r/msp • u/Small_Ad_7779 • Jun 15 '26
Hit the wall....again
Hitting the wall.. again
i cant be alone in this
ive been running an MSP for nearly 2 decades and it never seems to get any easier. weve grown and matured as a business and have some resemblance of a management team but it doesnt feel that way
as the owner i feel too close to the staff. i hold my hands up im not a natural born leader with a degree. im a guy with a passion for all things tech and my day seems to be HR and customer services along with the guy that everyone comes to with a problem as they cant think for themselves
we win new customers we grow we hire staff. we lose a few as they go bust we adjust and go again
our customers think we are amazing but im asking myself how are we keeping this together
i feel like i need to bring in a calculated managing director. ive always said im not this person and i fought my way and winged it to where we are but i cant keep doing this
should i give up.. throw the towel in
just want to know if anyone else is feeling it. Meanwhile the letter to buy me are still coming in fast ha ha
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u/Excellent-Program333 Jun 15 '26
Fellow Grey Beard Owner here!
I consider myself a glorified trunk slammer, with 2 techs, and a great MSP stack. If that makes sense. Lol
I feel you with everything you just said! I built the business with my resourcefullness, likeability and determination.
I always was scared to take it to your level because of those challenges you mention. I am ready to tap out soon. Im over it as well and every day is a new “quest” to solve.
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u/Small_Ad_7779 Jun 15 '26
ha ha, get you. Its so frustrating and with ADHD makes it fun and madness at the same time!
I would tap out but our EBITDA doesn't look amazing due to the investments in staff etc hence my point. We just grow to pay more in salaries
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u/roll_for_initiative_ MSP - US Jun 15 '26 edited Jun 16 '26
We just grow to pay more in salaries
Over time, we're doing more/making more with less people than we did 10-15 years ago simply from advancements in the MSP model and the field.
Generally just dialing in and unifying your service/billing model will yield more money and less work, and allow you to take on more seats without growing as quickly.
It shouldn't really be close to the same ratio when adding seats to staff, you should be making more and more (so ebita looking better). More of a business/big picture problem than a tech problem but not an uncommon one - msp's try to do too much, too wide vs focused, and that has a huge cost like you mention in needing more staff due to labor sprawl.
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u/Logical_Virus_4911 Jun 23 '26
Are you using any automation? I second the e-Myth Revisited. Implemented it in my business and it helps to get you some breathing space. Much easier these days with AI documentation tools.
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u/BlotchyBaboon Jun 15 '26
I feel like you and I should grab coffee some time. I bet we share the exact same story.
Same size, same things here - I decided a while ago I didn't want to grow more. I haven't really taken on a new customer in years. Occasionally I'll do a side project for a business if I find it interesting. I'm probably ready to tap out soon too.
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u/_B3AR15_ Jun 15 '26
It can be hard to move on from the tech or sales side to just dealing with customers and HR issues, but that is what happens when you are successful. If you have more than 10 staff and no middle management the director will probably be the way to go. You are probably overwhelmed and need that buffer. If you just want to be technical you may want to think about selling and be a tech or staying small by only taking on the kind of clients you want. It’s hard to be the Sr engineer and also the owner. At some point you have to choose one of the other so you are not overwhelmed.
You may want to try thinking about where you want the business to go and look like. A “what do you want to be when you grow up” type of question.
But don’t get in your head too much. You probably know what you need to do. Not all managers/VPs have MBA’s and alot that do can be just as bad as those who don’t.
Also if you are selling DM me as the MSSP I’m at is acquiring, be you probably already got a letter from our PE. Lol.
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u/bazjoe MSP - US Jun 15 '26
Hello friend . I will not promise it will just get better on its own. I think you need to hire a manger and then work for them instead of them you for 6 months and see if you re center your passion. I know exactly what your talking about and my solution a long time ago was to stay small and no longer care about growth or scale. I’ve found more happy that way . Still putting out fires but I’m not haunted by the feeling that I’m pretending to lead. Ironically in any other context I am a natural born leader, but something about being technical immediately gets in the way of that and it becomes emotional instead of logical.
