#16 – From the Trenches - Building a Healthcare-Focused MSP in Houston (Terry Baylor)

A ground-level look at building an MSP around a single vertical—healthcare—with real talk on compliance, prospecting, and partnerships. Host Josh Peterson interviews Houston-based founder Terry Baylor on why narrowing your focus, leading with service, and mastering HIPAA can accelerate growth for small providers. ✅ Enjoyed this episode?  Like, subscribe, and share your biggest takeaway below.  https://beringmckinley.com/bering-mckinley-podcast-blog Guest: Terry Baylor, Founder, Lift Life Technology (Houston, TX). This From the Trenches episode digs into how a purpose-driven founder is carving out a healthcare-first MSP by aligning leadership, service, and security. You’ll hear Terry’s path from enterprise IT and credit unions to private practices, why HIPAA readiness is a powerful door-opener, and how to win attention from busy physicians without “spray and pray” selling. 👉 Vertical focus that sticks: choosing private practices (family med, peds, DPC/concierge, behavioral health) and speaking the language of outcomes and compliance 👉 HIPAA as a growth lever: assessments → remediation (WAN/LAN hardening, identity, logging, patching) → ongoing cyber services, without owning every desktop 👉 Prospecting that works: clinic-by-clinic field outreach, education “tracks,” and nurturing with simple cyber tips email sequences 👉 Partnership channels: learning from dental-vertical playbooks—align with vendors, build regional relationships, and seek small-society speaking slots 👉 Leadership & mindset: mentorship, resilience, and redefining “sales” as coaching and service Keywords woven naturally include MSP verticalization, HIPAA compliance, healthcare cybersecurity, ConnectWise ecosystem, and field marketing. “Visit https://beringmckinley.com  for more MSP resources.” 🔗 Resources & Links • Terry Baylor - Lift Life Technology: https://liftlifetech.com • Bering McKinley MSP Consulting: https://beringmckinley.com ⏱️ Chapters • 00:00 – Intro & why start an MSP in 2025 • 01:20 – Terry’s story: enterprise IT to healthcare focus • 05:10 – Faith, service, and leadership as business fuel • 08:45 – Discovering the MSP tool ecosystem (ConnectWise) • 11:30 – Choosing a vertical: why healthcare private practice • 15:05 – HIPAA assessments → remediation → cyber services • 18:20 – What not to own (endpoints) and what to specialize in • 20:40 – ICP basics: revenue, practice types, and needs • 24:00 – Outreach playbook: clinics, campaigns, and education “tracks” • 28:10 – Partnerships & events: vendor alliances and local societies • 32:00 – Sales mindset: coaching, mentorship, and persistence • 35:10 – Parting advice & where to find Terry 🔍 Primary Keywords healthcare msp, hipaa compliance, msp verticalization, healthcare cybersecurity 🔍 Secondary Keywords private practice it, connectwise msp, vcio services, msp prospecting #️⃣ Hashtags Hashtags (comma-separated for uploads) #beringmckinley, #bmkvisionpodcast, #msp, #managedservices, #hipaa, #healthcareit, #cybersecurity, #privatepractice, #vcio, #connectwise, #mspsales, #verticalization, #houstontech, #fieldmarketing, #itcompliance, #dataprotection