There is a natural division of courses at IT Service Provider University between business management and business administration. Here’s the difference.

Business administration is what most people think of when they consider what it takes to “run” a business on a daily basis. In other words, this is the practical side of running a business. How do you create procedures? How do you manage contracts? How do you allocate technicians to work and close tickets? All of those get to the practical day-to-day tasks of running your IT business.

Business management is more on the side of theory. What’s your approach to employee engagement? What are you mission, vision, and values? How does a code of ethics play into your support delivery? This is the entrepreneurial side of running a business, which is just as important as the practical side.

All classes have a little of each approach (practical and theoretical), but most are primarily one or the other. Here’s roughly how I divide these courses. Note that any student might choose to dig into any course from a specific perspective.

Classes that most easily fit under Business Administration:
5W01 Core Standard Operating Procedures for Small IT Providers
5W04 Highly Successful Project Management
5W07 Financial Processes for the I.T. Services Firm
5W08 The Most Important Checklists for Any I.T. Service Provider
5W09 Managed Services in a Month – Applying the Book (* both lists)
5W10 Managing Your Service Board
5W11 The Unbreakable Rules of PSA
5W12 Making the Most of QuickBooks Desktop in an IT Service Business
5W14 Creating Your Lead Generation Program
5W15 Automate Your QuickBooks Online Accounting
5W17 Cloud Services in a Month: Applying the Book
5W22 MSP Professional Sales Program
5W23 Optimize Your Social Media Marketing
5W24 Deep Dive Into Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn
5W25 Supercharge Your Social Media

Classes that most easily fit under Business Management:
1A Foundations of Modern IT Services
5W09 Managed Services in a Month – Applying the Book (* both lists)
5W16 Service Agreements for SMB Consultants
5W18 Powerhouse of One: How To Be A Super Successful Solo MSP
5W19 Position Your IT Firm for Growth or Sale
5W20 Absolutely Unbreakable Rules for Service Delivery
5W21 Business Strategy Made Easy: Your Ultimate Success Hack
5W26 Customer Service for IT Service Providers
5W27 Surviving the Success of Your Growing Business
5W28 Profit First for MSPs
5W29 Leadership and Management Principles for MSPs
5W30 Navigating Emerging Technologies for MSPs

As you design your pathways to certification, it’s useful to consider a mix of these courses. In fact, you are very likely to take a number of courses from each list. You will naturally find that your business needs a healthy mix of both practical and theoretical knowledge.

We are here to help you map your pathway to certification. As you pick classes to take, one element to consider is taking a few courses from each list as you build your plan for education. If you assistance, please contact us. We are happy to jump on a Zoom call or help by email – whichever works best for you.

Good luck in your education!

🙂