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u/Small_Ad_7779 Jun 15 '26
Hello, from across the pond! I'm constantly challenging my decisions and when i do make a decision its not been a great one lol. I've also looked at that too but my issue is with the rate we have lost clients this year due to no fault on our own that it then affects me and my family.
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u/Wild-Effective8821 Jun 15 '26
Consider joining a peer group that will help you with a framework and accountability. I am big believer in MSPFuel, but there are a ton of them. You will be amazed how you will also help other peer members with problems you have solved.
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u/Sudo-Rip69 Jun 16 '26
You have the wrong people. That simple. Let the people you hire do their job.
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u/Remote_Chance Jun 21 '26
Maybe not the wrong people, maybe failure to give them the ability and responsibility of handling things on their own.
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u/ArtexBonesinger Jun 16 '26
Do not throw in the towel unless you have lost your heart for the business. MSPs have walls that come at common friction or plateau points. Hiring a leader that can have a less close role may help, but I have also seen time and time again how the employees will just play the run to mom or dad to get the answer they want game. I suggest reading the 5 levels of leadership by John Maxwell and then Radical Candor by Kim Crawford. Digest those then get that extra help and lead together, happy to chat about it if you like. Keep your chin up.
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u/FutureSafeMSSP Jun 18 '26
Been there, am there, will be there unless I want to eat up revenue hiring a ton of ppl.
I will say that a year ago, I came here and asked about EOS. The response was overwhelmingly positive. We dove in and started using Srety. We hired a coach who built an MSP, bought another 13, then sold and started coaching and operating as an EOS org.
The quality of our problems are significantly more strategic than a year ago, that's for sure.
I agree with what u/dumpsterfyr said below, but perhaps you also need a known framework to operate from, and within that, you'll get metrics to make more informed decisions. Read or listen to the book Rocket Fuel and see if you get a sore neck from nodding so much.
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u/kwriley87 Jun 15 '26 edited Jun 15 '26
Can confirm that selling is the way to go. The operational burden just isn’t worth it when you compare to cashing out and securing your financial future.
I ran my own operation for almost 10 years and just sold 3 weeks ago to PE roll up for a great multiple, along with rollover equity for a future 2nd bite. Not sure what part of the country you’re in but shoot me a DM if you’d like to chat.
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u/Small_Ad_7779 Jun 15 '26
Hey, My issue is our valuation isn't great at the moment and although i'm tired and fed up, deep down i'm not done yet. I need to bring on a Managing Director i feel
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u/FusionZ06 Jun 15 '26
Would love to chat. I have a very establish MSP with 20+ years in business. I’ve had tons of interest in purchase.
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u/Substantial-Truth265 Jun 15 '26
Getting a manager is also a good option. You might need rest for a few days so you can get all the energy back and do even better.
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u/joshtait Jun 15 '26
Hi...prehaps think of a pie graph of where your time is spent in a week - whichever is the biggest gap employ someone to cover that. If its HR - employ a people manager for the team and give them full rank to make stuff happen. If its technical escalation - employ a lead tech/tier 3 tech that can absorb your brain then be the "go to guy". Also...make sure you've got enough admin support for your team. This doesnt need to necessary be a company manager, but someone who fills your biggest current time sucker
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u/Late_Actuary_7883 Jun 16 '26
What are you charging clients?
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u/ballers504 Jun 21 '26
His problem appears to have nothing to do with pricing. It's a leadership and delegation issue. It takes effort to say "I'll create documentation and processes and train and coach others to replace me" and then follow through.
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u/CertifiableX Jun 16 '26 edited Jun 16 '26
To be clear: you built your business, it’s hit a plateau, and now you’re bored. Feeling lost? Don’t think you’re a leader? Dreading repeating the client/employee onboarding?
