done anything I needed to do tobuild and support confidence in
myself and remove fear in everypossible way and support
confidence in myself and removefear in every possible way.
And then I would have investeda lot more money.
I'm kind of a grassrootsentrepreneur, you know, but I
(30:29):
would have just gone out andgotten you know investors and
just dumped money into thatknown good engine and I would
have scaled faster.
Speaker 3 (30:36):
That's good.
What advice would you givesomeone today that's looking to
start their own MSP?
Speaker 2 (30:45):
first of all, I would say know thyself.
You know who are you really,you know what, what are you
capable of, and from there,build in all the places you are
not and find people or processesthat can do the things that you
just don't do.
I love the expression that ifyou, if you really work on your
(31:07):
weaknesses, you're gonna haveslightly stronger weaknesses,
and it's true, like we're goodat some things and we're not
good at other things, so it'sokay.
You know, like it's okay, likewe're good at some things and
we're not good at other things,so it's okay, you know, like
it's okay.
You're a great person, evenwith all those weaknesses, and
so you know, find ways to dowhat you do and fill in all
around you all the things youdon't do.
Speaker 3 (31:28):
That's great advice, chris.
Thank you for sharing that.
All right, I'd like to ask onelast question.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
When did you know?
Now, that's it.
Yeah, yeah, I've been thinkingabout this question now, that's
it.
And I I've had several moments,you know.
I shared one with my, my latewife slapping the desk saying
how you can start that business.
You know, full of support.
That was amazing.
Another one was when I talkedto Dave and I'm like here's what
(31:59):
I want to do, to be honest withyou.
The reason I called him was tohelp me acquire an MSP.
And it's embarrassing, you know, because and I told, I told him
five minutes into thisconversation I'm nowhere near
ready to acquire an MSP.
What am I talking about?
But could you help me get ready?
You know, and so, you know,working with him, you know, uh,
(32:20):
and in that conversation, thatinitial conversation, realizing
I wasn't there but I could be,you know, and I and, and
believing I could be, that was abig deal.
And then the last one for me,now that's it, uh, what, what is
it Now?
That's it, now that's it.
I had okay, now that's it.
What is it now?
That's it, now that's it.
I had okay, now that's it waswhen I realized that firing, or
(32:41):
getting fired, was the beginningof something good as a paradigm
shift, not as a one-off, but,you know, as a spiritual reality
.
You know a law.
You know, for me, a law that isas constant as gravity.
You know good things are coming.
Speaker 3 (33:00):
Oh, my goodness, that's a lot of confidence
building, yeah chris, it wasreally an honor to have you on
the podcast this week.
I can't thank you enough forbeing here.
It's been a pleasure to be anacquaintance and hopefully, a
friend and I.
I look forward to talking toyou again.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
Yeah, definitely a friend.
Thanks, Chris.
Awesome, appreciate it.
One, two three, four.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
I had married a woman with a congenital heart defect
and wasn't quite sure how shewould take the news of me
getting fired.
But when I told her that, sheslapped her desk and she's like,
good, now you can start thatbusiness you've always wanted to
start, I started crying.
I was really impacted.
I mean, I didn't expect thatanswer, I didn't expect that
(00:24):
flood of emotion, but it hit mehard and I felt very supported.
So I started that business inWisconsin and then her and I we
ended up with an amazing year.
We went to Hawaii and had timeand really connected, you know,
just had a very strong year andat the end of that first year
(00:45):
she passed away.
It was a lot.
It hit me extremely hard and Ihad a partner who kind of, you
know, limped along, butultimately I sold that business
and my house and I moved to LA.
Yeah, you know, like I just Ijust really it took, you know, a
year to kind of come to that,but it was devastating.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Welcome to Now that's it stories of MSP success,
where we dive into the journeysof some of the trailblazers in
our industry to find out howthey used their passion for
technology to help turn managedservices into the thriving
sector it is today.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Today we're joined by Chris Crace, a senior IT leader
and founder of ClearPathTechnology.
With over 20 years ofexperience, chris has helped
countless businesses streamlinetheir IT infrastructure,
maximize their ROI and aligntechnology and business goals.
Thank you for joining the pod,chris.
Thank you, chris.
So you have an amazing journeyand I can't wait to go through
(01:43):
it with you.
But I want to go back to thebeginning of your IT journey.
