Everything Is Awesome: 19 Years of Murph Consulting
“Everything is awesome. Everything is cool when you’re part of a team. Everything is awesome. When you’re living out a dream”
– Tegan and Sara, The Lonely Island, Everything is Awesome
Firstly, if you don’t know that song, go watch the Lego Movie. Right. Now. (I’ll wait)
You’re welcome, and I’m also sorry for introducing you to that song. It will live in your temporal lobe now, forever.
Cheesy (awesome?) lyrics aside, that’s the team at Murph Consulting, plus a spouse and a client. The downside of having a team spread across the country is that team dinners are limited to once a year, but we’re good about making it happen. It’s always a good time, and in-person meetings beat Zoom meetings and Slack messages all day, every day.
That said, I DO feel like I’m living a dream. 19 years ago this month, I, with a lot less grey hair, quit my job and started Murph Consulting. Wanna see something fun? I found the quit letter I sent to my boss. I was so proud of myself for keeping it professional (not cursing, at least) while also getting my points across. I was FUMING at the time. Enjoy.
Ever the nice guy, I took his name and company name out of that letter to not out him as the a**hole he is. He never did pay me my last paycheck, something I fought for about a year and unfortunately got nowhere with.
Dealer’s choice on which old saying you wanna use here – making lemonade outta lemons, life happening while you’re making your plans, doors closing and opening, etc.- but that experience was the driving force behind starting my company in the first place. It is my why. I KNEW I could create an IT support company that would be light-years better than that one. Respect for our clients? Check. Respect for our team? Check. Appreciation for work-life balance? Check. Free lobster rolls for lunch for everyone, every day? Ch-ummm, lemme get back to you on that one.
I mean, these are the fundamentals of running a business, aren’t they? They are to me.
Those awesome individuals pictured above make all the magic at my company happen. The patience they show, the knowledge they impart, the skills they use to solve the problems that impede our clients from doing their jobs, and, most importantly, the kindness and HEART they show that define the difference between other IT companies and us.
I couldn’t ask for a better team. They allow me to truly be the CEO of my company. Their hard work lets me step back from the day-to-day and focus on the bigger picture. It also means I can work from home, take Kenzie for walks, and be there for all of the kids’ events. You just can’t put a price on that.
If you’re a solopreneur and thinking about growing, you need to be thinking about your first hire and future team. If you already have a team or are part of one, I truly hope they are as kind, knowledgeable, and supportive as mine.
This month, Murph Consulting turned 18. I cranked up Alice Cooper's "I'm 18" and Skid Row's "18 and Life" to get the vibes going. My company is now old enough to vote, get a tattoo, and get married, all without parental consent. Watch out, world!
In all seriousness, the passing of another year of entrepreneurship and running a successful business always feels like a good time to reflect. Since we started in 2007, we've assisted nearly 600 small businesses and residential clients. Businesses in every industry, ranging in size from the solopreneur to 100 employees. There’s no company we’ll say “you’re too small for us to help”, and that gives me great joy. Small businesses need tech and CyberSecurity support, and we’ve got their backs.
Speaking of, it's October again, and you all know what that means, right? The Mets have failed us, and the Islanders, Jets, and Rangers are about to. It's also Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Every small business should be implementing some basic security measures by now. It's easier and more affordable than you think it is, and definitely cheaper than dealing with the fallout of something drastically bad happening to your business.
How's your password game? Do you use strong passwords on all the sites you visit, or are they all slight modifications of one word, like your kids or pets' names or birth dates?
If it's the latter, let's chat. You should be using a password manager. They are easy to use, create complex passwords for you that you no longer need to remember, and keep them all safe for you. I can't remember the last time I had to click on the "forgot your password" link for any site, and I love that for me.
A password manager is just one of the seven software we feel EVERY small business should have in place to help keep them protected in 2025. We’ve packaged these up together neatly and made them affordable for the small businesses we will always support. If you’d like to learn more, please click the “Contact Murph” button below to send me an email.