The BMK Vision Podcast

#103 - "I Fired a $15K Client and I'm Pissed I Did It." | BMK Vision Roundtable

"I fired a client doing 15 grand a month. I've replaced maybe half of it so far, and I'm kind of pissed about it." That question came out of a peer-group room, and it is the most common form of buyer's remorse in MSP ownership. In this Roundtable episode of The BMK Vision Podcast, Josh and Gary walk through why the regret is almost always a measurement problem, not a decision problem. The short answer: you were not supposed to replace the revenue. You were supposed to replace the gross profit. At BMK's 65 percent AGP target, a fired $15K client running at 35 percent AGP becomes two $4K clients — same gross profit, less servicing load, less capacity drag. Underneath the math, the deeper truths land: top-line revenue lies, net profit lies, AGP per account is the tell. And the toxic client tax — the cultural drag on the team — almost never shows up in the financial review that justified the fire in the first place. 🎙 What We Cover in This Episode - Why the regret is a math problem, not a decision problem - Replace the gross profit, not the revenue - The BMK 65 percent AGP target — and what it means for replacement math - The two-lever rule — bad client and bad profit both have to be true - The $5M ego anchor — and why owners protect the round number - Gary's $17M client and the "would you start this business today?" reframe - The "fire some technicians" gift — the recalibration owners usually avoid - Everyone gets paid except the owner — the quietly damaging norm - The toxic client tax — culture drag never shows up on the P&L - Hard call vs bad call — the two feel identical for the first six months ⸻ 👤 Host Links Josh Peterson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshdpeterson/ Gary Boyle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garyboyle/ ⸻ 🚀 Subscribe & Follow BMK Vision YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@beringmckinleyvision?sub_confirmation=1 Vision Platform: https://beringmckinley.com/vision Apply to Be a Guest: https://beringmckinley.com/blog#speaker-form ⸻ 🔎 SEO Keywords MSP fire bad client, MSP gross profit, AGP, MSP owner pay, MSP P&L review, MSP toxic client, MSP under 5 million, MSP roundtable, BMK Vision Podcast, Bering McKinley 📝 Credits Host: Josh Peterson Co-Host: Gary Boyle Producer: Bering McKinley Episode: #103 - "I Fired a $15K Client and I'm Pissed I Did It."

#102 - "Why Would I Hire Someone Who Doesn't Know What They're Doing?" | BMK Vision Roundtable

"Hire green and train them up is a cop out." A frenemy of the show sent that line in an email, and Josh and Gary spend this Roundtable episode taking the position apart. The senior MSP sales hire most owners are chasing is a unicorn — and even if one exists, the affordability math rarely supports it. In this conversation, Josh and Gary walk through the harder truth underneath the senior-hire fantasy: below five million in revenue, you don't know what good looks like, and you will be tricked. Salary surfers, the pedestal-prevents-accountability dynamic, and the ninety-thousand-dollar mistake that drags on for six months — all of it is real, all of it is common, and all of it points toward the same answer. 🎙 What We Cover in This Episode - Why the senior MSP sales unicorn is mostly fantasy - The affordability matrix — percent of revenue, not revenue they generate - You don't know what good looks like — and how that trips every interview - Salary surfers and the pedestal-prevents-accountability dynamic - Why the owner is the de facto closer and what to actually delegate - Opener vs closer — the role split that fits a 1–5 person sales team - Where to find green talent — military, athletes, waiters, daily life - Always be interviewing — the fortitude move that keeps you out of hostage situations ⸻ 👤 Host Links Josh Peterson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshdpeterson/ Gary Boyle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garyboyle/ ⸻ 🚀 Subscribe & Follow BMK Vision YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@beringmckinleyvision?sub_confirmation=1 Vision Platform: https://beringmckinley.com/vision Apply to Be a Guest: https://beringmckinley.com/blog#speaker-form ⸻ 🔎 SEO Keywords MSP sales hire, MSP appointment setter, hire green sales, owner-led sales, MSP sales process, opener vs closer, MSP under 5 million, MSP roundtable, BMK Vision Podcast, Bering McKinley 📝 Credits Host: Josh Peterson Co-Host: Gary Boyle Producer: Bering McKinley Episode: #102 - "Why Would I Hire Someone Who Doesn't Know What They're Doing?"