When did you discover the lovefor technology, chris, and when
did you see it as a way for itto not only be be able to make a
living, but also make an impact?
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Yeah, I would say, when I was about 19 or so, I was
in college and I was studyingEnglish and but at night I would
just like tinker, you know, andtechnology and computers.
And back then they wereembarrassingly you know, slow
and old, but you know I'd playwith it.
And then it was my girlfriend'smom.
(02:20):
She's like Chris, you're you'remessing with technology, like
why don't you just studytechnology, you know, why go to
school for one thing and thenget you know, do all this with
the technology?
So she's like Chris, you'remessing with technology, why
don't you just study technology?
Why go to school for one thingand then do all this with the
technology?
So I did, I literally switchedmy major because of her and, man
, that was a great choice Didn'tend up marrying that girl, but
still thank her mom to this day.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
Yeah, the fact that she comes up in the podcast is
stuck in your memory.
That's right.
So let's talk about the podcastis stuck in your memory.
That's right.
So let's talk about thebeginnings of your MSP journey.
What inspired you to start yourmanaged service provider
business?
Speaker 2 (02:54):
So from there I went to the University of Wisconsin
and then went right into an ITcareer and was in corporate IT
for a while and then I got fired.
And I got fired and I drovehome early on a Monday and my
wife was there at home and she'slike, oh, you're home early.
And I'm like, yes, I am, andand I'm actually here, you know,
(03:18):
to stay.
But so I a little bit ofbacktrack.
I had married a woman with acongenital heart defect and
wasn't quite sure how she wouldtake the news of me getting
fired.
But but when I told her thatshe slapped her desk and she's
like good, now you can startthat business you've always
wanted to start.
(03:39):
And I started crying.
I was really impacted.
I mean, I didn't, I didn'texpect that answer.
I started crying.
I was really impacted.
I mean I didn't, I didn'texpect that answer, I didn't
expect that flood of emotion,but it hit me hard and I felt
very supported.
So I started that business inWisconsin and then her and I we
ended up with an amazing year.
We went to Hawaii and had timeand really connected.
(04:02):
You know it was our seventhyear of marriage but just had a
very strong year and at the endof that first year she passed
away.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
Yeah, that had to be very difficult for you
personally.
And how did you get throughthat?
Obviously, you're running abusiness and then this personal
thing happens, tragedy happensto you.
So how do you get through that?
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Yeah, that's a great question.
In a lot of ways I didn'treally, you know, it was a lot.
It was a lot.
It hit me extremely hard and Ihad a partner who kind of, you
know, limped along butultimately I sold that business
and my house and and I moved toLA.
(04:43):
You know, like I just I justreally it took you know a year
to kind of come to that, but itit was devastating.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
Why.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
LA.
Why LA?
Yeah, that's what everybody inWisconsin wanted to know too,
Like you know Los Angeles.
But uh, for me I had gone outfor a business trip and just was
really tired of cold winters.
Uh, I told A that it took 18months for my bone marrow to
thaw out, so I hated the cold,Always did so having a permanent
(05:11):
summer was really nice and thenjust very different.
I was ready for differenteverything and I just loved the
challenge.
La is like crazy tough and Iliked that.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
I appreciated that Was it a little, was it a little
bit of therapy, sort of gettingaway from Wisconsin and sort of
starting something fresh.
Obviously, you never, you nevercompletely leave home, yeah,
but just sort of getting awayand starting something fresh.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
It was yeah, it was what my, my heart needed.
And you know, if I had it to doover again, I'd probably do it
differently.
But you know, that's what I didin the moment.
And there was a time in LAwhere I came to kind of a like
decision point.
You know, was this a season?
Was this temporary?
Was this in no, no, like I cando this.
I this in no, no, like I, I cando this, I want to do this.
(06:10):
You know.
And that was really when I kindof began the msp part of my
journey.
Yeah, um and uh went from beinga solopreneur, which is what I
was kind of committed to yeahlike I'm just gonna do this on
my own.
I had a friend who owned a chickfilet and he's like chris, like
if I have an employee thatdrives their car through my
lobby I might get out of payingunemployment, but probably not,
(06:32):
and I it was.
It struck some fear into me,you know.
I'm like I don't know if I wantto deal with all that, and so I
was solopreneur just the IT guydoing that thing for a while.
And then I listened to apodcast with Dave Wilkerson.
