Posts made by CCWTech

I have more business than I can handle, so right now I am in a pretty good spot. Hopefully that 'eases the pain' somewhat.

So essentially unless you have a large amount of capital, the small I.T. business owner is pretty much screwed?

Somewhat off topic, but in my case, I am semi-retired (with a pension) and a 1 man shop. I know the incredible challenges of going from 1 to 2, 2 to 3, etc. I can't imagine myself going to work for a boss. I think I read in another topic that you (Scott) mentioned that bringing on a business partner was a better way to go than just an employee. (They have skin in the game).

Somewhat off topic... I have read many posts on here about going from 1 person to a 2 person shop. It's very hard. I would think that one thing as a business owner could do is to bring on a partner (vs. just employee). Then they have skin in the game... I'm not willing to go back and have a 'boss' after being my own boss. (Unless I have to) But I also can't go alone so I need to grow. Not an easy task by any means.

Thanks Scott. This is very helpful.

Would it not be cheaper to just buy another copy of Server 2016 Standard?

To clarify, that's required even if you aren't deploying Virtual Desktops to users? (In this case it's just to Teamviewer into to run a program vs. having a user Teamviewer into the server itself.)

Is that required for any 3rd OS or just if you add Microsoft desktop products. In other words, could a Linux VM be a 3rd w/o VDI/VDA?

Got it. Thanks!

That's what I was thinking. Thanks Scott.

When setting up a Windows Server Hyper-V Host, should that host be a member of the domain or just left as a workgroup?

If I have a physical Windows 2016 Standard server that has only Hyper-V role installed on it. Per M$ licensing I know you can run 2 VM's with Windows Server Standard on it.

If I need to add a 3rd VM Running Windows 10 Pro, is there a license I need in addition to the Windows 10 Pro license?

@coliver said in Should You Job Hop for Your Career in IT - SAMIT Video:

@ccwtech said in Should You Job Hop for Your Career in IT - SAMIT Video:

Scott specifically mentions that for my company 'size matters'.

@scottalanmiller said in Should You Job Hop for Your Career in IT - SAMIT Video:

Even very large MSPs struggle with this, but at least they have more ability to handle it than do smaller ones. But in a shop with just two people, I suspect that you will find that this does not work as you imagine that it does and that incrementing an employee up the ladder doesn't work very well because customers don't generally have any need with regularity for incremental movements in their providers.

Ah I see. I won't speak for him. But what is your market currently? Doesn't that have a lot to do with what technologies you and your employees are going to interact with on a daily basis? if you're being the IT department for multiple SMBs you are still restricted to what those SMBs do/want/need. So training your employee in a technology won't, necessarily, mean that you are gaining any marketable skills for the customers in your field. Sure you can pay them more for have a new skill in their repertoire but does that actually add value to the company?

Absolutely. If she learns CISCO networking it opens up opportunities that I have had to outsource. If she learns data recovery I can stop sending Level III recovery's out to a lab (I do Level I and II in-house), all of the other skills added open up new opportunities for revenue.

Scott specifically mentions that for my company 'size matters'.

@scottalanmiller said in Should You Job Hop for Your Career in IT - SAMIT Video:

Even very large MSPs struggle with this, but at least they have more ability to handle it than do smaller ones. But in a shop with just two people, I suspect that you will find that this does not work as you imagine that it does and that incrementing an employee up the ladder doesn't work very well because customers don't generally have any need with regularity for incremental movements in their providers.

@coliver I guess I don't know the size of NTG.

@scottalanmiller How long have you been with NTG and when are you quitting?

@scottalanmiller said in Should You Job Hop for Your Career in IT - SAMIT Video:

In operating system terms, and this is where my computer science background comes out, think of different employment styles as different "scheduling engines" for IT works. Compare IT workers to threads on a computer. In the old days, when we had no multitasking, that was like having one job for a lifetime and never switching. You get what you get.

Once we get to multitasking, different scheduling engines produce different results. Some switch between jobs rapidly, some slowly. But it is all job hopping or thread context switching, just at different speeds.

Given that very specific context I think we agree.

@scottalanmiller said in Should You Job Hop for Your Career in IT - SAMIT Video:

We've already established, long before this point, that service providers don't count as job hopping internally, but do externally. That was in the discussion, not the video. So you have only made my point via that clarification. MSPs are, in a sense, a staffing firm. The difference is that staffing firms float IT pros between companies in the range of weeks or months, whereas MSPs do it in hours or days. But the result is the same - short term "employment" with different companies and the value of education is more or different companies that can utilize those new skills.

As an MSP, she doesn't really work for you, you pay her to work for someone else. Legally you get to call her an employee because her job hopping is so rapid that the IRS allows it in most cases, but certainly not all. Even as an MSP, if you assign her to just one or two large customers, she would legally switch (in most cases) to being their employee, not yours.

I think you established your definition of job hopping. My definition would be different, but yes, if you apply your definition I see your point. Essentially to a service provider (not a company with an internal I.T. staff) the video doesn't really apply.

@scottalanmiller While I don't agree with your definition of job hopping, if it is defined as job hopping you are right. However I don't think 'job hopping' is the same as staying with one service provider but working with a new client. Hell I job hop several times a day then.

@scottalanmiller said in Should You Job Hop for Your Career in IT - SAMIT Video:

@ccwtech said in Should You Job Hop for Your Career in IT - SAMIT Video:

@scottalanmiller said in Should You Job Hop for Your Career in IT - SAMIT Video:

@ccwtech said in Should You Job Hop for Your Career in IT - SAMIT Video:

@scottalanmiller Why couldn't I sell the services that a highly trained employee has?

So again, we are back to you being a service provider so to whom will you sell these skills? New customers? That's job hopping. See my point?

Not at all... I can expand services and reach markets I am not reaching now because I don't have the assets to handle those jobs.

No, exactly, you just described job hobbing. New companies in new markets.

But she would still be with my company. That's not job hopping. When I get a new client it's not job hopping.