#101 - Development in the Age of AI - When Vibe Coding Hits Production | From The Trenches

AI is collapsing the cost of building software — and quietly multiplying the cost of building it badly. Bryan Reynolds, founder and CEO of Baytech Consulting, has been architecting enterprise-grade software for 30 years. In this conversation with guest host Gary Boyle, he separates the AI hype from what actually holds up in production. Guest Introduction Bryan Reynolds runs Baytech Consulting, the team building the Vision app for Bering McKinley. With 17 years running Baytech, a perfect 5-star Clutch rating, and a Microsoft / AWS partnership stack, Bryan sits at the exact intersection where vibe coding meets the demands of paying enterprise customers — which is why his answers cut through the noise. 🎙 What We Cover in This Episode - What "vibe coding" actually means when you have to ship to a real customer - The senior-vs-junior AI productivity gap (81% vs. 15-25%) and why mentors matter more than ever - The 6-month wall — when AI shortcuts make a codebase unmaintainable - Why documentation-first architecture and unit testing became load-bearing again - Build vs. buy vs. wrap — the SMB AI decision framework - How MSPs should position AI services without competing on license resale - Why "common sense" doesn't disappear, even when the model gets smarter ⸻ 👤 Guest & Host Links Bryan Reynolds (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanreynolds/ Baytech Consulting: https://www.baytechconsulting.com/ Gary Boyle (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/in/garyboyle/ ⸻ 🚀 Subscribe & Follow BMK Vision YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@beringmckinleyvision?sub_confirmation=1 Vision Platform: https://beringmckinley.com/vision Apply to Be a Guest: https://beringmckinley.com/blog#speaker-form ⸻ 🔎 SEO Keywords vibe coding, AI software development, MSP AI strategy, AI for SMBs, build vs buy AI, AI governance, custom software AI, BMK Vision Podcast, From The Trenches MSP, Baytech Consulting 📝 Credits Guest Host: Gary Boyle (this episode only) Guest: Bryan Reynolds — Founder & CEO, Baytech Consulting Producer: Bering McKinley Episode: #101 - Development in the Age of AI - When Vibe Coding Hits Production

#100 - I'm Comfortable. Why Would I Blow That Up? | BMK Vision Roundtable

A Chicago peer team. A confident new owner. One quiet sentence: "I'm comfortable. Why would I blow that up?" The room went silent. Josh and Gary use that moment as the opening for an honest conversation about the most expensive sentence in MSP ownership. In this Roundtable, Josh Peterson and Gary Boyle break down the natural plateau-to-valley cycle every MSP hits, why inflation and attrition erode comfort even when you do nothing wrong, and how to know whether your real goal is growth - or protected stability. 🎙 What We Cover in This Episode - The peer-team moment behind the episode - Why "I'm good" is usually fear in disguise - The plateau-to-valley cycle no MSP escapes - How inflation and attrition silently erode margin - Smart goals: if the number doesn't make you emotional, it's too small - The "I never want to sell" reflex - and the optionality move underneath it ⸻ 👤 Host Links Josh Peterson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshdpeterson/ Gary Boyle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garyboyle/ ⸻ 🚀 Subscribe & Follow BMK Vision YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@beringmckinleyvision?sub_confirmation=1 Vision Platform: https://beringmckinley.com/vision Apply to Be a Guest: https://beringmckinley.com/blog#speaker-form ⸻ 🔎 SEO Keywords MSP growth, MSP $2M plateau, MSP profitability, MSP comfort zone, managed services growth, MSP roundtable, BMK Vision Podcast, MSP optionality, MSP exit strategy, MSP peer team 📝 Credits Host: Josh Peterson Co-Host: Gary Boyle Producer: Bering McKinley Episode: #100 - I'm Comfortable. Why Would I Blow That Up?

#99 - Stop Hoping They Become You | BMK Vision Roundtable

The most expensive problem in your MSP isn't who you hired — it's who you keep hoping they'll become. In this BMK Vision Roundtable, Josh Peterson and Gary Boyle unpack the mirror problem: the way MSP owners project their own work ethic onto staff and call it a standard, then spend years frustrated that no one else operates at their level. Josh and Gary go deep on time entry as the canary in your accountability culture, why micromanagement and management get confused, why every people problem traces back to the job description, and why "leadership debt" — the gap between who you wanted and who you got — is the most expensive line item nobody puts on a P&L. ⸻ 🎙 What We Cover in This Episode * The mirror problem — why owners project themselves onto their teams * Micromanagement vs. management as a leadership choice * Time entry and what it reveals about your culture * The reasonable-man fallacy in MSP sales * The role table and continuous feedback as core operating tools * Leadership debt and the reset conversation every owner needs ⸻ 👤 Host Links Josh Peterson (Host): https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshdpeterson/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshdpeterson/] Gary Boyle (Co-Host): https://www.linkedin.com/in/garyboyle/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/garyboyle/] ⸻ 🚀 Subscribe & Follow BMK Vision YouTube (Video Podcast): https://www.youtube.com/@beringmckinleyvision?sub_confirmation=1 [https://www.youtube.com/@beringmckinleyvision?sub_confirmation=1] Learn More About the Vision Platform: https://beringmckinley.com/vision [https://beringmckinley.com/vision] Apply to Be a Guest: https://beringmckinley.com/blog#speaker-form [https://beringmckinley.com/blog#speaker-form] ⸻ 🔎 SEO Keywords MSP leadership, MSP hiring, MSP accountability, MSP job descriptions, time entry, micromanagement vs management, MSP team management, BMK Vision Podcast, leadership debt, employee expectations ⸻ 📝 Credits Host: Josh Peterson Co-Host: Gary Boyle Producer: Bering McKinley Episode: #99 — Stop Hoping They Become You