He's a friend of the family youknow the Enable family and he
just made a lot of sense to meand so I reached out to Dave and
(06:53):
I said, would you help me?
And that really because Ididn't want to do it on my own.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
And I didn't have to, and so I began to build the
true MSP and really build asolid foundation.
My first hire was actually anadministrative assistant.
It was not a tech, which isunusual, I guess, but she was
also my cousin, so I knew I hada good, trustworthy person.
And she's still with me to thisday, eight years later, and,
(07:22):
yeah, it's been an amazingjourney.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
And she's great.
I've met her and she's sort ofyour better half there, right?
I mean for sure, yeah, that'sgreat.
So take us back to those firstsort of months and years of
going from solopreneur to MSP.
What was it like getting thatbusiness started in LA?
Speaker 2 (07:45):
Yeah, it was a journey of confidence, like you
know.
I had to become more confident,you know, and more capable, and
and so I began to practice youknow confidence, kind of fake it
till you make it which isreally good in LA.
You know that's a, that's right, that's a strength of LA.
But I did, I, you know, Iwalked into you know offices and
(08:07):
businesses and I just said, hey, you know this is what I do and
, um, and you can trust me andand that was kind of my value, I
was like cause, trust is a high, you know, highly valued
commodity in LA.
You know it's it's notfrequently there but, um, but I
just say here's, you know, justtalk to these people and so you
know you can trust me.
(08:28):
And then you know, let me dofor you what I've done for them.
And so I began to kind of buildthe business with those
conversations and and followingthrough on my word showing up
when I said I would, you know,keeping promises.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
That Midwest or East coast work, uh, work, uh
mentality.
Yeah, that goes a long way inin California, doesn't it?
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Yeah, it's a little unusual.
Yeah and um, I was my, myproposition, my value
proposition, and and then itcreated the kind of clients I
wanted.
And so I had this kind ofinitial, you know, growth spurt
and got all a lot of greatclients and then a few kind of
not so great clients.
Yeah, and I read a book by mikemccallow.
(09:10):
It's called pumpkin plan andit's basically you just you put
clients on a pumpkin catapultand you launch them.
You know, I just love theimagery, yeah, and so I did that
, like I went through and I Ifired about five different
clients.
Yeah, and so I did that Like Iwent through and I fired about
five different clients and itwas very nerve wracking it was,
it was terrifying.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
That shows a lot of maturity.
There are still MSPs that Italked to today that they don't
see the difference between goodrevenue and bad revenue right.
It's hard for them to walk awayit may have been a past
relationship, their first client, whatever, and and for them to
look back and go, ah, I know I'mlosing money, but it's a, it's
(09:52):
a, it's a family friend orwhatever it is.
And so you made that harddecision early on and said or
whatever it is.
And so you made that harddecision early on and said we're
going to define what our ICP is, our ideal client profile, and
anybody outside of that, anybodythat's losing money, we're
going to shed them.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Yeah, and it actually wasn't the money, Really it was
yeah, assholes.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
Really, I'm just keeping it real Interesting.
Maybe you can beep that out.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Yeah, you that up, but like I just didn't want to
deal with them, I'm like, wow,like this is terrible.
Why would you say that to me,or my tech, you know, like we
can't do this.
And so, yeah, it was reallythat was the category that I was
ejecting.
And then, right after that, Igot so much new business yeah, I
kind of, and it wasn't related,yeah, directly.
(10:38):
New business yeah, I kind of,and it wasn't related directly,
so I called it spiritual youknow, cause it was unexplainable
, you know.
And I was like what happened?
Like why did all these peoplecome in?
I had two clients that uh gotbought by bigger companies, and
so both those companiesscheduled meetings with me and I
knew what they were going to do.
Like I get it, you know.
Like yeah it.
(10:58):
You know, like, yeah, you know,thanks for all your, your help.
But we've got our own team now.
And so I met with the first one,a big medical, you know, pe
startup, and they had bought oneof my doctor's offices.
And I'm just like I, I, youknow, I, I knew they were gonna
fire me, so I just was havingfun with the conversation.
I'm like, what do you guys do?
How do you manage yourcomputers?
How do you manage yourendpoints?
You know how's that going foryou?
(11:19):
And uh, and they're like, yeah,well, we're using this.
I'm like, okay, but thatdoesn't do patch management.
Like I don't understand.
Like how do you really do it?
And they're like, well, weactually wanted to talk to you.
