Stacey McNabney didn’t just build a business — she built herself from the ground up. Single mum at 19. No qualifications. No safety net. Just sheer determination, a door-to-door sales job, and the kind of grit you only get from real life.

In this episode of Success or Excuses, James Fleming sits down with Stacey to uncover what it really takes to build a brand when you’ve got mouths to feed, confidence to build, and a business world that doesn’t wait for you to catch up.

It wasn’t smooth. It wasn’t perfect. She made money, lost focus, burned out, started over and came back stronger. Now, as The Social Coach and co-founder of POI Society, Stacey helps women stop hiding, start showing up, and grow businesses they’re proud of.

This conversation is packed with honesty, humour, and hard-won lessons perfect for anyone juggling real life and big dreams.

Key moments include:

✔️ Why social media isn’t about trends, it’s about trust and consistency ✔️ The cold-calling job that taught her everything about people and psychology ✔️ How she built her business while raising kids and the cost of burnout ✔️ The ADHD-fuelled chaos behind every great idea (and why you shouldn’t chase them all) ✔️ Breaking through imposter syndrome and learning to charge your worth ✔️ Why your content should sound like you, not like everyone else ✔️ The reality of building a brand with no backup plan and no room for excuses ✔️ The myth of confidence — and how to act before you feel ready ✔️ What Stacey really wanted from her business: not fame, but freedom ✔️ Her top three tips for any woman building a business from scratch

Subscribe to Success or Excuses for more raw, straight-talking conversations with people who’ve built, rebuilt, and kept going long after everyone else gave up.

Follow James Fleming:

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesflemingtpwtd

Success or Excuses Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/successorexcusespodcast?igsh=OW51MzlrazkwMXc%3D&utm_source=qr

YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@SuccessorExcusesPodcast

Website → https://thepowerwithintraining.com/

Follow Stacey McNabney:

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacey-mcnabney-735432146/

Website → https://thesocial.coach/about-me/

Email → stacey@thesocial.coach

Instagram → @stacey_mcnabney_coach

Ajmal Mushtaq didn’t just build a business, he went all in and didn’t take a wage for six years. No holidays. No nights off. No dinner with his wife. Just pure focus, relentless graft, and a vision nobody else could see.

In this episode of Success or Excuses, James Fleming sits down with Ajmal to unpack what it really takes to scale from a struggling family restaurant to one of the biggest takeaway operations in the UK and now, a nationwide pizza brand.

It wasn’t easy. At one point, he had just £2,000 in the bank and almost lost everything. But Ajmal didn’t panic. He doubled down on marketing, built systems that made life easier for his team, and turned every customer into a raving fan. Now, with Boss Pizza expanding fast, he’s proving that with the right mindset and the right marketing, there are no limits.

This isn’t about get-rich-quick. It’s about the stuff no one talks about: sacrifice, obsession, and being the last one standing when others quit.

Key moments include:

✔️ The brutal reality of the first 18 months in any business ✔️ Why Ajmal refused to take a wage until the business could thrive without him ✔️ The marketing mindset that built a brand — and stopped traffic ✔️ Turning everyday moments into viral growth opportunities ✔️ What great leadership actually looks like on the ground ✔️ Why most people fail at franchising before they even begin ✔️ The lesson Ajmal repeats in every team meeting: “The customer pays your wages” ✔️ Why pointing the finger at yourself is the ultimate leadership move ✔️ The loneliness of success and how to spot the right people to keep around ✔️ How hard work became the cure for flatness, boredom, and burnout

Subscribe to Success or Excuses for more honest, hard-hitting conversations with people who’ve built, pivoted, and pushed through when it mattered most.

