🎧 Episode 4 – How One Conversation Changed My Entire Direction with Dawn McGruer
In this intimate episode, Susie sits down with her mentor, Dawn McGruer, to talk about the real work behind growth, the messy parts, the mindset shifts, the identity changes, and the breakthroughs that don’t show up on Instagram. Together, they unpack the behind-the-scenes journey of building confidence, scaling businesses, embracing discomfort, and navigating the challenges that shape entrepreneurs. If you’ve ever wondered what working with a mentor actually looks like, this conversation takes you inside it.
Timestamps:
01:13 – What working with a coach really looks like
03:07 – Trust, energy, and choosing the right mentor
05:07 – Dawn’s role as a scaling strategist & serial entrepreneur
07:47 – Dawn’s childhood, early career, and unconventional path
12:21 – The risk-taking era, loss, writing a book at 21
14:26 – Building networking events, communities & global platforms
16:49 – Creating accredited training and launching multiple businesses
18:12 – Scaling clients, burnout, and stepping back from the operational grind
19:27 – Rebuilding a business model that supports health, wealth & impact
Connect with Dawn McGruer:
Website → dawnmcgruer.com
Instagram → instagram.com/dawnmcgruer
LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/dawnmcgruer
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Transcript:
Susie Batista (00:00)
Welcome to the Just Build It podcast. I am your host, Susie Batista. And before being a full-time property developer, I built and sold a luxury interior design firm. That chapter taught me far more than how to run a business. It taught me about standards, pressure, and confidence. This podcast is a space to talk honestly about money, mindset, and all the small decisions that shape our lives over time. If you're building something in business, in property, or in yourself, you're in the right place. This is Just Build It. Today's episode is a really special one for me because it's not just about showcasing somebody I admire, it's about letting you in on the behind the scenes of my own journey. Every step I've taken so far in building my personal brand has been shaped by the conversations I've had with today's guest. Dawn isn't just a mentor and coach. She's been my sounding board, my challenger, my biggest pusher when I wanted to play small, and the calm voice when I wanted to throw it all in. We're going to talk honestly about what it really takes to grow, the blocks I've had to work through, and the lessons that aren't in the textbooks.
Susie Batista (01:13)
So if you've ever wondered what it's like to work with a coach, or if you're curious about the shifts that actually change someone's life and business, this one's for you. Let's dive into the conversation with Dawn McGroer. Dawn.
Dawn McGruer (01:28)
Susie.
Susie Batista (01:30)
Thank you, first of all, for coming on one of my very first podcasts. I would just like everybody to know how we initially met. That was through a mutual friend who gave me a call and said, A good friend of mine, Dawn, have you heard of her? I was like, Yes. Already followed her. She wants somebody to come on her podcast. She wants somebody that's maybe into property. I recommended you. We had a chat, came to your retreat, came onto the podcast. From that very retreat, everything changed for me. Everything became very clear on you, the people that you work with. A couple of days after that retreat, I said to Romeo, I feel like I really want to work with this woman. He said, Well, message her. We had a couple of glasses of wine. Message you. We had a lunch, and this was only What? About eight weeks ago, something like that.
Dawn McGruer (02:32)
Yeah, literally. Yeah, two months.
Susie Batista (02:33)
And within those two months, I have started my personal Instagram brand. I have been on a panel I have my first big speaking gig, and I have now started a podcast. So for anybody who's ever on the fence about a mentor or a coach, that's just proving that That with the right coach and the right mentor, big things can happen, right?
Dawn McGruer (03:07)
Yeah, and I think it's about trust on both parts. I think one of the things that people forget is the working relationship and the mentoring is about the energy that you get, because if it doesn't feel right, then it's not going to flow. I think this is one of the things I always say, that never go into something unless you have that gut feel, that absolute feeling like this is going to be the thing. Every time I've done that myself, it's been the best investment I've done. So I totally agree.
Susie Batista (03:43)
Tell us in a Nutshell, what you actually do now as a mentor.
Dawn McGruer (03:50)
I think this is the thing because obviously on LinkedIn and Instagram, and I'm fairly new to Instagram, only been on it for a few years, everything is very much around your key content pillars and what you want to be seen and heard for. I think the difficulty is, is trying to explain without confusing exactly what I do because everybody sees me forward front as a mentor. I would say my key specialist area is as a scaling strategist. So I knew from a very young age that I could look at a business, I could look at the model, and I would know whether it worked or not. And And that only came from having so many epic fails myself when I started my business. And it was almost like a formula that I had to go through to test, to test, to test, to see these critical areas. These five critical areas that I always look for in a business. And if someone said to me, what do I do? I'm a speaker, I'm an author, I'm a podcaster, I'm a strategist, I'm an investor, I have multiple other businesses. But I I think, really, if you were to put it under one term, it's an entrepreneur because there's always something new every single day.
Dawn McGruer (05:07)
I don't know if I'll ever be done. I'm on my third book now, I'm on my fourth business. Do I see anything stopping? No, I'm 46. I still feel like I'm at the beginning. Everything is fresh, everything is exciting. And I just know that there is still more magic to come, more excitement. And every single day, I'm tested. I think what people think is Being in business, you know what you're doing. Like 25 years on, I must know exactly what's happening. No, I don't. I still have the same challenges, but it's all relative. It's different challenges. So in the beginning of a business, you have challenges maybe around cash flow. So you only switch those up for maybe having more team challenges. I think the thing is that people say, Oh, I'm having a really tough time in business. We all do, and it will never change. But half of that is the fun of being able to create and direct. Because when I think about my most epic fails, I'm like, honestly, the tears, the sleepless nights and everything, the resilience that's given me is huge. I am fearless, I am unshakable, I'm unapologetic, I know what I'm going to do, and I do it.
Dawn McGruer (06:18)
So it just goes in cycles. And I think sometimes we go full circle. And some days I remember that same feeling of starting my business because I'm tapping into that again, because I'm starting something something new. I think the thing here is that whatever you see online, it's just a small snapshot of what we're doing. But behind the scenes, I didn't create what I've got now overnight. It's taken 25 years. And when we When we think about the issues and the challenges, I would urge someone to actually go and embrace them because as much as you feel the feel, and it feels that you're never going to get past it, everything will be okay. It is. This is what I always tell people, there is nothing outside of your health that can't be changed. I'd always say that if you are feeling in business that it is tough, just speak to someone because it just changes it. It's almost like your epiphany moment is sharing that problem and just getting someone's perspective. Also, you're running it through in your own head all the time. We can't outthink ourselves in a problem. We have to get it outside of our body.
Dawn McGruer (07:31)
So what do I do? I just think serial entrepreneur, and I think fundamentally, I just want to do unto others, have done to myself. And I think that is my ethos in life and business.
Susie Batista (07:47)
I briefly know your background only because I'm very inquisitive and we had a lovely lunch and I was asking you, how did it all start? Where did it all...