(11:40):
You know like, do you think Icould, you know?
And then a cpa firm same thinghappened.
They got bought by a biggercompany and I said so you know
how's your it company.
And they're like yeah, we, wereally like them, like that's
great, you know, I'm glad tohear that.
And then, as the conversationdeepened, they're like you know,
our it company actually doesn'tdo that.
You know, how do you?
You know how do you do that,why do you do that?
And they then they end up firingtheir it company and bringing
us in too.
So both those cases we ended upmoving into the bigger clients,
(12:01):
and that was literally onemonth after both of them, one
month after I fired those otherclients.
So that's been interesting.
And now, keeping it very realtime, I I was fired recently by
a client and I was firedrecently by a client and it was
not because of performances,because they just moved into a
(12:22):
different model, basically, andI actually agreed with them, but
it was a big client and it hurtfinancially and I waited I
actively waited to see whatwould happen, whether this
spiritual process would continueand it didn't Not the same way,
(12:43):
but something's happening veryreal time.
It's not completing yet, butI've now had three conversations
with providers of services thatare highly complementary and
synergistic to ClearPath, thatare all nationwide, and so it's
interesting now to see, like I'mnot getting clients, I'm
getting groups of clients, Ithink.
(13:05):
You know, just keeping it real,I'm not sure, but I think that
I'm now moving into groups ofclients and client attractors
and partnerships, which ishonestly way more fun for me.
I love seeing my partnerssucceed, and so it's a new
season again and it's a really agreat season.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
I love it.
That's exciting.
So I've gotten to know you.
I think I met you first timefour years ago and ever since
the first time I met you, I'vealways seen you as someone
that's pretty outgoing and notafraid.
You know, can talk the talkjust like you mentioned Not an
IT, not an introvert.
Have you always been that way?
(13:47):
When you started out as atechnician, did you always want
to get out and speak to people,or did you have to build that as
a business owner that I need tobe more of a salesperson?
Speaker 2 (13:59):
yeah that's a good question.
Yes, good questions.
I think that, uh, my, that ishave grown and, you know, into
(14:23):
my mid 20s and my 30s I had todo quite a bit of healing
emotionally and, you know,internally, and I ended up kind
of coming out of my shell, youknow, in a lot of ways, and
finding who I am, and even tothis day I'm almost 50 now but I
really feel like I'm kind ofcoming out of my shell, you know
, in a lot of ways, and findingwho I am, and even to this day
I'm almost 50 now but I reallyfeel like I'm still beginning or
(14:45):
progressing in the embracing ofmyself and who I really am and
what I'm capable of.
I kind of love it Like.
I feel like it's like openingChristmas presents.
I don't know, this might soundreally weird, but I just feel
like I love this process ofcontinuing to grow and discover
who.
What can I do?
(15:06):
How far could I go?
You know.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
Yeah, I love that about you, chris you always come
across very positive, eventhough I'm sure there's a lot of
bad stuff, difficult stuffgoing on in the background.
You find some way to put apositive spin on stuff and keep
positive in front of everybody.
How do you do that?
How do you do that on a dailybasis, because life's hard right
(15:30):
.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
Yeah, it is, and for me that process is a spiritual
one.
My relationship with God hasbeen extremely dynamic.
I grew up in traditionalChristianity and in my mid-20s I
kind of began a process ofdeconstruction and coming out of
(15:53):
that environment and beginningto pursue God in a way that was
much more one-to-one.
Yep and try to figure it out,you know, and these last few
years have been extremelyfreedom-giving in that area.
My relationship with God hasbeen very, very life-giving, and
(16:17):
so part of my deal with him isI want to learn to live without
fear and anxiety.
You know, like completely.
And so when we got fired by thebig client, I didn't sleep.
I was full of anxiety, to behonest with you, and that
bothered me more than the lossof the client.
(16:38):
Like damn it, like I reallythought I had made some better
progress here.
And so I went back to him likelisten, like you know we, I need
some more help here, clearly,you know.
So help me understand how tokeep moving this fearlessness
back until it simply is part of.
(16:59):
It's the way I live, it's justwhat I do, and so he's helping
me, it's real time, and you know.
And so we're in this process.
And then I've surrounded myselfwith other people who are
incredibly insightful andhelpful, and I've I've almost
come to believe that it's notabout being fearless, um, but
(17:24):
it's.
