About This Episode

Tim Schmitt traveled a winding road with many twists and turns to arrive at his current position as the VP of Client Services at Chicago-based Switchfast, where he is also the head of sales and marketing as well as the manager of the four client-assigned vCIOs. With a resume that includes a stint at a Fortune500 company right out of college, doing everything from coding to running coffee to meeting with investors and executives at a startup in Austin, TX, the executive fast track and quite a bit of travelling for Dell, and a decade running the family’s multi-location bakery business (including the transition from being the de facto tech support to contracting Switchfast as their MSP), Tim definitely knows what he’s talking about when it comes to the benefits of taking risks and making big leaps. 

In this episode, we talk with Tim about the strategies Switchfast employed to keep business growing through the pandemic, focusing on the importance of improving current client relationships. He walks us through the M&A process that contributed heavily to the company’s growth, pointing to the methodical due diligence of Switchfast’s CEO as the number one reason for its success.  

We discuss company culture and how to foster it in the time of work-from-home, and the importance of creating some form of structure and work-life balance while we’re still largely working away from the office. We also talk about the importance of building and maintaining relationships, whether that’s in the office, with our clients, or in our families. 

Tim leaves us with some tips on how to stay grounded and on track mentally and physically. He gives us examples of how his own schedule has changed to meet the times we live in, and challenges us to continue to be willing to rethink how our days are structured.