Expert Edge Podcast

I watched a guy recently running a $20 million coaching business.
He had a hundred employees. Legal issues popped up. Customer problems. Compliance headaches. And just like that, the business went from $20 million down to $2 million. He had to lay off 95 people in a few week.
I watched that story unfold and thought, "Yeah, no thank you."
In this episode of The Expert Edge, I'm breaking down something nobody talks about in the coaching industry: why bigger isn't always better, and why I've chosen to build a $2-3 million business instead of chasing $20 million or more.
Everyone's always talking about scaling. Hit seven figures. Hit eight figures. Build an empire. But at a certain point, you're not building a business anymore. You're building a job with 100 employees and compliance issues in multiple states.
Here's what I've learned after 17 years in this industry: there are two types of people. The entrepreneurs who want to build massive enterprises. And the artists who want to build profitable businesses that give them freedom to do work they love.
I'm the artist.
What you'll learn:
→ Why I don't want to build a $20 million coaching business (and the real cost of scaling that big)
→ The sweet spot for profit, freedom, and sanity (hint: it's $2-3 million)
→ Artist vs entrepreneur mentality - Which one are you?
→ Why simplicity beats complexity every single time
→ The real numbers nobody talks about (60% profit margins at smaller scale)
→ How to honor your limitations instead of pushing through everything
→ Why being connected to your craft matters more than empire building
→ The book that changed how I think about vocation
→ Why Instagram's "$7.4M in one week" posts are misleading
→ How to build a lifestyle business that actually feels like freedom
→ The difference between building a business vs building a job
Real insights from the episode:
The $20M guy who went down to $2M in weeks (and why)
Why I stopped traveling to speak when my kids were young
My journey from $800K with one staff member (60% profit) to my current model
What the "fun zone" actually looks like
Les McEwan's Seven Levels of Business Growth framework
Why infrastructure requirements change everything
The advantage of digital delivery vs physical products
How I stay deeply connected to my craft as a coach
What it means to be an artist first, entrepreneur second
How I think about team size (3-4 people max)
The maturity that comes with honoring your limitations
Parker Palmer's "Let Your Life Speak" - listening to your own vocation
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If you want to build a small, profitable, simple coaching business that gives you freedom, credibility, and profit, you're in the right place.
At the time posting this episode, we have ONLY 2 spots left!
Premium Private Client Experience. A cohort with limited spots. We're almost sold out on the founders version. This is how you attract, capture, and enroll premium private clients without building a one-on-one coaching business. Today might be the last day to enroll. 
>>> ENROLL NOW: colinboyd.co/ppc
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Interested in Elite?
If you're interested in finding out more information about our Elite Coaching Program, make sure to DM me the word "ELITE" on Instagram, and I'd love to have a chat. https://www.instagram.com/colinboyd
Discover how to authentically connect with your audience & fill your programs with a Conversion Story - Version 2.0 (AI Edition) is now available.
https://www.conversionstoryformula.com
Hit the "Follow" button so you don't miss an episode!
Love this podcast? Write a review and give it a 5-star rating! 
For all the show notes and links:
https://www.expertedgepodcast.com/blog/episode340
Connect with Colin on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/colinboyd/

My first coaching session almost made me quit.
I was sitting in my laundry room on a landline doing a practice session as part of my coaching certification. Forty-five minutes in, the woman just goes off on me. "Colin, you are pissing me off." I walked out and told my wife, "I don't know if this is for me."
Now, over 17 years later, I've done over 4,500 hours of paid coaching at $3,800/hour. I keynoted at the American Institute of Hypnotherapy and Neurolinguistic Programming. And this week, I've got 55+ people flying in from around the world to spend three days with me.
In this episode of The Expert Edge, I break down the exact three skills that transformed my coaching from "I'm pissing people off" to commanding premium rates and creating real breakthroughs with high-level clients.
This isn't about being nice. It's about being transformational.
What you'll learn:
→ Master powerful questions - Why asking the right questions creates breakthroughs (not giving advice first)
→ Use reframes to shift perspective - Stories, metaphors, and the feel-felt-found structure that changes how clients see their situation
→ Blend all three together - Questions + reframes + advice = transformational results
→ The difference between okay coaching and premium coaching
→ How to hold space for new possibility in your clients
→ Why awareness creates breakthroughs (not information)
→ Real questions that work with high-level clients
→ The metaphor approach (airplane in liftoff example)
→ How to give advice without being prescriptive
Real insights from the episode:
My first coaching disaster in the laundry room (and what it taught me)
Why that experience was actually the best thing that happened to my coaching
The mentor who saved my coaching career with one question
How I went from free coaching to $125/hour to $3,800/hour
Why questions create awareness and awareness creates breakthroughs
"For what purpose are you choosing to be angry?" - The question that reframes everything
"When did you create that belief?" - Getting people to take responsibility for their own beliefs
"Who taught you that?" - Tracing beliefs back to the source
The airplane metaphor - Why liftoff is supposed to be hard
The feel-felt-found structure - How to pace, lead, and reframe in one move
Why the best coaching is a blend of asking, showing, and telling
How versatility and behavioral flexibility separates transformational coaches from transactional ones
Premium Private Client Masterclass:
I'm hosting a live masterclass on building premium private clients-everything from positioning and messaging to structuring your offers and attracting the right clients. Discover how to add $10-20K/month in new revenue by working with just 3-6 premium clients per year. Go to colinboyd.co/premium to register. It's completely free and I'll be answering questions live.
 
