As vCIOs, the most important thing we do is strategic planning. And to do that effectively, we have to adopt the right mindset about money.
Too often, I see vCIOs hesitate to recommend solutions because they’re stuck viewing costs through a personal lens. We look at a $12,000 investment in a redundant firewall and think, “That’s a lot of money.” And it is—a big number for most of us in our personal lives. But we’re not making recommendations for ourselves. We’re advising businesses, and we need to approach cost from their perspective.
Break Down the Numbers
Let’s take a simple example. Suppose your client brings in $40 million in annual revenue. Let’s break it down:
Working days in a year: ~250
Daily revenue: $40M/250 = $160,000
Hourly revenue (based on an 8-hour day): $20,000
Now think about what happens if that business is down for an hour due to a firewall failure. That’s potentially $20,000 in lost productivity, opportunity cost, or even direct revenue. In that light, a $12,000 investment in redundancy isn’t a luxury—it’s business risk mitigation. It’s not even an hour’s revenue.
Mindset Shift
As vCIOs, our job is to help clients make informed decisions—not just about technology, but about the business impact of that technology. That means shifting our own mental framework to think like business owners:
Stop thinking about IT investments like personal expenses.
Start thinking in terms of business outcomes, risk, and revenue protection.
Use simple math to bring context to your recommendations.
Positioning IT Spend as Business Strategy
When we present technology solutions as insurance policies against downtime, security breaches, or operational bottlenecks—and we frame the investment in relation to the client’s revenue—we’re speaking their language.
A redundant firewall may seem expensive at first glance. But when you translate that into what an hour of downtime costs their business, the ROI becomes obvious.
A Simple Exercise You Can Use Today
The next time you’re preparing for a QBR or proposing a project:
Estimate the client’s annual revenue (or ask them).
Divide it into daily and hourly chunks.
Use that frame to contextualize the value of your recommendation.
It’s a simple shift, but a powerful one.
Being a great vCIO isn’t just about knowing the latest tech—it’s about thinking like a business leader. When you adopt your client’s perspective on money, you’ll not only recommend smarter solutions but also earn their trust as a trusted advisor.
Simon is the President of S3 Technologies, a leading Canadian MSP he co-founded in 2003. He built and scaled the vCIO team which eventually lead to him co-founding Propel Your MSP in 2018 to help MSPs with their vCIO services.
