Welcome to my blog
Join me on my journey as I share my insights and experiences on all things Apple, Business and Entrepreneurship!
Join me on my journey as I share my insights and experiences on all things Apple, Business and Entrepreneurship!
I really feel like in this era of AI it's essential to write about and share experiences for others who are leveraging AI, especially now that AI usage seems almost ubiquitous. Specifically, when it comes to AI in development and the rapid growth of AI-driven automations in the IT landscape, I believe there's a need for open discussion and exploration.
So there I was, a typically day, a typical weekend. As a ChatGPT customer, I had heard good things about Codex and had not yet tried the platform. To date my experience with agentic coding was simply snippit based support with ChatGPT and Gemeni where I would ask questions, get explanations and support with squashing bugs in a few apps that I work on, for fun, on the side. There were a few core features in one of the apps I built that I wanted to try implementing but the...
When you run a consultancy, you think the job is about your expertise—the thing you’ve been hired to do. But very quickly, you realize the role demands a whole set of skills you never set out to master. They sneak in over time, and before you know it, you’ve become fluent in things you once thought you’d avoid. The funny part is, you don’t even notice you’re learning them until you look back and recognize how much your approach has shifted. These are the skills that never appear on your...
I have a lot of friends in the job market right now, and we’ve been having some interesting conversations about a title that comes up again and again: “Senior.” It’s one of those words that carries weight when you first hear it—implying a certain level of mastery, trust, and authority—but the more you look at how it's used in practice, the more slippery it becomes. We've been debating what exactly "senior" means in different contexts, from years of experience to specific skills or responsibilities.
I started thinking about what it means to be a great IT technician. As one of my now roles, IT technician was thrust upon me, among other things, by choice. Primarily because I enjoy it, and so it got me thinking, why do I love it so much? Over the years I have worn the hat of support specialist, web developer, IT manager, IT director, and CEO. I am now the information systems security officer but not matter how hard I try, the pull, and draw of troubleshooting issues pulls...
I’ve written about how I’d build an MSP from scratch in 2024. I followed that up with what I’d do differently in 2025 after a few more battle scars. Now, as I reflect on the way this space keeps evolving, I think it’s time to talk about scale—and more specifically, how not to lose your mind while scaling. It's an area where many MSPs struggle, and I'm no exception.
In the IT field, certifications often appear to be the golden ticket and in many cases the fast track to success. They signal expertise, validate skills, and provide a sense of accomplishment. However, the heavy reliance on certifications in the industry brings a host of challenges, and many professionals, like myself, find themselves questioning the value, timing, and necessity of these credentials. This has led to a culture where some individuals prioritize certification over hands-on experience, while others feel pressured to constantly update their credentials to remain relevant.
In 2014, I embarked on a journey that would shape the next eight years of my life. With a vision in mind and a determination to succeed, I founded Grove Technologies, a Managed Service Provider (MSP) based in Maryland, focused on delivering exceptional IT solutions to businesses of all sizes. The company grew steadily, overcoming challenges and celebrating milestones, until 2022, when I decided it was time to pass the baton and sold the business. It was an incredible experience, filled with invaluable lessons, but as I reflect on those...
From 2014 until 2022 I built and ran a series of successful IT consultancies, from a one person solopreneurship (Jon Brown Consulting), to a startup (Mac Gurus) that grew rapidly but faced significant challenges, to its more mature and accomplished predecessor (Grove Technologies) where I eventually sold the business and exited the industry.
For those of you who know me well, know that I love technology. Not just Apple products which I inherently love because of my love for creative pursuits but any new technology where I feel connected. A few such products hit the Kickstarter / funding phase a while back, Lockitron and Coin. Many hear the words Lockitron and cringe; I know I do, because I paid for the product over four years ago, and have yet to see an actual product ship. Not seeing a product ship seemed inevitable for...
Apple computers recently have exploded in popularity, Apple stock is soaring and Apple computers are now and have been for some time prime real estate for sticky fingers. So what is an Apple user to do? Keep your beloved computer locked up? With the threat of loss, or theft of Apple devices being a reality, many companies and solutions have emerged in the marketplace to address this growing concern.
It seems no matter how careful Apple is each OS update (especially server updates) reveals its own challenges for the user, that leaves them wishing that they had not left their stable platform for the bug fixes that made that update so desirable. The 10.6.8 server update was no different; it claimed to fix such long-time bugs as Server Side Rules, which has been a thorn in the side of OS X Server Administrators everywhere who use OS X Servers as their primary email server. So many of us, including...
