MSP 501 Profile: IT Management Solutions Has the Will to Succeed

IT Management Solutions was built from grit and determination. It’s no surprise that a motto of the company is a Nelson Mandela quote – “A winner is a dreamer who never gives up.”

That’s the story of Pedro Nunez, an MSP 501 winner. He latched onto a vision, a purpose, and never let an excuse get in his way. Today, his 12-year-old MSP business serves New England clients. In fact, Nunez’s goal is to make life simple so his customers can be successful. IT Management Solutions helps customers by continually expanding and growing, overcoming challenges along the way.

IT Management Solutions’ Pedro Nunez

Nunez discusses his company’s journey with Channel Futures.

Channel Futures: Tell us the story of the biggest pivot you’ve ever had to execute.

PN: The biggest pivot was going from break-fix model to an MSP model. In 2008-2009, I lost 90% of my income. At the same time, I was told I was going to become a father of triplets. On top of that, I had to file for bankruptcy. At that moment, my world collapsed. I had a choice to make — feel sorry for myself or move forward.

I realized what my purpose in life was: to be a great father and make sure my children would never have to endure what I had gone through.

So I started my MSP called IT Management Solutions. The business goal was making life simpler for my clients, their staff, and also for my family and me. I thank God I was able to find Robin Robins at Technology Marketing Toolkit. Through her I met all these phenomenal people. Throughout the years they have shaped and molded who I am today. I’m a relentless individual who refuses to be anything but exceptional. At least that is what I keep telling myself and what I try to achieve every single day.

CF: What was the single biggest technology or business decision that drove your company’s growth in 2019? How did it do so?

PN: The biggest decision wasn’t technology. It was mindset. It was a shift from thinking I could just hire people to do my work to just doing what everyone else hates to do.

I follow a simple formula: (PxE)+RRR/Focus. This means the following: planning, executing, review, rinse, repeat, all while staying laser-focused at all time.

CF: If you could go back to one technological point in time, what would it be and why? 

PN: Around 2010, I wasn’t doing marketing consistently; I wasn’t investing in myself. Since the fourth quarter of 2017 to today, I have never stopped marketing, I have never stopped improving myself. I was able to achieve a lot in three years. If I only had this mindset back in 2010, today I would be singing a different song.

CF: If applicable, how does your experience as a racial minority change your approach to doing business?

PN: I have never thought of my background or ethnicity to be a problem for me to move forward. Don’t get me wrong; maybe it has prevented me from getting more deals, but I’ve never …

… given it an inch of thought or as an excuse for me to dwell on. I just keep moving forward.

CF: What new challenges came with the global COVID-19 pandemic? New opportunities? 

PN:  We had to figure out a way to reinvent our businesses, ourselves and our offerings. In three months of crisis, we have matured five years. This allowed us to become more focused on vital priorities and functions that would enable us to continue to move forward into a brighter future.

As far as challenges, we have to work three to five times more than before just to achieve the same results. So if you are not pivoting quickly every 30 days or less, then you will probably fail.

CF: Have you ever turned a nightmare client into a dream client? Tell us how.

PN: I have. When you get started in business, you make a lot of mistakes. The most common mistake I made was not communicating and tracking the client’s expectations. I had a client that didn’t value IT because there were no clear goals or objectives. This allowed his expectations of the services being delivered to be all over the place.

Recognizing that, I started to do a technology business review quarterly or semiannually. That changed everything. Communication improved, goals were set and achieved. Clients could develop a plan on how to continuously leverage technology to grow their business.

CF: If applicable, why are you a business owner instead of working for someone else? What is the allure of entrepreneurship to you?

PN: I am extremely driven, motivated and I enjoy being able to provide for my family the life and dreams that I wished I had growing up. When you come from a third-world country, you grow up lacking a lot. We didn’t have the luxuries of eating pancakes, waffles or cereal. We didn’t have a PlayStation, tablets and many other things that most people take for granted. So, from a very young age I knew what it is to be poor. I quickly understood that the key to success was to forge my own destiny.

I realized that the only way to achieve everything I wanted as quickly as I wanted with no one to restrict me from getting there was to become an entrepreneur. That is what I set out to do and I thank God every single day for giving me the ability to wake up every morning with the opportunity to meet the grind head on.