It's about being connected toother people who are in a state
of no fear in that moment.
So when I'm in a state of nofear and they feel it, they can
come to me, and so now, together, we are in a state of
fearlessness.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
Yeah, that's beautiful.
So we've definitely hadconversations, you know, offline
and I love how this is workingfor you and I love the
interactions that you have.
Again, I love the positivity.
It's interesting.
The MSP community, I think, is a, is an is a unique one in which
there's definitely some somecompetition.
Right, we want to own sort ofour market, but in the end, msps
(18:06):
want to help each other.
I mean, we're here this week,we're getting a bunch of
colleagues together and this isall about moving our businesses
forward, or at least a part ofour business forward, and so I
think you're that point aboutconnecting with others is really
, really powerful in the MSPspace, right, because you don't
know everything, yeah, and youhaven't.
You know, maybe you haven'tgone through an acquisition
(18:29):
before or you haven't tried totry to sell a part or a piece of
your organization or a business, and so being able to have
people to bounce ideas off ofthis is really powerful, that's
right.
So let me ask you this You'restarting the MSP off in LA and
you're and you're starting to gofrom solopreneur to
(18:50):
entrepreneur and you got alittle business.
Was there ever a moment whereyou thought about giving up and
saying this?
This isn't for me.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
Only at the very beginning.
But as the tougher things havehappened in growth, I can
honestly say I haven't.
I just tend not to give up to afault.
I probably hang on too long,but in this business I haven
tend not to give up to a fault.
You know, I I probably hang ontoo long, but in this business I
haven't gotten to that point.
The toughest parts of thisbusiness have been hiring great
(19:25):
people and and then contributingto their greatest good and
inviting them to contribute toclear past greatest good.
And so I I probably have grownthe most in leadership and
hiring practices, you know.
And then, yeah, just learninghow to really help you know my
(19:47):
people and asking where do youwant to get to?
And the answer is usually theydon't know.
And so not just asking that,but being part of that journey
and, at the same time, makingsure that ClearPath is being
served well and our clients arebeing served well.
So I would say, if there's, youknow, I haven't thought about
giving up, but the toughestmoments have been with those
(20:09):
employees and making sure thatthere's bidirectional value
adding.
Speaker 3 (20:16):
I think that's really powerful.
I mean, you mentioned Dave, andDave and I worked together for
a long time and I alwaysremember, when I was a young
tech and trying to figure thingsout, and having him as a mentor
to say, like he came to me andsaid, well, what do you want to
do, like, long term?
I'm like, I love my job, I'mmaking good money, and you know
there's bad days and good days,but he's like no, what do you
(20:37):
want to do?
Do you want to be a CIO?
Do you want, you know, toreally have that long-term plan
for me and I thought that waspretty unique and so for you to
be able to provide a verysimilar you know conversation
with your.
You know you're there, you'refamily, right, you spend most of
the time with people you workwith right, and so you know they
need to be mentoring you andguiding you and being there to
(21:01):
be able to bounce ideas off of.
So that's pretty powerful, huh.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
Yes, and they have to be trustworthy because the
company is, you know, supplyingall of us with a livelihood and
so, yeah, it's really a funchallenge to learn how to
contend while learning how toexpect.
You know from, as giving andexpecting at the same time
(21:24):
Speaking of trust.
Speaker 3 (21:25):
How transparent do you try to be with your
employees about the directions,the ups and downs of the company
?
Obviously, I'm sure theyrealize that you were losing
that large client.
Did you guys have a discussion?
Well, this is how we're goingto get through this together.
These are the sacrifices weneed to make.
How did you handle that?
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Yeah, I did.
I have a morning huddle witheverybody.
I just said here's what'shappening.
They're going away and here'sthe plan.
Here's how we're going to moveforward together.
Here's what's needed from youas an individual and as a team.
It probably sounded a lotbetter in my head than it did to
(22:06):
their ears.
We've been quite cohesive inthis season, but this is very
real time.
We've got some time to see howthat all went.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
I wish you the best of luck.
I'm confident that you willfind a way through it.
It's interesting.
It First of all, people.
Most people don't like change.
In general, I feel like ITtechnicians are very resistant
to change Right.
Once you do it one way, whywould I change the way that I do
it?
Because there's a better way todo it.
There's an easier way to do it,so that's great.
(22:41):
Let's talk about culture.