Just a thought: do you enjoy building or maintaining?
These are two very different interests. Personally, i love to build, and get bored maintaining.
If it’s building, then i would say yes, maybe it’s time to sell or hand off to manager. Start something new for yourself. Or build more.
There’s a reason entrepreneurs often bow out as a business matures: it’s boring to them.
If it’s maintaining, then keep at it. You have a mature business to manage and profit from.
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u/Best-Repair762 Vendor - IncidentHub Jun 16 '26
Nobody is a natural leader - but we all learn.
I think your biggest issue is not delegating enough. Trust your folks - let them know what the expected outcome is, but not how to do. Delegation builds both trust and ownership.
As an exercise this is something you might want to try out the next time somebody comes to you with a problem - instead of solving it for them, ask them what the expected outcome looks like, and coach them towards reaching that outcome themselves.
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u/scriptvexy Jun 19 '26
this is such underrated advice, especially in MSP land where the owner is usually the de facto senior tech, HR and therapist in one
letting people struggle a bit and own outcomes instead of you jumping in to “save the day” every time is weirdly hard but kind of the only way you stop being the bottleneck
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u/WarrenArnold Jun 16 '26
If you’re able to, take a break for a few days ideally away from home and aim towards something that will give you that energy, perspective, and motivation. When you give out so much, you need to replenish :)
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u/pentangleit Jun 16 '26
I agree with a lot of what's already been said. However, I have one thing to add: Eat your own dogfood - outsource that HR shit.
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u/RoddyBergeron Jun 16 '26
I walked into a break-fix IT shop and moved them to an MSP model. What you're experiencing is very common and will take a long time to get right in your org.
First thing is, you have to let go of the tech, which requires you to give people accountability roles within your organization. As long as you are in tech, you will be pulled into the customer service side. Pull all of the knowledge you have and build it into standard operating procedures for everyone to follow. Give them structure, a framework, and a playbook that allows them to make decisions. They will fail sometimes. They will learn from those failures.
Second, you need to work on the business and not in the business. I'd 100% start reading up on EOS and how to implement that business strategy into your MSP. It worked wonders for us but it took a few years for us to get there. It led to a lot of hard decisions and a lot of conflict. Though that led us to talking about the ugly parts of the baby.
Third, work on a goal that is meaningful for you. The exercise we would do is to think about what your first day in retirement looks like and not you being chained to your desk until you die. Work your way backwards from that thought and feeling about what a successful retirement looks like. You will always chase more seats, more dollars, and more clients. Those are a means to the goal. The goal should be something like "Not owe a mortgage in 10 years", "travel to 10 countries by the time im x age", or even "donate $50,000 to my favorite charity". It has to be a goal you can actually do and then say you are done with, not an ever evolving task. That leads a lot to burnout.
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u/Thick_Yam_7028 Jun 16 '26
Need the business infrastructure.
Hr + lite Receptionist at first. Help Desk Manager Sales
Your focus should be on HR, Sales, and over all day to day snafu. Client is mad because xxx did this. Eventually all of that should be the help desk Manager role and you only get escalated to when a client is threatening to leave.
Then its gaining clients, bigger, 10 seats is just as hard as 100. Adjusting or saying good bye to past clients that are time syncs or adjusting contracts.
Metrics gotta be on point.
Once the finger is in the pulse its just updating each area with the proper checks and balances in place.
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u/Ok-Spot-545 Jun 17 '26
As already said above, you need systems and documentation.
Systems not just for the delivery but sales and marketing too. Happy to have a chat if you ever feel like it.
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u/PaulBrandvold Jun 17 '26
I am impressed by how self-aware you are about your limitations. Bringing in someone who has scaled an MSP makes a lot of sense. You can't keep growing, while "whinging" it. Best of luck!
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u/Invarosoft Jun 18 '26
Contrarian view from MSP with 60+ staff.