Follow James Fleming:

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesflemingtpwtd

Success or Excuses Instagram→ https://www.instagram.com/successorexcusespodcast?igsh=OW51MzlrazkwMXc%3D&utm_source=qr

YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@SuccessorExcusesPodcast

Website → https://thepowerwithintraining.com/

Follow Ajmal Mushtaq:

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajmal-mushtaq-4342a363/

Website → https://www.boss-pizza.co.uk/

Email → Ajmal@boss-pizza.co.uk

Maxwell Muir didn’t just survive rock bottom, he rebuilt his life, his business, and his mindset from the ground up. But not before facing fear, failure, and a cancer diagnosis that would shake anyone to their core.

In this episode, James Fleming sits down with Maxwell for a powerful, no-fluff conversation about what it really takes to come back stronger not once, but time and time again.

From living in a tent with his dog to building one of Scotland’s most respected dog training businesses… From losing it all to learning how to lead himself… Maxwell’s story is proof that resilience isn’t built when things are easy — it’s forged in the moments no one else sees.

And just when life seemed steady, he was hit with something he never saw coming: early-stage prostate cancer. But true to form, Maxwell’s response wasn’t panic — it was perspective. The kind most people don’t gain until it’s too late.

This isn’t a story about pretending to be strong. It’s a story about becoming it.

Key moments include: ✔️ From villa life to a tent in the woods: the decision that changed everything ✔️ How a lost passion turned into a purpose-driven business ✔️ The brutal power of climbing a mountain with no way back down ✔️ What happened when he ripped up his script before the biggest talk of his life ✔️ The conversation that led to his cancer diagnosis — and how he handled it ✔️ Why most people wait too long to get checked, and what Maxwell wants every man to know ✔️ How fear and faith can live in the same moment ✔️ Rebuilding life with more clarity, more honesty, and zero tolerance for BS ✔️ Why success has nothing to do with money, and everything to do with meaning ✔️ The legacy Maxwell wants to leave — and what you can learn from it

This one hits deeper. And it might just change how you see your own story.

Subscribe to Success or Excuses for more honest, hard-hitting conversations with people who’ve built, pivoted, and pushed through when it mattered most.

Follow James Fleming:

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesflemingtpwtd

Success or Excuses Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/successorexcusespodcast?igsh=OW51MzlrazkwMXc%3D&utm_source=qr

YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@SuccessorExcusesPodcast

Website → https://thepowerwithintraining.com/

Follow Maxwell Muir:

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxwell-muir-speaker/

Email → maxwell@maxwellmuirempowerment.com

He fled a revolution at four years old. Lost everything. Rebuilt from scratch. Today, Armin Ossatian runs one of the most trusted IT support firms in the country.

This episode of Success or Excuses is about more than business it’s about pressure, resilience, and what it really takes to lead when the stakes are personal.

James Fleming sits down with Armin for an honest, no-filter conversation about starting over in a new country, building a business from nothing, and the toll leadership can take when you never truly switch off.

Armin didn’t set out to be an entrepreneur. But after years of watching poor service frustrate customers, he made a choice: if no one else would do it better, he would.

No investors. No shortcuts. Just relentless work, powerful relationships, and a quiet promise to show up every single time.

This isn’t a story about IT. It’s a story about integrity, grit, and the mindset it takes to build something that lasts even when the odds are against you.

Key moments include:

✔️ What fleeing Iran and starting school without English taught Armin about survival ✔️ Why he turned down a safe life in teaching, Germany, and the military — and stayed in Scotland ✔️ The power of relationships in business (and what most people get wrong about networking) ✔️ The weight of leadership and why burnout creeps in without warning ✔️ The truth about growing a business when you refuse to lower your standards ✔️ Letting go of control: the hardest lesson in building a team ✔️ Why trust and responsiveness became the foundations of Dico IT ✔️ How to build a business where people want to recommend you ✔️ Why Armin still finds it hard to switch off and what needs to change ✔️ What legacy really looks like when you’re building it from the ground up

Subscribe to Success or Excuses for real, raw conversations with leaders who built on courage — not comfort.