Interested in Elite?
If you're interested in finding out more information about our Elite Coaching Program, make sure to DM me the word "ELITE" on Instagram, and I'd love to have a chat. https://www.instagram.com/colinboyd
Discover how to authentically connect with your audience & fill your programs with a Conversion Story - Version 2.0 (AI Edition) is now available.
https://www.conversionstoryformula.com
Hit the "Follow" button so you don't miss an episode!
Love this podcast? Write a review and give it a 5-star rating! 
For all the show notes and links:
https://www.expertedgepodcast.com/blog/episode339
Connect with Colin on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/colinboyd/

I just coached someone to $3.2 million in a launch.
Now, I've never personally made $3.2 million in a single launch myself. But here's what changed everything for me: I don't have to have done what they're doing. I just have to know how to solve the problems they face.
In this episode of The Expert Edge, I break down the premium private client model-a revenue stream that's sitting in plain sight that most coaches miss because they haven't repositioned how they think about pricing.
Over 17 years, I've built multiple revenue streams: courses (14,000 people through Conversion Story Formula), group coaching, masterminds, and advisory boards. But premium private clients sit at the tip of the spear. I've made $300K-$600K per year from premium clients while only working with 15 total clients per year. Right now, two clients just signed this week for $62,000-that's for about 10 coaching sessions.
Here's the shift: the price of your coaching isn't determined by your current audience. It's determined by who buys it.
What you'll learn:
→ Price is determined by the person, not your current audience - Why context changes everything
→ Solve urgent, important problems - The "broken tooth" problem that demands premium pricing
→ Be a stallion whisperer - Why you don't have to have done it to coach someone through it
→ Why one-on-one coaching at premium rates isn't the same as a one-on-one coaching business
→ How to attract the right premium clients without changing what you teach
→ The structure of premium private client offers ($3K-$10K/month models)
→ Why scarcity in premium clients actually increases the value of everything else you offer
Real insights from the episode:
Why I charge $3,800/hour now when I used to charge $125/hour
The manny example: same job, $40-55K for a regular family vs $150-200K for a high-net-worth family
How executive families will pay premium rates for parenting coaching when the stakes involve billion-dollar deals
Why Olympic coaches didn't all win gold medals themselves
The difference between building a one-on-one coaching business vs adding premium private clients
How 15 clients per year can generate $300K-$600K in revenue
Why 3-4 month engagements work better than long-term coaching relationships
The Kajabi feature that brought 14,000 people through Conversion Story Formula
How premium pricing affects perception and scarcity of all your other offerings
Premium Private Client Masterclass:
I'm hosting a live masterclass on building premium private clients-everything from positioning and messaging to structuring your offers and attracting the right clients. Discover how to add $10-20K/month in new revenue by working with just 3-6 premium clients per year. Go to colinboyd.co/premium to register. It's completely free and I'll be answering questions live.
 
