Ian MacIntyre Podcast Transcript
Ian MacIntyre joins host Brian Thomas on The Digital Executive Podcast.
Welcome to Coruzant Technologies, Home of the Digital Executive podcast.
Brian Thomas: Welcome to The Digital Executive. Today’s guest is Ian McIntyre. Ian McIntyre, a true powerhouse in the entrepreneurial world. Despite overcoming 20 years of challenges, Ian has not only built successful ventures, but now coaches others to do the same.
But Ian’s story is more than just a personal triumph. It’s a testament to the power of resilience and the potential for greatness within each of us. As a coach and consultant, Ian shares his wealth of knowledge and experience with aspiring entrepreneurs, helping them navigate the challenges of business and reach new heights of success.
Well, good afternoon, Ian. Welcome to the show!
Ian MacIntyre: Thank you so much for having me!
Brian Thomas: You’re absolutely welcome. I love doing these podcasts, and Ian, we’re going to jump into your questions. We’re going to learn much more about you and your entrepreneurship and your journey and the challenges and so forth.
So, in your first question here. You’ve had an incredible journey again, overcoming 20 years of challenges in entrepreneurship. Can you share a specific instance where you face a significant hurdle and how you managed to overcome it?
Ian MacIntyre: Yeah. So probably one of my biggest challenges is I got a really bad injury and dealt with misdiagnoses for over a decade. So, I had to get very creative in what I was going to be doing for work. I wasn’t really in a position to work for other people. So, this really spurred my entrepreneurship spirit of trying to figure out what I could do, how I could be successful with the limitations in front of me.
And so eventually that led me down the e commerce path as well as coaching, which were things that I could do without a lot of physical intensity, but still be able to learn a lot. Share that knowledge and be successful in endeavors that are pursued.
Brian Thomas: Awesome. I appreciate that. And sometimes we’re forced to do different things based on the challenges that we face. In your case obviously it impacted your health, which can be very challenging. So, I appreciate the share.
And Ian, many entrepreneurs’ struggle with decision paralysis and imposter syndrome. What strategies do you recommend for overcoming these mental hurdles?
Ian MacIntyre: I think one of the biggest strengths is questions.
And a lot of times people are looking for answers, but really the stronger the question, the more granular the question, the deeper we can go with a question. It shapes the answers that we’re looking for. So, a lot of times, imposter syndrome is not feeling like you’re the right person for the job. And if you just say, am I the right person, that question doesn’t give the best answer.
But if you start diving into the things that you’ve been successful, the lessons you’ve learned, the challenges you’ve overcome, and what you can bring to whatever situation you’re in, by diving deeper and having those questions, it can help strengthen your resolve in what you’re doing and how you show up.
And likewise, if there is a gap in your knowledge for what you’re trying to do, it becomes, how do I get that knowledge? Who has that knowledge that I can acquire? Is that knowledge free? Do I have to pay for it? Where are successful people achieving these things? I want to do it. How do I acquire those skills just as a, as examples, but by using the power of questions, you can derive answers that give you much more capability in what you’re trying to achieve.
Brian Thomas: Thank you. You’re absolutely right. I think a lot of times humans ask the wrong question. And of course. Our brain will absolutely tell us why and not in such a positive way or a way that doesn’t allow us to get out of that dead end or, or that bad cycle. So, I appreciate that. And Ian, you’ve mentioned the importance of a growth mindset.
Can you explain what a growth mindset is and how it has impacted your entrepreneurial endeavors?
Ian MacIntyre: Absolutely. A growth mindset is looking for how things can be improved. Ultimately, and that could be personally. How can I improve in these areas of my life? It can absolutely be professionally. How can I acquire more clients?
How can I overcome these obstacles in life and business? We encounter challenges. Some of them are rather difficult. But at the same time, somebody has solved this problem. So how did they solve it? So, seeking out additional things, in a way, it’s always this, how are we trying to grow as a person, or within our business, or within our team, as a manager, even with our families?
How do we show up better? So having that mindset, some days I get knocked down and I feel like I can’t do anything, that it’s going to stop there. Give yourself some space, breathe it out, and the next day it’s okay, how do I overcome this challenge? What am I not seeing to overcome this? Am I coming to the table again and again thinking how I can grow past any situation, negative, or how do I accelerate my growth in a positive?
allows me and lots of other people to find that success every single day. And like I said, maybe not every day, but the next day you, your chances go substantially higher to achieve that.
Brian Thomas: Thank you. And I do know sometimes in the heat of the battle, heat of the moment, you want to just scream and yell, but it’s best to take a, just a break and take those 5-minute time out, take those breaths and rephrase the questions.
This is so helpful. You know, we talked about that a little bit in a previous. Question, but I think that’s so, so important that when you hit that brick wall, it’s, it’s time to stop. You can’t go through it. So, take a pause and rethink how you’re going to get around. So, I appreciate that. And Ian, last question of the day, scaling operations is a significant challenge for many businesses.
What are some effective strategies you used or recommended to others for scaling successfully?
Ian MacIntyre: So, like many of the things we’ve talked about today, Scaling, there are a lot of skills in there. And so sometimes we want to achieve something, but we don’t have the skills in place. For example, you may have a couple of salespeople on your team, but is your team big enough to intake that many more clients?
Is your back of the house strong enough to be able to process all of the new business that you’re bringing in? So, at each stage, it’s looking at what skills you need to develop, who you need to put into place to be able to grow beyond yourself or your immediate team or what’s happening. So scaling, like everything, it’s a skill.
And the more time we spend in that and developing those skills and seeing where the weak point is and how to overcome that bottleneck, while at the same time looking at three steps ahead, what does it mean to grow past where we are. For example, if your company is 10 people, what is a 15 or a 20-person company at that is functioning optimally do that’s different and starting to align yourself with those activities can allow you to scale more comfortably because one of the worst things is you’ve scaled too fast, and you don’t set those things up.
You might actually regress a little in the process as well.
Brian Thomas: Thank you. I appreciate that. There’s obviously a lot going on, especially if you are a newer or younger entrepreneur, I’d say maybe not as experienced in your business. You may have to look at things differently. And of course, we have people like you that can come in and provide that guidance, that coaching, that mentorship to help.
The business turnaround scale and be successful. So, I appreciate that. And Ian, it’s been such a pleasure speaking with you today, and I look forward to speaking with you again soon.
Ian MacIntyre: Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate talking to you and thank you for such incredible questions.
Brian Thomas: Bye for now.
Ian MacIntyre Podcast Transcript. Listen to the audio on the guest’s podcast page.
