The $50,000 Hour: Why MSP Owners Must Work On the Business, Not Just In It
What’s the most valuable hour in your week?
For many MSP owners, it’s not the hour spent solving a critical client ticket or jumping into a project — it’s the hour spent thinking, planning, and steering the business forward.
We call this the $50,000 Hour — the time you spend making decisions that could generate tens of thousands (or even millions) of dollars in long-term value. The problem? Too many owners trade those hours for $50 work.
Here’s how to reclaim your $50,000 Hour and use it to transform your MSP.
Understand What the $50,000 Hour Really Is
The $50,000 Hour isn’t about billing $50,000 in a single day — it’s about the value of your decisions.
Examples of $50,000 Hour activities:
Deciding to raise prices across all contracts by 5%.
Restructuring your team to add an account manager, freeing you from daily escalations.
Meeting with your CPA or valuation advisor to plan for a future exit.
Contrast that with $50/hour work:
Approving time-off requests.
Fixing a broken printer at a client site.
Chasing invoices personally.
Lesson: If you spend all day on $50/hour work, you’ll never make $50,000/hour decisions.
Audit Where Your Time Really Goes
Most MSP owners think they’re spending time on strategy — but a quick calendar audit often tells a different story.
Ask yourself:
How many hours last week were truly strategic (planning, reviewing KPIs, building systems)?
How many were reactive (firefighting, last-minute client calls)?
How much of my calendar could another leader on my team realistically handle?
Pro Tip: Track your time for two weeks. Label every hour as $50 or $50,000. The results will sting — and that’s the point.
Start Protecting the $50,000 Hour
Your most valuable time needs guardrails.
Block time on your calendar — even 2–3 hours a week to start.
Make it sacred — no email, no “quick questions,” no emergencies unless the plane is literally falling out of the sky.
Have a clear agenda — review KPIs, evaluate bottlenecks, think through major moves (pricing changes, hires, acquisitions).
Think of it like pre-flight checks: no one interrupts the pilot during takeoff.
Teach Your Team to Value Your Time (and Their Own)
This isn’t just about you. If your managers and leads see you constantly pulled into the weeds, they’ll assume that’s the model for success.
Instead:
Delegate decisions (and be okay when they’re not made exactly like you would).
Empower leaders with data and clear outcomes so they don’t need your sign-off.
Celebrate their $50,000 Hours — not just their ability to “grind.”
Key Takeaways
Your MSP’s biggest leaps won’t come from more hours worked — they’ll come from smarter hours worked.
The $50,000 Hour is the time spent on decisions that dramatically impact revenue, margins, and valuation.
Most owners spend too much time on $50 work — and don’t even realize it.
Protecting and prioritizing your $50,000 Hours will change how you lead — and how valuable your business becomes.
Want to identify your $50,000 Hours and build more of them into your week?
Join the Value Creation Academy — where MSP owners learn to shift their focus from firefighting to future-building.