A manifesto for the independent MSP
THE MSP MANIFESTO.
TAKE IT BACK.
We have the chance to take back ownership of the MSP industry now. Ten principles for the owner who is done being rebranded by the people who profit when your dollars route through their pipes.
The introduction and the full first chapter, sent to your inbox. Plus the free Take-Back Toolkit.
Shipping August 2026. Print and Kindle.
The book
Ten principles. Ten plays. One sitting.
Each one is a principle, a worked example, and a small move you can make this quarter.
The whole thing
Cover to cover
Ninety-six pages. Print and Kindle. Designed to be read in one sitting.
What this is. And what it is not.
For ten years I ran a managed services firm. I sold it in 2014. I spent the decade after watching the channel I came out of get rebranded by the people who profit when our dollars route through their pipes. This book is what I figured out.
It is not a marketing course, and there is no curriculum waiting at the back. It is not a system you can enroll in. It is ten principles I worked through the hard way, set in a format that respects your time. About sixteen thousand words of running prose, heavy white space, a handful of lines that earn their own page. Read it in one sitting, or pull it off the shelf the next time a channel report shows up in your inbox telling you what to call yourself this week.
The hero of this book is you. There is no other hero. I do not hand you a label to wear or a category to claim. What I ask is that you refuse the people who keep wanting to change it for you.
The dedication
For the people still picking up the phone at 6:47 PM on a Tuesday.
Voices from the field
From the owners in the book.
Real MSP owners, named with permission. The chapters where they appear are the chapters where the principle stops being theory.
“It's outcomes, not outputs. You're not paying for licenses anymore.”
Damien, Bondgate IT, UK
Principle 2, You are not in IT anymore.
“Most MSPs are similar in what they do. It's just how good you do it.”
Mike, Helena
Principle 5, Your moat is hiding in your tickets.
“A customer asked ChatGPT who could fix Toast. It just blew my mind.”
James, Manhattan
Principle 8, Stop being found. Start being recommended.
“Twelve internal AI applications, shipped in four days, by one small team.”
Eric, Columbus
Principle 7, Eight beats fifty now.
“A 75-question security questionnaire, turned around in two weeks.”
Anthony, Chicago
Principle 9, Productize what you can't be replaced for.
“Compliance inside a 60-day window, without hiring a full-time CISO.”
Erwin, Belgium
Principle 9, Productize what you can't be replaced for.
The free companion
The Take-Back Toolkit
Grab the first chapter and you also get the toolkit. Two tear-out tools you can run this quarter.
Tool 01
The Moat Audit
Seven questions. Thirty minutes. Pen and paper. Surface the differentiators already sitting in your tickets, the ones you have been pricing as hours.
Tool 02
The Take-Back Checklist
Twelve moves you can make this quarter. One from each principle, plus two for the road. Mark them off as you go.
Delivered as a hybrid PDF plus a companion you can run.
TAKE IT BACK.
Read the first chapter free
Take the first chapter. No pitch attached.
Get the introduction and the full first chapter in your inbox, plus the free Take-Back Toolkit: the Moat Audit and the Take-Back Checklist.
FAQ
How long is it?
About sixteen thousand words across ninety-six pages. Built to be read in one sitting.
Print or digital?
Both. A paperback and a Kindle edition.
Who is it for?
The independent MSP owner. The person who still picks up the phone and still does the work. Not the enterprise channel.
What is the free toolkit?
The Take-Back Toolkit: the Moat Audit and the Take-Back Checklist. A hybrid PDF plus a companion you can run. Yours when you grab the first chapter.
Why does this book exist?
Because I spent the same money you have spent on the toolkits, the subscriptions, and the events, and most of it was built for a market segment, not for a business in a vertical you actually run. This is the other thing. Plain language, no ask attached.