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

In this episode of From the Trenches on the BMK Vision Podcast, Josh Peterson sits down with Terry Baylor, founder of Lift Life Technology, for a grounded, operator-to-operator conversation about what it really takes to build a healthcare-focused MSP without getting trapped in the same commodity loop that slows most firms down.

This is not a conversation about tools, tactics, or chasing the next shiny service line. It’s about leadership posture—how faith, service, and discipline translate into a business model that can survive the long game. Terry shares what pulled him out of corporate IT and into entrepreneurship, why he’s intentionally narrowing into healthcare cybersecurity and compliance, and how the right framing turns “sales” into education, trust, and momentum.

If you’re an MSP owner thinking about specialization, wrestling with how to earn attention in a crowded market, or trying to build an offering that’s resilient when the economy tightens, this episode will resonate—because it focuses on the strategic decisions beneath the surface: clarity, focus, and stewardship.

Why healthcare-focused MSPs win differently

Healthcare is one of the clearest examples of why “good IT” is no longer enough. Private practices are busy, understaffed, and often owner-operated—meaning the person who must approve security decisions is the same person seeing patients all day. In that environment, MSP growth doesn’t come from louder marketing. It comes from trust, clarity, and a repeatable way to translate risk into action.

Terry’s approach is simple but rare: don’t lead with infrastructure, and don’t lead with fear. Lead with education. Build a narrative clients can understand, show them the gap between today’s posture and tomorrow’s requirements, and position your services as the path to staying operational, compliant, and resilient.

The MSP problem this episode solves

Many MSP owners think their biggest obstacle is technology—when the real constraint is focus. Without a clear ideal client profile, service model, and go-to-market motion, the business becomes a patchwork of one-off projects, inconsistent messaging, and constant rework.

This episode highlights a healthier trajectory: pick the vertical where you already have credibility, deepen it until you can speak the client’s language fluently, and build a simple offer that aligns with what that market actually values. For Terry, that means healthcare, cybersecurity, and compliance—anchored in a service-first posture that prioritizes trust over transactions.

From enterprise thinking to an ecosystem mindset

One of the most important inflection points in the conversation is Terry’s realization that building an MSP is not the same as building an enterprise IT department. In enterprise, you can justify custom systems because you have one environment, one set of stakeholders, and one internal roadmap.

In an MSP, scale comes from leverage—standardization, ecosystem tooling, and repeatable delivery. Terry describes the “light bulb” moment of seeing how the MSP ecosystem allows a small firm to go to market faster, serve better, and grow without reinventing everything from scratch.

What stewardship looks like in MSP leadership

Stewardship shows up in practical, everyday decisions:

• Choosing a vertical that fits your lived expertise instead of chasing every opportunity
• Teaching clients what they need to know—even if they don’t buy from you today
• Building offerings that reduce risk and strengthen operations, not just “manage tickets”
• Investing in mentorship and coaching so the owner can grow into the role

This mindset shift is foundational. It moves the MSP from reactive delivery to principled execution—where growth is the byproduct of clarity, consistency, and service.

A practical specialization checklist for MSP owners

If you’re considering vertical specialization, this episode points to a few non-negotiables:

• Pick a market where you can speak the language without translation
• Define a clear ideal client profile (including firm size and fit criteria)
• Lead with education that reduces confusion and builds trust
• Design your offer around outcomes (risk reduction, compliance readiness, resilience)
• Build repeatable go-to-market motions you can do weekly—without heroics

The goal isn’t to be “narrow” for branding. The goal is to be specific enough that the right client hears you and immediately knows: this MSP understands my world.

Episode highlights

• Terry’s transition from corporate IT to entrepreneurship—and why purpose mattered
• How a service-first mindset turns sales into education and trust
• The ecosystem realization that helped Lift Life Technology accelerate to market
• Why healthcare specialization changes marketing, messaging, and delivery discipline
• How field marketing and relationship-building still win in owner-operated practices

About the guest: Terry Baylor

Terry Baylor is the founder of Lift Life Technology, a Houston-based MSP focused on cybersecurity and compliance for healthcare organizations. With deep experience across enterprise environments—including extensive time in healthcare IT—Terry brings a pragmatic, human-centered approach to building a specialized MSP that prioritizes trust, education, and long-term resilience.

Connect with Terry Baylor on LinkedIn →

Frequently asked questions

Why is healthcare a strong MSP specialization?
Because the market rewards trust, clarity, and compliance readiness—creating space for MSPs who can educate clients and deliver repeatable, risk-focused outcomes.

How do I sell to private practices without sounding like every other MSP?
Lead with education, not tools. Build a simple narrative about risk, resilience, and readiness—then make the next step obvious and low-friction.

Related resources from Bering McKinley

• MSP consulting services that help you lead, scale, and win
• Managed service provider consulting: your partner for MSP excellence

Want to continue the conversation?

If you’re an MSP owner building a focused, differentiated firm—and you want help strengthening your positioning, execution discipline, and leadership cadence—we’d love to connect. You can also explore the Vision operating system or apply to be a guest on the podcast.

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