Meet Ian Buchanan | Multi-Passionate Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ian Buchanan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ian, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
10 years ago I was a third year teacher in Jackson, Tennessee. I had 2 degrees and was a 3rd year doctoral student in K-12 educational leadership. I was getting paid $32,000 per year to work full time and I had a revelation that if I was going to only make $32,000 a year and not be in love with the job I had I might as well bet on myself and struggle in something that I love. As well as have the freedom to enjoy life on my own terms versus the 30 min lunch breaks in the school system lol

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
One of my businesses is a fitness studio in the Museum District/ 3rd Ward area of Houston. We’ve been around for the past 3 years and prior to that I had a gym in Jackson, Tennessee called D180Fitness. With both gyms I’d like to say what sets us apart is the use of science and math to fuel our clients change. There’s a common term in fitness called bro science where people typically pass along what they’ve heard form others and it allows for tons of misinformation. Due to my educational background I make sure everything that’s taught and instructed to clients is from scientifically based research. There is no guess work involved it’s all educationally fueled.

One thing that I’m proud of is that I’m an all natural professional bodybuilder and have been able to coach other bodybuilding athletes to over 100 first place trophies during my stint. As an all natural athlete we have to be that much more disciplined than others and go that much harder in terms of exercise and consistency.

Entrepreneurship is never easy but it’s worth it if you’re somebody that covets freedom and desires a higher ceiling of what you can take home annually. The biggest lessons I’ve learned along the way are that struggling is part of the journey but should not be your life. Give your dream a set amount of time to prove whether it can succeed or not and after that time is up make a fact based decision to either continue grinding or move on to the next opportunity. Don’t allow emotions to dictate decisions.

Also I’m a firm believer that it’s ok to work on building someone else’s dreams while you’re working on your own. If necessary work your 9-5 for someone else and afterwards a 5- 10 for yourself. Don’t get caught up on having to abandon your secure stable paycheck with health insurance for the road to entrepreneurship. Even though I’ve been a gym owner for the past decade I’ve also been a teacher, a college professor, and have a trucking business which all contribute to my net take home. There’s nothing wrong with having more than one stream of income.

And the biggest lesson learned along the way is that it always works out. Relax. Breathe. Enjoy the journey and don’t simply focus on the destination.

In regards to my brand I want the world to know I’m one of the best trainers in this nation and the results of my clients speak volumes. My main focus from the moment a client stands in front of me is getting them to reach their full potential. Similar to an architect or a construction worker looking at a property they’re about to flip I look at the human physique identically. Tear down to build up and you will be blow away with the results.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Everybody that comes to Houston has to visit the Breakfast Club at least once. So spot number one on the list would be fried chicken and waffles lol After breakfast we’d head to the museum district because there’s always some amazing exhibits to check out. For lunch we have to head to Helens Kitchen or Cool Runnings for an authentic taste of the Caribbean. Depending on the day of the week Cool Runnings has a great weekend brunch. Afterwards we’d head over to Studio Movie Grill in city Center which is my favorite place in the city to catch a movie. And I’d take them on a donut tour of options all week long lol (If you can’t tell I like to eat) Glazed (try the apple pie you’ll thank me later), Hurts, and Shipley’s donut’s and the apple pie from the House of Pies. We’d of course have to work it all off at The Body Shop HTX fitness and eat a healthy dinner from Bee Fit Foods with a coke zero to cancel out all the bad calories lol

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There’s a long list of people that deserve recognition for my success in the fitness arena and it starts with every client that ever put their trust in me as well as their financial commitments. That’s not taken lightly because I know there are dozens of other options right down the street people could have easily gone to so the fact they’ve helped me stay in business for over a decade now is beyond huge. Also I have to give credit to my mom who made sure that we were raised in the church and have faith in a higher power because honestly I don’t see how anybody takes on entrepreneurship without faith. Even if it’s faith in yourself there’s a trust that it’ll all workout in the end. My faith in God has definitely allowed me to leap before I look and fail forward knowing that in the end it always works out!

Website: www.htxfitness.com

Instagram: JamaicanMuscle