You've obviously built, I think, a really amazing culture For
you to be able to say I'm goingto fire clients because they
don't treat us right.
That's pretty powerful.
What's the culture like atClear Path?
Speaker 2 (22:58):
I love our culture, I love our people and the best
thing I did was hire my cousin.
She really is the better halfyou weren't exaggerating.
She is amazing, and it's notjust how hard she works.
She's a very hard worker butpeople naturally come to her.
She was a social worker beforejoining us in Chicago, so she's
(23:25):
seen some tough stuff and she'sdealt with a lot and so she's
just a natural empathizer, anatural people person and she
cares a lot.
I mean just an amazing woman,and so you know our people tend
to go to her to be honest.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
You know it's great.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
I don't, I guess I don't create warm fuzzies, but
but that makes us a good teamand you know she really has
filled in a lot of that for me.
Served our employees quite well.
Bridges a lot of gaps, you know, between employees, between
employees and customers, youknow, fills that in, so I feel
like I got quite lucky.
(24:05):
I mean, working with family canbe catastrophic and for me it's
nothing but amazing, and so I Idon't consider that a skill.
There's definitely a lot ofluck there, but at the same time
, you know, our culture isstrong and so we've got, you
know, a great team.
We do have some people overseas, you know, have some people in
(24:27):
LA, and I just love the hybridinteractions, the teamwork
between remote and on-site itgoes quite well.
Speaker 3 (24:39):
Yeah, yeah, with all that teamwork, it actually goes
quite well have you thoughtabout how you will maintain that
culture as you grow thebusiness?
Speaker 2 (24:47):
I have thought a lot about that, yeah, and for me it
comes down to partnerships, youknow, and choosing those right
people with which to grow.
And then I'm finding it easierto be transparent.
You know I now enjoy it and so,inviting them into this journey
, I've invested in someexecutive leadership and brought
(25:09):
my team, some of my team, intothat and that language.
Those tools have been quitehelpful, and I've done that with
a couple different programs.
But you know, I'm trying tobuild those pillars so that as
we grow, we are building onpillars and not on quicksand.
And at the same time, I do feellike I'm experimenting.
(25:30):
You know it's a bit of anexperiment as I go, but it feels
really strong.
Speaker 3 (25:35):
So far Excellent.
I love it.
I think if you keep thatpositive attitude and bring that
energy that I know you have,I'm sure it will continue to
last.
If you want to think back overthe last several years, what
have been the most rewardingmoments for you as a MSP owner?
Speaker 2 (25:54):
oh, man, it's been so fun and in so many ways, for me
it's hearing the stories frommy employees about, you know,
the families.
A couple of them had babies thisyear and, you know, realizing
that clear path is extendinginto families and, you know,
(26:14):
know, supporting kids.
But then in the businesses thatwe serve, you know, just last
week we had an administrativeassistant who was an extremely,
you know, solid part of abusiness that left unexpectedly
and then the owner called us indesperation and you know we have
(26:36):
done a lot of handholdingthrough that situation and you
know, just a wave of gratitude,you know, coming into the
company from that client Like,oh my gosh, what would we do
without you?
And so I see that as arewarding, not just, you know,
to hear the thanks but to knowthat these systems we've
invested in, you know the tools,you know the products that
(26:58):
we've gotten to learn and know,and that we can rely on them and
use them to actually do suchgood as well as that normal
daily maintenance that we neverwill get thanks for.
It's fun for me to see thatmaturity with real fruit and
real results in a time that is,you know, really tough for one
of our clients.
(27:18):
Wow, but I know we sorry onemore thing yeah.
I just know we're adding thatkind of value, Even if we don't
hear the thanks.
I know that the better we do atour jobs, you know, the
smoother things will go for ourclients.
Speaker 3 (27:30):
That's right, that's it.
I remember the days of the MSPwhen you'd make that sale and
you'd, all of a sudden you'd youknow, their call volume peaked
up a little bit because they'vebeen saving all those problems,
uh-huh, and then you startedsolving the problems and it was
oh thank you so much that one'sbeen out there forever, yeah.
And then at some point in timethey stopped calling you and
they're like do we even need youanymore?
(27:51):
But you've made life so goodfor them that not there's
problems anymore.
So yeah those are fun, chrisGrinding challenges For sure.
All right, so you talked alittle bit about the real time
what it's been like forClearPath but how about the
future?
What do you envision the futureto be like?