Interested in Elite?
If you're interested in finding out more information about our Elite Coaching Program, make sure to DM me the word "ELITE" on Instagram, and I'd love to have a chat. https://www.instagram.com/colinboyd
Discover how to authentically connect with your audience & fill your programs with a Conversion Story - Version 2.0 (AI Edition) is now available.
https://www.conversionstoryformula.com
Hit the "Follow" button so you don't miss an episode!
Love this podcast? Write a review and give it a 5-star rating! 
For all the show notes and links:
https://www.expertedgepodcast.com/blog/episode338
Connect with Colin on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/colinboyd/

Right now, there is somewhat of an existential crisis going on. People are questioning: What value do I bring to the world? How can I, if I'm not smarter than AI, really add value? Where is my business and career direction going? I also think there is a strong movement towards people wanting authentic connection and an incredible opportunity right now for you to stand out in the marketplace as you.
In this podcast, we unpack how to capitalize on the human advantage that is right now. With three big ideas, we explore:
The use of sprinkling in some sweat so that you can connect with your current clients.
Connecting with your audience more authentically so that they feel connected to you and want to buy from you.
Why creating real-time interaction with your audience is one of the most profitable strategies right now
I also announced that we are hosting another implementation workshop for premium private clients. This experience sold out last time, and Colin Boyd will be hosting it personally. To put down your name to get on the waitlist, to be the first to find out, click the link below:
Get on the VIP waitlist here: https://learn.colinboyd.co/high-ticket-interest
Interested in Elite?
If you're interested in finding out more information about our Elite Coaching Program, make sure to DM me the word "ELITE" on Instagram, and I'd love to have a chat. https://www.instagram.com/colinboyd
Discover how to authentically connect with your audience & fill your programs with a Conversion Story - Version 2.0 (AI Edition) is now available.
https://www.conversionstoryformula.com
Hit the "Follow" button so you don't miss an episode!
Love this podcast? Write a review and give it a 5-star rating! 
For all the show notes and links:
https://www.expertedgepodcast.com/blog/episode337
Connect with Colin on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/colinboyd/

You're booked solid. All the creative projects you wanted. All the clients saying yes. Your portfolio is overflowing.
But you're exhausted. Overworked. The money isn't matching the hustle. And you're wondering if building a bigger creative business means becoming a manager of people you don't want to manage.
In this episode of The Expert Edge, I sit down with Laura Higgins, who went from struggling with pricing and positioning to building a multi-seven-figure creative business. More importantly, she did it without losing the freedom, fun, or creativity that makes the work worth doing.
Here's what most creatives don't realize: being good at your craft isn't enough. A photographer can take stunning photos. A designer can create beautiful work. An agency owner can deliver incredible results. But when it comes to pricing, selling, marketing, and building systems? Most creatives freeze.
We talk about how Laura got the "niche slap" early on, shifted her entire positioning, and built a tiered system that serves creatives at every stage-from beginners to six-figure earners making $150K/month.
What you'll learn:
→ Get the niche slap - Why serving everyone means helping no one (and how narrowing down changes everything)
→ Solve for what they don't want - Why negative positioning attracts better clients than positive promises
→ Build a tiered approach - How to serve different avatars at different revenue stages with different offers
→ Promise identity, not income - Why shifting from "make $30K/month" to "become this version of yourself" keeps clients longer
→ The creative business problem - Why photographers, designers, and agencies stay booked but broke
→ How to position yourself as the expert in the creative space
→ The benchmark that works (and why it matters for your pricing)
Real insights from the episode:
Laura's journey from starting a creative business at 23 with no idea how to sell
The moment Colin told her "you're serving too many people" (the niche slap)
How she started with a $9 product (Fully Booked) to filter for the right people
Why her original promise of "$5K to $30K/month" had people leaving when they hit $30K
How shifting to a $10K/month benchmark changed her entire business
The difference between marketing to income vs identity
Why some clients want $30K/month with 20 hours of work, others want $150K/month with a small team
How creatives lose their creativity when they scale (and how to prevent it)
The role of messaging when different people have different goals
Why "what they don't want" matters more than "what they do want"
Connect with Laura on Instagram @laurahiggins (it's aura, not laura, because she's Australian). DM her, tell her you listened to The Expert Edge. She's crushing it in the creative space and if you're a photographer, designer, web designer, or agency owner looking to scale without losing your mind, check out her work. She also has a podcast called My Business Playbook if you want more from her every week.
Join us at Sell From Stage Live in-person event September 18th and 19th in Huntington Beach, California
Register here: https://training.colinboyd.co/ssa-live-event
Interested in Elite?
If you're interested in finding out more information about our Elite Coaching Program, make sure to DM me the word "ELITE" on Instagram, and I'd love to have a chat. https://www.instagram.com/colinboyd
Discover how to authentically connect with your audience & fill your programs with a Conversion Story - Version 2.0 (AI Edition) is now available.
https://www.conversionstoryformula.com
Hit the "Follow" button so you don't miss an episode!
Love this podcast? Write a review and give it a 5-star rating! 
For all the show notes and links:
https://www.expertedgepodcast.com/blog/episode336
Connect with Colin on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/colinboyd/