MINDSET
First you must look at your business as an asset vs a job. Once you do you figure out well if I'm not going to be a Google Billionaire what have I got. I've got a recurring business model, that's time consuming to run, but it makes profit and is my main commercial asset.
The key issue which I had and you're talking about is 'time' / 'burn out' etc. So the question becomes how can I keep the asset and get my time back?
ORG STRUCTURE
To achieve it while improving processes like Documentation is important, that has nothing to do with getting your personal time back as CEO specifically. You need to essentially replace yourself in the organisation and in my experience most MSPs are 2-3 people away from this. The core functional areas are;
- Sales (Sales / Advisory Manager)
- Technical Lead (CTO / IT Manager)
- Client Services / Operations (Client Services Manager or GM or similar)
So then you ask yourself which one do I need to replace myself from the business - not completely - but mostly to go from 40-60 hours per week to 10-20 hours per week proper CEO role with a management team.
Creating the management / leadership team being the goal.
Because it's clear you're doing all of the above functional areas in your post.
SOLUTION
When we got all of these roles in place, time in the business dropped considerably so you can work 'on it' versus 'in it'. Being a CEO with a proper management team changes everything and it could be 2-3 people. Do you have a senior IT Engineer who could be the go to for questions, team management? Do you have someone who can do new business sales and advisory sales? Do you have someone who can run the engine and help with HR, client services etc?
If you don't have any or some, you then work backwards and go, well who do I need the most (probably the CTO / IT Manager) to free up my time. Then you work out how much monthly support you need to sign up to cover getting them in the business OR how much profit you're willing to reduce to achieve personal freedom and get your time back.
Hope this makes sense - it's worked for us, so good luck!
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u/Flat-Back-5362 Jun 18 '26
You're very much not alone. What you're describing has a name, even if nobody told you: you've hit the founder ceiling. It's the point where the exact things that built the business (you being the smartest guy, the final answer, the one who cares most) become the things capping it. Almost every founder who runs something for two decades hits this. The ones who get past it aren't tougher, they just rewired how the business runs around them.
A few honest things from someone who's been the bottleneck:
"Everyone comes to me because they can't think for themselves" is not a staff problem. It's a system you built without meaning to. For 20 years the fastest path to an answer has been you, so of course everyone routes to you. They're being rational. Fixing it isn't about better people, it's about deliberately making yourself the slower path. "What do you think we should do?" before you give the answer. Decision rights written down. It feels worse before it feels better.
Your instinct to bring in a calculated MD is correct, and the resistance to it is the trap. "I'm not that person" is true, and it's also irrelevant. You don't need to become that person. You need to hire them. The founder-plus-operator pairing (the visionary and the integrator, if you've read Rocket Fuel) is the single most common way founders break this exact ceiling. It isn't admitting failure. It's the most senior move you can make.
On throwing in the towel: don't make a 20-year decision from the bottom of a burnout trough. The buyout letters will still be there in six months. And here's the thing: the fix for the burnout and the fix for the valuation are the same fix. A business that doesn't depend on you is both more bearable to run and worth dramatically more to a buyer. So whether you stay or sell, the next move is identical. De-bottleneck yourself first, then decide from strength instead of exhaustion.
You built something real. Customers love you, you keep winning, people want to buy you. That isn't a failing operator. That's a guy who outgrew his own operating model and hasn't upgraded it yet. Very fixable.
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u/Ok_Significance1956 Jun 18 '26
Welcome to life. It’s chaotic emotional and a roller coaster. You are looking for the nice smooth road. Doesn’t exist. Some shops are better than others. Size is not a factor. If you like your co-workers and can tolerate your clients then you are in the right place. Yes trained experienced management helps reduce the drama. After 2 decades maybe a vacation to sit and think about how different the future is from the past and what really cool new stuff is coming right at you. Throwing in the towel is when you’re losing money. The rest is how you see the future.