Speaker 2 (28:11):
Yeah, for ClearPath it's going to be a lot of growth
.
We have invested in a solidplatform for the last few years
and we're just now ramping upthe sales engine marketing so
we're primed for a lot ofsuccess, a lot of growth.
And with that comes thechallenges right of how to
(28:32):
maintain that ethos and makesure that people are still happy
doing what they do in new waysor a new scale.
But I envision bringing it withwith that growth, the ability
to bring in more resources forhelping the maturity level, or,
you know, the capability levelsof our people in the ways that
(28:52):
they've always wanted to grow oralways wanted to learn.
This executive leadership stuff.
You know it is life-changing.
You know you start applyingsome of these tools to the home
life you know marriages andrelationships as well as at work
, and it really is life-giving.
And that holistic return oninvestment is what I live for.
(29:15):
I love, you know, the off theclock successes as much as on
the clock, and so experimentingwith ways, not just in our
people but in our customers, andhow we can add even more value
and, you know, create that uh,unbelievable customer experience
every time, or a lot.
I just that's where I getreally excited.
(29:38):
So, as ClearPass scales, I'mintentionally freeing myself to
create those experiencesinternally and externally, and
I'd love to have you know just awhole bunch of new stories for
you next year, let's do it again.
Yeah, yeah, where we can sharethat kind of growth.
Speaker 3 (29:54):
That'll be great.
So if you were to start allover again today, Chris, knowing
what you know now, what wouldyou do differently?
Speaker 2 (30:05):
I would have started with confidence and I would have
done anything I needed to do tobuild and support confidence in
myself and remove fear in everypossible way and support
confidence in myself and removefear in every possible way.
And then I would have investeda lot more money.
I'm kind of a grassrootsentrepreneur, you know, but I
(30:29):
would have just gone out andgotten you know investors and
just dumped money into thatknown good engine and I would
have scaled faster.
Speaker 3 (30:36):
That's good.
What advice would you givesomeone today that's looking to
start their own MSP?
Speaker 2 (30:45):
first of all, I would say know thyself.
You know who are you really,you know what, what are you
capable of, and from there,build in all the places you are
not and find people or processesthat can do the things that you
just don't do.
I love the expression that ifyou, if you really work on your
(31:07):
weaknesses, you're gonna haveslightly stronger weaknesses,
and it's true, like we're goodat some things and we're not
good at other things, so it'sokay.
You know, like it's okay, likewe're good at some things and
we're not good at other things,so it's okay, you know, like
it's okay.
You're a great person, evenwith all those weaknesses, and
so you know, find ways to dowhat you do and fill in all
around you all the things youdon't do.
Speaker 3 (31:28):
That's great advice, chris.
Thank you for sharing that.
All right, I'd like to ask onelast question.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
When did you know?
Now, that's it.
Yeah, yeah, I've been thinkingabout this question now, that's
it.
And I I've had several moments,you know.
I shared one with my, my latewife slapping the desk saying
how you can start that business.
You know, full of support.
That was amazing.
Another one was when I talkedto Dave and I'm like here's what
(31:59):
I want to do, to be honest withyou.
The reason I called him was tohelp me acquire an MSP.
And it's embarrassing, you know, because and I told, I told him
five minutes into thisconversation I'm nowhere near
ready to acquire an MSP.
What am I talking about?
But could you help me get ready?
You know, and so, you know,working with him, you know, uh,
(32:20):
and in that conversation, thatinitial conversation, realizing
I wasn't there but I could be,you know, and I and, and
believing I could be, that was abig deal.
And then the last one for me,now that's it, uh, what, what is
it Now?
That's it, now that's it.
I had okay, now that's it.
What is it now?
That's it, now that's it.
I had okay, now that's it waswhen I realized that firing, or
(32:41):
getting fired, was the beginningof something good as a paradigm
shift, not as a one-off, but,you know, as a spiritual reality
.
You know a law.
You know, for me, a law that isas constant as gravity.
You know good things are coming.
Speaker 3 (33:00):
Oh, my goodness, that's a lot of confidence
building, yeah chris, it wasreally an honor to have you on
the podcast this week.
I can't thank you enough forbeing here.
It's been a pleasure to be anacquaintance and hopefully, a
friend and I.
I look forward to talking toyou again.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
Yeah, definitely a friend.
Thanks, Chris.
Awesome, appreciate it.
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