Partner Profile: Stories & Advice For Business Growth | Summit V
This series draws back the curtain to see what makes technology services organizations successful. We’re spotlighting our partners for their take on how to drive growth. Get insights on everything from daily habits to streamlining workflow. Let’s dive in!
Summit V CEO Jared Hoskins is comfortable with being uncomfortable. As a cybersecurity solutions company owner, it’s a requirement.
“In our world, there’s so much that’s changing, and it’s changing fast,” says Jared. “I enjoy what I do because of the challenges we face. Moving quickly and adapting on the fly only works if it’s something you enjoy and have a passion for.”
Jared’s passion for cybersecurity is driven by the potential he sees to make a real community impact. As the father to three girls, he thinks about what the future could look like for them.
“The next ten years are a big deal in my lifespan, but after that, much is moving to the next generation,” Jared says, “and if we aren’t there to help them, make them aware, and empower them to be better than we are today, then we will have failed. But I know we can do it. It’s just going to take a lot of us working on that.”
The work Jared envisions starts with “hard conversations” around cybersecurity. Bringing cybersecurity literacy, culture, and transparency to the mainstream while standardizing approaches across industry, government, and academia is the type of heavy lifting that could take decades to achieve. It’s people like Jared on the frontline with the energy and the expertise to help make it happen.
“Sometimes, when we’re forced to do tough things, that’s what makes us grow the most,” says Jared. He knows he didn’t pick the easy road for his profession.
And his wife knows it, too. “If she had her choice, she’d tell me to go back out and get a job in industry,” Jared laughs.
Summit V was born out of a need Jared saw going unfulfilled in cybersecurity.
“We bring quite a unique skill set to place,” he says. “We’re not your traditional MSP. We do have some very specific Zero Trust products, tools, and services, but we also help facilitate an ecosystem where certified, professional security consultants come in and advise a company to get them to where they need to be for their cyber defenses and information security programs.”
In the Summit V lexicon, those consultants are called sherpas. Like the acclimated guides of Mount Everest, Summit V sherpas navigate customers through the process. Every step of the way.
That real-time level of expertise comes from ongoing research, problem-solving, development, and adopting new tools and resources, which is where Jared’s day-to-day is focused.
Solutions like Quoter help free up time for Summit V to enhance its capabilities and better secure its customers.
“If we’re going to look to offset manpower and be those cybersecurity experts, then we need to look at those things that operationally make us successful and find ways to streamline and automate them,” says Jared.
Quoter cuts down time by streamlining the quoting process.
“Initially, there’s more manpower that goes into it, but in the long run, if you quantify that, it saves hours,” Jared says. “As you get bigger, it saves hundreds of hours when you can automate a quoting process. You can build templates and have them ready to rock and roll for your teams.”
With quoting taking up less brain space, Jared and his team have more time to conquer cybersecurity challenges.
“We work across industry, in government and academia, and so I’m involved with initiatives out of Washington, DC, including legislation and things happening up on Capitol Hill. It’s work that will affect businesses and other smaller government entities, such as municipalities,” says Jared. Summit V is making a difference, just as Jared has envisioned it.
But his daughters? They’re not too interested in joining the family business.
“My kids, whenever I ask them about some of this stuff, they say, ‘No way, it’s not my cup of tea!'”
Here’s more on how Jared drives business growth for Summit V.
Be resilient
“The best word that relates to cybersecurity, as well as small business ownership, is resilient. You have to be resilient. You have to be able to deal with the ups and downs, and you always have to remain laser-focused on the things important to you, your team, your family, your community, and your culture.”
Stay humble
“I work hard to ensure I am as knowledgeable as I can be as a subject matter expert in my field. But I know there are people out there who far surpass me, and those are the folks I like to surround myself with.”
Start the day with gratitude
“The first thing I do in the morning is roll over, kiss my wife, stretch, and really take a moment to remember those things I have to be thankful for.”
Find your way
“At the end of the day, being a small business owner is no walk in the park. But it means something to me to make a difference in my community and, hopefully, make a difference that directly or indirectly affects my children. If I can impact others along the way, that’s exactly what I want to do.”
Focus on foundation
“There’s efficiency and effectiveness to have the right vendors in your workflow and processes, but it takes time and understanding to get it right. If you’re already an established company, that can be harder. When you get to start from scratch, it’s somewhat easier, but if you do not have a solid foundation underneath you, any of the framework you build on top of it will eventually crumble when the big storms come around.”
“If you get halfway down the road, and you’re growing and scaling, but you’re just piecemealing things together; eventually, it’s going to catch up, and implementation and deployments will suffer greatly. The brand and the reputation will suffer. As soon as the brand is tarnished, you start losing business, flatten out, or quit growing.”
A strong foundation underneath you makes the difference to me, personally, between a good and a great company.”
Editor’s Note: It’s never too late to improve your foundation and streamline your sales process with Quoter. Request your customized demo to learn more.
Be of service
“As a CEO, you get to a point where you try to avoid handing out your cell phone number, but you know, especially with those in the community, when I have the opportunity to be face to face, I give out my number. I’ll say, ‘Hit me up if you need anything or if you have questions, just holler, and I’ll spend the time with you, or I’ll get you to someone who can help you because I may not be available or might not be the right skillset.'”
Five words: Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses
“I encourage any small business owner to apply for Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program. It’s the equivalent of a master’s program, and it’s done in six months. And there’s no cost to the business owner. Goldman Sachs foots the entire bill to teach you every facet of running a business (except cybersecurity! That’s one that one day they’ll incorporate; we’ll get there!)
This includes systems, HR, legal, and finance, all of these things in six months. You get such a wealth of knowledge.
I can’t begin to describe what it meant to me and the value I gained from it. And it’s just like anything you do; you get out of it whatever you put into it. Period.”
This interview has been edited for clarity & length.
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