With more locally-hosted gatherings gaining momentum, The Tech Tribe – The online community for Managed Service Providers, can now add the East Midlands to that list. The purpose of these groups is for Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to share their thoughts and ideas on how to grow their business. 
Here is what happened at the inaugural Tech Tribe East Midlands meeting on Tuesday, 2nd May 2022.
What is The East Midlands Tech Tribe Meet-Up About?
The Tech Tribe East Midlands group meet on the first Tuesday of each month at a local venue in the Leicestershire area of the East Midlands.
It provides MSP and IT business owners with an opportunity to get together to discuss hot topics, air their frustrations and share their wins with their peers.
Chaired by Joe Burns of Reformed IT, and hosted by Neil Shaw of True MSP Limited at their offices in Castle Donington in Leicestershire.
The UK groups are kindly sponsored by Pax8, who cover the cost of room hire and refreshments. That means there is no charge for attendees!
The East Midlands Tech Tribe group is open to anyone who works in the Managed Service Provider (MSP) industry. You don’t have to be a Tech Tribe member, and there is no obligation to attend them each month. However, you do need to register for each event, because spaces are limited!
Format of the Meeting
Round the Table Discussions: Concerns
Following introductions, the group had round the table discussions about any recent concerns or pain points working in the MSP industry.
Among the concerns were:
- Generating new sales leads
- Staff retention
- Distributor pricing
- Learning to delegate responsibility
Everyone in the room at different stages of their journey as IT business owners. While the concerns were varied, there was a lot of advice on offer too.
Hot Topic: Marketing
Following the break, we talked more in-depth about marketing.
We discussed some avenues that had provided some success:
- Referral marketing – being specific about the type of leads you’re looking for
- Seminars and webinars – better engagement, especially if you are trying to attract a specific vertical or niche market
- LinkedIn – one MSP said he had a lot of success in creating a following. The aim being to make yourself known, liked and trusted
And we talked about methods which have proved less successful.
- Exhibition stands – can be very expensive and provide few relevant leads
- Pay-Per-Click – can be expensive unless you’re marketing a niche offering
Other Discussions
In between the planned discussions, there were other points of interest raised throughout the evening.
One was on the topic of exit plans. Had anyone thought about when they’re looking to retire?
Another popular subject was around staffing; how to retain good staff, and training your best staff up to become mentors to new apprentices.
Challenge: Stepping Out of the Business
For the last part of the meeting, Joe set a challenge for the room to think about.
We had to pick one of the concerns we voiced earlier and each of us ask a question about it. Then we listened to the answers, and finally respond with one piece of advice.
The concern we chose was a complex issue, which involved the person in question being unable to step away from the business for fear that it would not be able to run without him there.
The advice given to him included:
- Don’t do it all yourself – delegate responsibility to encourage ownership
- Develop the business further – put in place the systems or staff required to fill the gap
- Take some time away – Take a holiday to prevent burnout, and leave the phone at home
In Conclusion
The meet-up generated great value for those who attended. The informal nature of it allowed for much more open conversations. As business owners, it’s great to be able to share our concerns with our peers knowing that there’s plenty of business opportunities for everyone.
There are limited space for these meet-ups to keep them intentionally small. However, if you’re interested in attending the East Midlands Tech Tribe Meet-Up, you can register on the Tech Tribe Community forum, if you’re a member. Or if you’re not, you can connect with Joe Burns on LinkedIn.
Could your MSP benefit from regular meet ups in your local area? Please leave us a comment below.
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I'm a small business owner, technical writer and blogger, with 15 years experience in corporate IT. I frequently attend MSP peer groups and create content relevant to IT service providers and business owners.
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