The VAR Guy

One of my coaching clients is a wholesaler for a mutual fund company. Even though she works for a big company, she is really an entrepreneur, running the show in her territory. Needless to say, in today’s market climate, her business has never been more challenging. Some of the lessons from her business certainly apply to the high-tech entrepreneurs.

On June 12, executives representing managed service providers will gather for a Webcast aptly named MSPmentor Live: CEO Exchange. During the fast-moving online event, MSPs will be able to ask peers and experts their most pressing questions about pricing and service level agreement strategies.

If you are thinking of leaving your corporate job to start a business, nothing is more important than having Reserves. I am talking about a great big virtual warehouse filled with tangible and intangible items. If you don’t have them when you start your business, your engine will soon fail.

Are you ready — and qualified — to launch your own business? Before you quit your day job, check in with Mitch York, an executive coach who helps corporate employees become successful business owners. York offers some practical tips and some reality checks to would-be entrepreneurs in a MSPmentor Live: Podcast for May 1, posted on our sister site.

Better late than never. Symantec, nearly three years after acquiring Veritas, appears to be hitting its stride. At least that’s the spin Symantec gave after announcing surprisingly strong earnings on April 30.

When Avnet released disappointing earnings today, the distributor blamed weak server sales in the US and Europe. But don’t blame Avnet, and don’t blame the economy. Instead, The VAR Guy thinks virtualization is to blame. Here’s why.

It happened again: Another IT-related article declaring a specific technology industry segment “recession proof.” That’s a dangerous, misleading claim, The VAR Guy believes. Here’s why.

So, you’re a Cisco Systems partner hunting for new revenue. Where should you look first: Unified communications? Maybe. Evangelizing 802.11n WiFi deployments? Perhaps. The wiser move, however, may involve a key handshake. Here are the details.

Ouch. The VAR Guy spotted some troubling news about tech spending within the retail vertical. ScanSource, which distributes point of sale and barcode technology, released disappointing quarterly estimates this morning. For VARs serving the retail vertical, this could be a major warning sign.

When you’re talking about the US economy, don’t use the word “recession.” Instead, stick with “shrinkage.” That seems to be the safest approach. A case in point: Fed Research Chairman Ben Bernanke said the US economy may shrink during the first half of this year, but he didn’t mention the “R” word.