20 Lessons in 20 Years: Lesson 1 – Stay Organic

When I founded Channel Impact in 2005, my vision was clear: create a specialty consulting firm focused on providing specialized services for the IT channel. For three years, we executed that vision. Never did I imagine we would expand beyond consulting services.

Then 2008 happened.

The economy took a dramatic turn, and our clients were forced to make difficult decisions, including laying off half of their partner organizations. It was during this challenging time that a client approached me with an unusual request: “Any chance you could provide outside staffing services to us as a managed service? We just lost half of our partner marketing department.”

I’ll be honest—I noodled on it for a while. We’d never done a managed service staffing model before. Was this really the direction I wanted to take the company? I stepped back, assessed the risks, and made a decision that would fundamentally change our trajectory: “Let’s give it a go.”

Thank goodness we did. Today, Managed Services is the largest revenue source for Channel Impact. What started as an unexpected client request became so successful that we ultimately split into two companies: one focused purely on channel consulting, and Channel Impact dedicated to managed services for staffing.

The evolution didn’t stop there. A few years later, clients began asking us to create content for the channel. Initially, this might have seemed like another detour, but it was actually a natural fit. When you’re helping build programs and delivering marketing services for the channel, there’s substantial content that supports those efforts—playbooks, white papers, contributed articles, blog posts, social media content, program rules, and all the elements that go into running a successful channel program.

This “detour” became another core service offering that enhanced our value to clients.

Then came another request: “Could you also offer events for the channel?” Once again, what seemed like a departure from our core business made perfect sense. Channel organizations regularly host partner appreciation events, technical learning sessions, partner road shows, and roundtables for partner feedback. Event management services became a natural extension of our partner-focused offerings.

Looking back, what started as a consulting firm has organically morphed into a comprehensive service provider offering managed services, events, and content creation, all specifically for the channel. None of this was in my original business plan, yet each evolution strengthened our position in the market.

Here’s my key lesson for any business owner: You really have to listen to what your clients need and be agile enough to say “yes” when their business needs make sense and align with something your company can deploy successfully.

Now, obviously, you don’t want to say yes to everything. But there are certain client requests that represent genuine business opportunities. The trick is recognizing which ones have the potential to become core strengths rather than costly distractions.

The path isn’t always straight. Business growth often takes twists and turns that you never saw coming. As a business leader, you have to pay attention and be willing to bring offerings to your clients that deliver real, high value, even if they weren’t part of your original vision.

Sometimes the biggest breakthroughs come from saying “yes” to the unexpected request, the unusual opportunity, or the client need that doesn’t quite fit your current service model.

As we continue this 20-lesson series, we’ll explore more insights from our journey. But if there’s one thing I want every entrepreneur to remember from this first lesson, it’s this: stay organic, stay curious, and be ready for the opportunities that come in forms you don’t expect.

This is the first post in our “20 Lessons in 20 Years” series. Follow along as we share the insights that have shaped Channel Impact’s journey and hopefully provide value for your own business growth.