Rex Frank founded Sea Level Operations with the core purpose to “Coach IT Managed Service Providers on achieving operational excellence.” With 23 years in the industry under his belt, Rex coaches based on the lessons he’s learned first-hand while moving through the levels from Tech to Director of Operations at a handful of Service Providers. We sat down with him for a conversation on growing and scaling an MSP to maturity, recommendations for service gross margin, and a closer look at the life of a ticket.

Coaching Through the Stages of MSP Maturity: Episode Highlights

• Rex’s introduction and background (0:55)
• The typical size and scope for a MSP working with Sea Level Operations (6:32)
  • What is it that sparks MSPs to reach out to a service like Sea Level? (7:51)
• Trends, challenges, and themes Rex is currently seeing in the market (12:47)
  • The Top 5 biggest mistakes MSPs are making when it comes to operations (18:47)
• 3 concepts that fix a financial problem (26:55)
• Rex’s target recommendation for service gross margin (29:12)
  • Best in class when it comes to bottom-line for MSPs (34:18)
  • The 4 levers in service gross margin (35:41)
• Life of a ticket & the utilization lever (39:02)
• Q&A: best business book, resources to improve as an Executive, parting advice for MSPs, and how to reach Rex (48:44)

Books as referenced in the episode:

The E-myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What To Do About It by Michael Gerber

Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman

Want to find out more about The BrightGauge Podcast? Check out all the episodes here.