Follow James Fleming:

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesflemingtpwtd

Success or Excuses Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/successorexcusespodcast?igsh=OW51MzlrazkwMXc%3D&utm_source=qr

YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@SuccessorExcusesPodcast

Website → https://thepowerwithintraining.com/

Follow Armin Ossatian:

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/armin-o-1617b178/

Website → https://dycoit.co.uk/

Email → ao@dycoit.co.uk

Andrew Morrison didn’t just build a business; he built a legacy.

In this episode, James Fleming sits down with Andrew for a real conversation about building and selling a business the right way, without losing yourself in the process.

From surviving redundancy to navigating the emotional pressure of running a company through COVID, Andrew shares what it actually takes to stay in the game long enough to exit on your terms.

This isn’t about big egos or buzzwords. It’s about clarity, integrity, and building something that lasts.

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Key moments:

✔️ The three biggest mistakes people make when trying to sell their business

✔️ Why recurring revenue and owner independence matter more than turnover

✔️ Navigating redundancy, self-doubt, and rebuilding from scratch

✔️ How Andrew created a business that was attractive to buyers, without listing it for sale

✔️ Why “doing the right thing for the business” is sometimes the hardest choice

✔️ What AI is doing to the consultancy world and how to adapt

✔️ The difference between building for lifestyle and building for legacy

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Follow James Fleming:

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesflemingtpwtd/

Success or Excuses Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/successorexcusespodcast?igsh=OW51MzlrazkwMXc%3D&utm_source=qr

YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@SuccessorExcusesPodcast

Website → https://thepowerwithintraining.com/

Follow Andrew Morrison:

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewmorrisonbusinesssale/

Website → https://www.businesssalebasecamp.co.uk/

Email → andrew@businesssalebasecamp.com

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Subscribe to Success or Excuses for more honest, hard-hitting conversations with

people who’ve built, pivoted, and pushed through when it mattered most.

Gary McAlister is the definition of starting from scratch. No head start. No silver spoon. Just grit, graft, and a relentless drive to build something better.

From his early days as a joiner in Glasgow to running multiple businesses in construction and property, Gary has learned every lesson the hard way, on-site, in debt, and under pressure. But that’s what makes this conversation so powerful. He’s not talking theory. He’s lived it.

In this episode, Gary opens up about the reality behind the scenes, the missed paydays, the marketing nightmares, the big wins, and the bigger wake-up calls. He’s building businesses while trying to fix a broken industry, mentoring the next generation of tradespeople through The Refurb Academy, and learning what it means to truly lead.

This one’s for the grafters, the risk-takers, the ones trying to turn their skills into something scalable and finding out it’s not as simple as just being good at the job.

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Key moments:

✔️ From failing in school to finding purpose through joinery

✔️ Why the UK has a massive skills crisis and how Gary’s trying to change it

✔️ What most tradespeople get wrong when they go self-employed

✔️ The mindset shift from tradesman to business owner

✔️ Why subcontracting can make or break your reputation

✔️ How payment terms are killing small construction companies

✔️ The painful truth about joint ventures and why contracts matter

✔️ Building The Refurb Academy to create real opportunities for others

✔️ Managing pressure, self-doubt, and the weight of responsibility

✔️ The difference between running a business and owning one

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Follow James Fleming:

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesflemingtpwtd/

Success or Excuses Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/successorexcusespodcast?igsh=OW51MzlrazkwMXc%3D&utm_source=qr

YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@SuccessorExcusesPodcast

Website → https://thepowerwithintraining.com/

Follow Gary McAlister:

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-mcallister/

Instagram→ https://www.instagram.com/mcallisterproperty?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

Website → https://www.propertyrefurbacademy.co.uk/

Property Refurb Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/propertyrefurbacademy?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

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Subscribe to Success or Excuses for more real conversations with people who’ve built their success from the ground up. No fluff. No filters. Just the truth.

