Aaron Boone – Peer Group opportunities for the Masses

Aaron spent the first years of his career in Sports & Hospitality working in Event Management and Operations and started in the MSP industry in 2011 while completing an MBA. Aaron’s expertise is in Project Management, Finance, and Organizational Strategy & Business Development. In this episode, they talked about Peer Group opportunities for the Masses. 1:58 – Aaron explains how he became involved in the world of MSP. He studied at the University of Florida. He earned an undergraduate degree in business management and then took a year to two years off to figure out what he wanted to do before deciding on a career in hospitality, specifically with Outback Steakhouse. 5:33 – Brian states that his business changed when he got involved with a strategist and a peer group. 8:54 – Tim appreciates Aaron for his commitment to lifelong learning in a variety of fields, including sales operations and customer service. “All areas that don’t matter what size MSP you are. You can always be better somewhere and be part of that.” 10:55 – Tim was impressed by what Aaron had accomplished for the community. He asked “What would you say as an MSP who is not in a peer group right now? What would they be looking for or what would be different about it?”  12:17 – Brian said that one aspect of this industry is that it is a burnout-prone one. They observe many owners who become depressed over it. Everyone talks about finding a work-life balance, but nobody ever succeeds at it.  13:37 – Aaron admits that in order to solve this, they make a significant effort to assist some or all of the members in seeing the need to surround themselves with a leadership team and to empower their subordinates so that they may share some of the burdens. 18:09 – Brian believes that many MSPs are unaware of the importance of thinking about the exit virtually from day one since, without doing so, it is difficult to provide guidance and to be realistic about how you will arrive at your goal. 22:45 – Tim adds that they have discussed it in the past and that having strong leadership teams is how more mature organizations develop, expand, and set themselves apart from the competition. Building them up makes sense because if they have a team under them, everyone will benefit.