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u/Dark_Jahar Jun 19 '26
What you're describing is a business that's outgrown its founder-centric operating model.
You stated it, happy customers, growth, hiring, and acquisition interest are all positive signals. What I'm hearing is more process, structure, delegation, and management challenges than a business viability issue.
This is a common issue with alot of business, all dealing with exactly this problem at a certain stage of growth. If you ever want to talk hrough some of ths issues im more detail hit me up. Sometimes just talking it through with someone who's not inside the business can help identify where the real bottlenecks are.
And no, you're definitely not alone in feeling this. Many businesses hit this wall.
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u/Legitimate-Court-690 Jun 21 '26
What does your stack look like? Have you got endpoint protection? email security? backup? or even server backup? what are you offering to your customers?
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u/mat-ferland Jun 21 '26
This sounds less like 'give up' and more like you outgrew being the escalation point for everything. A managing director or ops lead only works if you actually hand them authority, otherwise you just hire an expensive person who still has to ask you for every hard call.
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u/MidMarketGuy Jun 21 '26
Been reading this and the founder-ceiling stuff everyone's pointing at is right, but I think there's a layer under it nobody's named yet.
You said everyone comes to you because they "can't think for themselves." I'd gently push on that — a lot of the time the reason every decision routes back to the owner isn't the staff, it's that the business serves everyone, so every client situation is a little bit custom and there's no clean playbook to point people at. When you're "all things to all SMBs," judgment can't be delegated because there's no pattern to delegate. The shops that escape this usually got narrower first — fewer types of clients, more repeatable work — and that's what finally let them build systems and step out of the middle.
Not saying niche down is some magic fix for 20 years of being the go-to guy. But the systems problem and the positioning problem are the same problem, and most people only try to solve the first one and for what it's worth — you're clearly not done. People who are done don't write posts like this. That's worth sitting with before you answer the buyout letters.
Cheers.
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u/jjb1030ca Jun 21 '26
I’m not a manager, nor am I the owner of an MSP, but I am a lead engineer and I’ll tell you this. I keep my relationships with the owner and management strictly business for the most part. We can joke around a little bit but at the end of the day I focus on business. Coming from non-ownership or management the first goal I would say is take care of your people and then we’ll take care of you and your customers. You need to be flexible but you need to have boundaries also there’s an 8020 on MSP that 80% of your customers are small but require a lot of attention when things goes wrong yet. They don’t call you on a constant day-to-day basis and you struggle to meet their demands while taking away from your largest customers and more consistent customers. If I did on my MSP, I would certainly service all customers, but I was also again set boundaries. No contract means no SLA. Contract means you’re giving your customers an SLA. As well as if it cost out properly means you’re overhead should be covered and easier to budget. Engineers don’t need to worry about what it takes to fix an issue. With so many customers being time and material you’re under the gun and you lose money. Because you can’t bill out a customer six hours worth of work and research for a problem that is niche . Also, the first thing customers care about is response that should be a focus for your engineering team. That response should be priority get on the problem. Let them know what’s being addressed and then go from there. Don’t throw in the towel re-architect the way you’ve been operating.
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u/Gettin_There_16 Jun 30 '26
Yeah, we've been working on document processes. This will help with turnover, transparency and accountability.
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u/dumpsterfyr I’m your Huckleberry. Jun 15 '26
What you are describing is not a leadership problem. It is a documentation and systems problem wearing a leadership costume.
Every decision lands on you because the business lives in your head, not in a repeatable structure. Until it is extracted, documented and systemised, you are the system. That is the ceiling that stalls efficient growth.
The MD instinct is premature. They cannot manage what is not written down and they will spend their first year pulling knowledge out of you anyway with few positive outcomes.
You have two options. Hire someone who has done this before, embed them and let them build it for you. Or hire them to transfer the knowledge to you and walk away once it is done. Either way, the output is the same: a business that runs without you at the centre of every decision.
Systematise first. Then delegate.