"I didn't get into this company to pay myself less." That was the disdainful read from one partner in a three-person MSP partnership when the advice came up to cut owner W-2 and tie additional comp to profit. In this Roundtable episode of The BMK Vision Podcast, Josh Peterson and Gary Boyle take the position apart and walk through why the cut is not punitive — it's diagnostic.

The W-2 floor that covers the owner's household nut is the same floor that mutes every signal the P&L is sending. Year after year of substandard profit becomes background noise because the W-2 number keeps moving. At some point the owner forgets how the business actually makes money. The cut is the only thing that makes the next unbilled hour, the next un-captured product cost, the next half-point of service salary feel real again. Gary's reframe lands harder underneath the math: are we actually owners — or employees who happen to own the company?

🎙 What We Cover in This Episode - Why owner-comp conversations always get uncomfortable — and what the discomfort is actually about - The W-2 floor that covers the nut and mutes the P&L - Josh's BMK confession — "you've forgotten how your business makes money" - The write-off mindset and the 35% reality most owners get wrong - The 33% service-salaries lever — bombastic for years, ignored because of the $12K paycheck - "I could go make 300K" — the math owners assert but never run - The recapture-the-signal exercise — the cut paycheck as diagnostic - Are we actually owners — or employees who happen to own the company? - The sub-$3M owner-as-billable-resource trap - "You didn't build this company to pay yourself — you built it to actually build something"

⸻ 👤 Host Links Josh Peterson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshdpeterson/ Gary Boyle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garyboyle/

⸻ 🚀 Subscribe & Follow BMK Vision YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@beringmckinleyvision?sub_confirmation=1 Vision Platform: https://beringmckinley.com/vision Apply to Be a Guest: https://beringmckinley.com/blog#speaker-form

⸻ 🔎 SEO Keywords MSP owner compensation, MSP owner pay, MSP W-2 vs distribution, MSP partnership comp, MSP P&L discipline, MSP under 3 million, MSP roundtable, BMK Vision Podcast, Bering McKinley

📝 Credits Host: Josh Peterson Co-Host: Gary Boyle Producer: Bering McKinley Episode: #104 - "I Didn't Get Into This Company to Pay Myself Less."

"I fired a client doing 15 grand a month. I've replaced maybe half of it so far, and I'm kind of pissed about it." That question came out of a peer-group room, and it is the most common form of buyer's remorse in MSP ownership. In this Roundtable episode of The BMK Vision Podcast, Josh and Gary walk through why the regret is almost always a measurement problem, not a decision problem.

The short answer: you were not supposed to replace the revenue. You were supposed to replace the gross profit. At BMK's 65 percent AGP target, a fired $15K client running at 35 percent AGP becomes two $4K clients — same gross profit, less servicing load, less capacity drag. Underneath the math, the deeper truths land: top-line revenue lies, net profit lies, AGP per account is the tell. And the toxic client tax — the cultural drag on the team — almost never shows up in the financial review that justified the fire in the first place.

🎙 What We Cover in This Episode - Why the regret is a math problem, not a decision problem - Replace the gross profit, not the revenue - The BMK 65 percent AGP target — and what it means for replacement math - The two-lever rule — bad client and bad profit both have to be true - The $5M ego anchor — and why owners protect the round number - Gary's $17M client and the "would you start this business today?" reframe - The "fire some technicians" gift — the recalibration owners usually avoid - Everyone gets paid except the owner — the quietly damaging norm - The toxic client tax — culture drag never shows up on the P&L - Hard call vs bad call — the two feel identical for the first six months

⸻ 👤 Host Links Josh Peterson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshdpeterson/ Gary Boyle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garyboyle/

⸻ 🚀 Subscribe & Follow BMK Vision YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@beringmckinleyvision?sub_confirmation=1 Vision Platform: https://beringmckinley.com/vision Apply to Be a Guest: https://beringmckinley.com/blog#speaker-form

⸻ 🔎 SEO Keywords MSP fire bad client, MSP gross profit, AGP, MSP owner pay, MSP P&L review, MSP toxic client, MSP under 5 million, MSP roundtable, BMK Vision Podcast, Bering McKinley

📝 Credits Host: Josh Peterson Co-Host: Gary Boyle Producer: Bering McKinley Episode: #103 - "I Fired a $15K Client and I'm Pissed I Did It."

"Hire green and train them up is a cop out." A frenemy of the show sent that line in an email, and Josh and Gary spend this Roundtable episode taking the position apart. The senior MSP sales hire most owners are chasing is a unicorn — and even if one exists, the affordability math rarely supports it.

In this conversation, Josh and Gary walk through the harder truth underneath the senior-hire fantasy: below five million in revenue, you don't know what good looks like, and you will be tricked. Salary surfers, the pedestal-prevents-accountability dynamic, and the ninety-thousand-dollar mistake that drags on for six months — all of it is real, all of it is common, and all of it points toward the same answer.

🎙 What We Cover in This Episode - Why the senior MSP sales unicorn is mostly fantasy - The affordability matrix — percent of revenue, not revenue they generate - You don't know what good looks like — and how that trips every interview - Salary surfers and the pedestal-prevents-accountability dynamic - Why the owner is the de facto closer and what to actually delegate - Opener vs closer — the role split that fits a 1–5 person sales team - Where to find green talent — military, athletes, waiters, daily life - Always be interviewing — the fortitude move that keeps you out of hostage situations

⸻ 👤 Host Links Josh Peterson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshdpeterson/ Gary Boyle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garyboyle/

⸻ 🚀 Subscribe & Follow BMK Vision YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@beringmckinleyvision?sub_confirmation=1 Vision Platform: https://beringmckinley.com/vision Apply to Be a Guest: https://beringmckinley.com/blog#speaker-form

⸻ 🔎 SEO Keywords MSP sales hire, MSP appointment setter, hire green sales, owner-led sales, MSP sales process, opener vs closer, MSP under 5 million, MSP roundtable, BMK Vision Podcast, Bering McKinley

📝 Credits Host: Josh Peterson Co-Host: Gary Boyle Producer: Bering McKinley Episode: #102 - "Why Would I Hire Someone Who Doesn't Know What They're Doing?"