Question: give our readers an introduction to your business. Please include what your business is all about, in which city you are located and if you have offices in multiple locations/ cities.
Answer: Texasketocouple.com is an online coaching business including the Texasketocouple Facebook group with over 30,000 members. We are based south of Houston, Texas but serve clients worldwide.
Question: give us a brief description about yourself (it should include your brief educational or entrepreneurial background and list some of your major achievements).
Answer:
◦ Ian worked 25 years in the chemical industry as a shift supervisor. After getting extremely overweight and recovering personal health and wellness, he left the chemical industry and operated a gym for 2-1/2 years. After becoming certified as a specialist in fitness nutrition, Ian and Betsy started Texasketocouple with a focus on teaching what we have learned about the ketogenic lifestyle.
◦ Betsy has spent the last 24 years in the space industry as a project manager and systems engineer. For many years prior as she was working and being educated, she went through fitness training and taught aerobics for 11 years. Betsy was diagnosed with Late Disseminated Lyme Disease and later Breast Cancer, and she used the ketogenic lifestyle to assist in overcoming these illnesses.
Question: What inspired you to (start a new business venture) or (to make significant changes in an existing business)? How did the idea for your business come about?
◦ After building an online group to over 30,000 people, Ian made the decision to become a Certified Keto Lifestyle Coach. Ian and Betsy have a calling to work with others to improve health and wellness by teaching the ketogenic lifestyle.
Question: What three pieces of advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
Answer:
◦ Always be open to learning new things.
◦ Find a mentor or mentors to learn from.
◦ Focus on solving problems for large numbers of people.
Question: What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
Answer:
◦ Being teachable and open to learning new skills.
◦ Adapting to new technologies.
◦ Willingness to model other successful entrepreneurs.
Question: How many hours do you work a day on average?
Answer:
◦ Approximately 8-10 hours.
Question: To what do you most attribute your success?
Answer:
◦ Willingness to continue learning new skills.
Question: How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing?
Answer:
◦ Video content and referrals.
Question: Where did your organizations funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it? How did you obtain investors for your venture?
Answer:
◦ Our business was grown organically and self-funded.
Question: What is the best way to achieve long-term success?
Answer:
◦ Find something that you love and never quit learning about it and sharing it with others.
Question: Where you see yourself and your business in 5 – 10 years?
Answer:
◦ Serving as many clients as time will allow.
Question: Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?
Answer:
◦ Dr. Eric Berg
Question: How important have good employees been to your success?
Answer:
◦ Not applicable – we currently have no employees.
Question: How long do you stick with an idea before giving up?
Answer:
◦ We try to practice making quick decisions but being slow to change those decisions.
Question: What motivates you?
Answer:
◦ Improved health of our clients.
Question: What are your ideals?
Answer:
◦ Honesty, authenticity, integrity and serving others.
Question: How do you generate new ideas?
Answer:
◦ By paying attention to latest trends and studies.
Question: How do you define success?
Answer:
◦ The satisfaction and knowledge that we do the very best we can to educate our clients to get the best results for their health and wellness.
Question: How do you build a successful customer base?
Answer:
◦ By doing the very best we can to support our clients.
Question: What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
Answer:
◦ Time freedom and flexibility.
Question: What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
Answer:
◦ We have found personal success when our clients find the success and results they are looking for.
Question: What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
Answer:
◦ Self-motivation and self-reliance can be exhilarating.
Question: What kind of culture exists in your organization? How did you establish this tone and why did you institute this particular type of culture?
Answer:
◦ Honesty, authenticity and integrity and an unwillingness to tolerate negativity. We established this through consistent practice because it was important that we maintain a positive and supportive environment.
Question: In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur.
Answer:
◦ Incredible
Question: If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
Answer:
◦ I would not spend time getting really good at anything that is unfulfilling.
Question: How has being an entrepreneur affected your family life?
Answer:
◦ We have experienced the ability to help support family members, to travel and to have more time to be together.
Question: What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage fear?
Answer:
◦ My greatest fear is letting people down. I manage it by doing the best I can to not let that happen.
Question: How did you decide on the location for your business?
Answer:
◦ We decided to have our business be an online, remote business so we can do it from anywhere with an internet connection.
Question: Do you believe there is some sort of pattern or formula to becoming a successful entrepreneur?
Answer:
◦ Always keep learning, develop a daily method of operation and consistently practice it.
Question: If you could talk to one person from history, who would it be and why?
Answer:
◦ My dad died when I was young, and I would like a chance to talk with him again.
Question: Who has been your greatest inspiration?
Answer:
◦ The results we’ve both gotten from this ketogenic lifestyle has inspired us to share it with other people.
Question: What book has inspired you the most? (OR what is your favorite book?)
Answer:
◦ The Bible
Question: What are some of the biggest mistakes you’ve made?
Answer:
◦ We have learned that we cannot automate ourselves out of our own business.
Question: How can you prevent mistakes or do damage control?
Answer:
◦ Our goal is to not keep repeating the same mistakes over and over. Mistakes will happen. Learn the lesson and move on.
Question: What are your hobbies? What do you do in your non-work time?
Answer:
◦ Exercise, live music, dragon boating, service work.
Question: What makes you happy?
Answer:
◦ Have you heard of the Happy Coffee everyone is talking about? Contact me for more details!
Question: What sacrifices have you had to make to be a successful entrepreneur?
Answer:
◦ Willing to make mistakes and learn from them, including financial and personal time sacrifices.
Question: If you were conducting this interview, what question would you ask?
Answer:
◦ Is it more important to make a lot of money or to serve a lot of people?