Barry Jolly didn’t grow up dreaming of building a media agency. In fact, by his own admission, he drifted for years, working hard, doing what he was told, and playing it safe in a corporate career. Until one unexpected trip to London lit a fire he couldn’t put out.

What followed was far from smooth. His first venture crumbled overnight when the affiliate marketing company he partnered with was exposed as a fraud, wiping out his income and credibility in one swoop. But instead of walking away, Barry doubled down.

He started again. This time for real.

In this episode, James Fleming sits down with Barry for a real, unfiltered conversation about what it takes to get back up after a hit, the truth about agency life, and how he’s grown Jolly Media into a results-driven, values-led company in one of the most challenging industries out there.

Barry opens up about the imposter syndrome, the unpaid invoices, the client mistakes, and the lonely moments most founders keep quiet. But through it all, one thing’s clear, he’s not here to fake it. He’s here to build something that lasts.

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Key moments:

✔️ The failed affiliate venture that wiped out six figures overnight

✔️ How his uncle’s belief planted the first seed of entrepreneurship

✔️ From hotel rooms to hustle: juggling a startup with a full-time job

✔️ The personal lessons that shaped Jolly Media’s values and approach

✔️ Building trust in a broken marketing industry

✔️ Why most agencies overpromise and how Barry’s team does things differently

✔️ Becoming the go-to in renewables through speed, transparency, and strategy

✔️ The moment it all clicked, rethinking marketing around audience awareness

✔️ Why he’s now building a media group and acquiring agencies

✔️ Letting go of control and learning how to lead

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Follow James Fleming:

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesflemingtpwtd/

Success or Excuses Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/successorexcusespodcast?igsh=OW51MzlrazkwMXc%3D&utm_source=qr

YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@SuccessorExcusesPodcast

Website → https://thepowerwithintraining.com/

Follow Barry Jolly:

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/barry-jolly-30a114220/

Website → https://jollymediamarketing.com/

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Subscribe to Success or Excuses for more honest, unfiltered conversations with people who’ve taken the punches, stayed in the ring, and kept swinging.

Success doesn’t happen in a straight line. It’s built in the trenches, through hardship, betrayal, health scares, and moments when giving up feels like the only option.

In this powerful episode of the Success or Excuses podcast, James Fleming sits down with Michael Savage, CEO of Channel Group, for a raw, unfiltered conversation about what it really takes to keep rebuilding, again and again.

Michael isn’t here to share a polished comeback story. He’s still in the thick of it. But what makes his journey so compelling is the relentless mindset that keeps him moving forward, even when the odds are stacked against him.

From building a multi-seven-figure finance brokerage from the ground up, to facing a life-threatening brain tumour and dealing with betrayal during recovery, Michael lays it all bare. He opens up about the mental toll of being a leader under pressure, the moments he felt like walking away, and how the right people (and the wrong ones) shaped everything.

This episode is for the ones still in it. The ones navigating doubt, starting over, or rebuilding when everything feels uncertain.

It’s not about polished success, it’s about the grit that makes it possible.

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Key Moments:

✔️Building a finance business without funding and why banks said noBeing diagnosed with a brain tumour in the middle of running a company

✔️Losing trust in key people and the emotional toll of betrayal

✔️Why resilience is non-negotiable if you want to lead

✔️What it really means to start from zero, twice

✔️Loyalty, mindset, and creating a culture where your name means something

✔️The truth about growing a business in Scotland and redefining the game

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Follow James Fleming:

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesflemingtpwtd/

Success or Excuses Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/successorexcusespodcast?igsh=OW51MzlrazkwMXc%3D&utm_source=qr

YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@SuccessorExcusesPodcast

Website → https://thepowerwithintraining.com/

Follow Michael Savage:

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/channel-finance-group-uk/

Website → https://www.channelfinance.co.uk

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/channelfinancegroup/

Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/channelfinance

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Success is earned in the arena, through grit, failure, and choosing to show up when everything’s on the line. This episode is proof of that.