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
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