I’ve always said that some friendships are for a reason, some for a season. And a few for a lifetime. My friend, Will Nobles, founder and CEO of Vector Choice, is definitely one of the lifetime ones. He’s been part of our Build IT community since the very beginning, when “Build IT” was just an idea, and he believed in us before most even knew what we were about to create. Over the years, Will has become more than a peer in the channel. He’s family.
I was truly excited to sit down with Will as I knew some great insights were about to unfold. Will’s entrepreneurial journey is the kind that humbles you and gives you a whole new perspective. His inspirational story is one that went from farming and bulldozers to boardrooms and borderless business.
From the Farm to the Fast Lane
Will took me all the way back to his high school days. Back then, he was a baseball kid with 13 scholarship offers, big dreams of the major leagues. But life had other plans. He turned them all down and went to work in an above-ground mine, driving a 100-ton bulldozer.
“I came from farming,” he told me. “Tobacco fields, cows, ostriches, I know what hard work is.”
That work ethic never left him. When the mine needed someone to fix their computers, Will taught himself IT. Nights spent hacking together solutions turned into a passion, and soon, a profession. He received two engineering degrees, before moving to Atlanta. In 2008, he founded Vector Choice.
As he shared his story, I couldn’t help but smile; we had a lot in common. From tractor to tech, as I like to say. For Will, it’s bulldozer to borderless. It is amazing to hear a similar life journey from someone else.
Even today, he says his peace comes from being behind the wheel of a bulldozer or a bobcat on his land. “That’s my out,” he said. “It takes me back to my roots and lets me escape the stress of running a business.”
I absolutely get that. I told him how I felt the same when I visited my family in Vancouver and got to drive a tractor again: it’s grounding. It reminds you where you started and keeps you grounded, close to your roots, no matter how far you’ve come.
Three Life Lessons for Entrepreneurs
When I asked Will what advice he’d give a 20-year-old just starting out, his response was pure gold:
- Don’t overthink.
“When I started my business, I thought everything had to be perfect: the car, the pitch, the website. But it never is. You learn by doing.”
- Get out of your own way.
“Entrepreneurs often block their own growth because they think too much or try to do everything themselves. Let go of that control.”
- Hire and trust the right team.
“Once you start building a team, empower them. Let them make mistakes and learn. Don’t be the bottleneck.”
He shared how he learned to stop giving his team the answers and instead ask, “What do you think we should do?” That’s how leaders grow leaders: by merging perspectives instead of dictating decisions.
I couldn’t agree more. True scale only happens when everyone in the organization operates from their unique strengths: when leaders coach, not control.
Collaboration Over Competition
We then got into a topic close to both our hearts: collaboration in the MSP community.
I shared how IT By Design turned 400 competitors into collaborators through partnerships with our global delivery centers. In the early days, other MSPs saw us as competitors. But over time, trust and transparency transformed those relationships into strategic alliances.
Will echoed that sentiment: “The world is too big to think of everyone as competition. Even in Atlanta, where I have MSPs three miles from me, we rarely cross paths. Everyone has a different target market.”
He explained how smaller MSPs often white-label Vector Choice for compliance and security work, whether its CMMC, PCI, NIST, his team excels in various areas. Collaboration extends even further: when one MSP needs boots on the ground in another city, those relationships make it happen.
That’s the beauty of this channel: it’s like a village. Reputation and relationships determine everything. When you show up for others; others show up for you.
Coaching, Clarity, and “A Week with Will”
Will is not just an entrepreneur; he’s also a teacher and coach. He runs programs that help MSP owners overcome roadblocks in growth, pricing, operations, and leadership.
One of his signature initiatives is “A Week with Will”: an immersive retreat in Acapulco, Mexico, where he works with just seven MSP CEOs at a time.
Each day has a theme. One day, they deep dive into packaging and pricing: calculating hard costs (software, RMM, antivirus) and soft costs (labor, service delivery).
He even helps build custom calculators and marketing documents for each attendee. Another day is all about financials and operations, aligning SG&A and COGS, and identifying where to reinvest profits to fuel growth.
“It’s intense,” he laughed. “It’s like being on a vacation, but you’re working hard.”
The ideal fit for his retreat? MSPs clocking between $800,000 and $10 million in revenue, those ready to level up and break their next ceiling.
And his biggest advice on pricing? “Know your costs. Don’t copy someone else’s model. If you don’t fix your pricing foundation, you’ll compound your problems with every new client you onboard.”
He’s right. At IT By Design, we use our own 3Ps framework: Pricing, Packaging, and Protecting. Pricing builds your margins. Packaging builds your brand. Protecting, through trademarks or patents, builds your enterprise value.
It’s about naming your babies well and safeguarding your intellectual property.
What’s Next for Will
As we wrapped up, I asked Will what’s next for him and Vector Choice.
He’s focused on growth through acquisition and partnerships. They’re actively looking for MSPs with $1M–$5M in revenue: businesses where owners are ready to sell or explore JV partnerships.
These partnerships allow leaders to run local entities under the Vector Choice brand like “Vector Choice Denver” or “Vector Choice Albuquerque”, backed by Will’s entire cybersecurity and compliance infrastructure.
And for those who want ongoing guidance, Will also offers advisory and virtual COO programs, where he conducts leadership meetings to help MSPs execute at a higher level.
The Entrepreneurial DNA
As we closed, Will said something that stuck with me: “If we don’t have a lot going on, we’re not entrepreneurs. Our job is to create value every single day.”
That’s the truth of it. Entrepreneurs are builders by nature: of businesses, teams, and of relationships. And people like Will remind us that no matter how far we go, our roots are what make us real.
You can reach Will at WillNobles.com or find him on LinkedIn. He’s always sharing insights that make you think differently about leadership and growth.
This talk left me inspired and reminded me that growth increases exponentially when we share. Because in this realm, the real win isn’t just building your business; it’s helping other people build theirs.
How are you building value for your business? I’d love to know. Feel free to subscribe to Sunny’s Silver Linings for more such groundbreaking insights.
