He built a $100 million business. Then he blew it up because every single piece of communication with his name on it was written by someone else.

Not by him. Not authentic. Not real.

Sound familiar?

Ryan Levesque is a seven-time Inc. 5000 CEO, bestselling author, and the guy behind The Digital Contrarian newsletter (100K subscribers). But his new book, “Return to Real,” isn’t about scaling bigger or faster.

It’s about the opposite.

In this conversation, Ryan breaks down why authenticity is becoming your last real competitive advantage. Why the best things in life-and in business-actually don’t scale. And why your market can feel the difference between you showing up real versus you phoning it in.

We dive into the neuroscience of what people are actually craving (spoiler: it’s not more dopamine hits). We talk about the framework for building a “category of one” in your market. And we get real about what happens when you lose yourself in your business without even realizing it.

Th...

I didn’t write a book for 17 years.

Not because I couldn’t. Not because I didn’t know how. Because I didn’t have accountability and didn’t actually value creating them. I only valued reading them.

Then I decided to change that. I published “One Presentation Away” in November 2025. And what happened next changed how I think about building authority in my business.

The ROI loop is long-18 months from start to finish. You’re not making money in three weeks like you do with a presentation launch. But here’s what I discovered: people who’ve never met me read the book and decide to join my programs. They buy courses. They invest in coaching. The book becomes the crown that says “I know what I’m talking about.”

In a saturated market where everyone claims to be an expert, that crown matters more than you think.

This episode breaks down the entire process-why I waited so long, what finally made me do it, how to structure a book that actually works, and the practical tactics that got me fro...

You know what’s crazy? Most coaches are grabbing $1 bills while $100 bills are falling from the sky.

They’re doing tasks that don’t require their genius. Administrative work. Follow-ups. Systems management. Things that keep them busy but don’t actually move the needle. And the biggest lie they tell themselves? “It’s faster if I do it myself.”

This week, Amber McCue came on the podcast to break down exactly how to clone yourself-multiply your output without multiplying your hours. She literally wrote a book on it. Then rewrote it during a two-week internet outage in Ethiopia. Then rewrote it again when AI changed the game entirely.

What she’s figured out about systems, delegation, and training AI to work like an actual team member will completely change how you think about building a business that doesn’t depend on you grinding 24/7.

What You’ll Learn:

• How to run a time audit and identify your $100 bill activities
• The framework for capturing and systematizing your business proce...

You know how everyone talks about launching being a one-time thing? Yeah, that’s why they’re stuck.

The truth is there are three different types of launches working together that create real momentum. One puts you on the map. One pays the bills consistently. And one? That’s the secret money maker nobody talks about.

Colin’s been running his coaching business for almost 18 years, and he’s tested these strategies at every level-from side hustle to multi-million dollar operation. In this episode, he breaks down exactly how to layer all three together so you’re not just making money once a year, you’re building a consistent revenue machine.

Real Insights:

1. The Big Launch can generate 300K-500K in 4-5 days (one client did $3.2M in 4 days), but it requires “going pro”-serious planning, energy, and commitment, not a side project.
2. Most coaches only do one launch per year, which isn’t enough to hit their revenue goals. You need multiple revenue streams working together.
3. The monthly works...

You've got hundreds. Maybe thousands of people on your email list.

They opted into your lead magnet. They bought your $47 course. They got great results. Then... nothing. They just sit there.

I call it a clogged pipe.

In this episode of The Expert Edge, I break down one of the most profitable strategies you can implement in your business: conversion events. This one idea has made me over a million dollars, and it requires zero ad spend.

Here's the problem: your sales process is like an actual pipe. It gets really chunky at the front. People come in, they opt in, they buy the small thing. But only 1-3% actually upgrade to your premium offer. Meanwhile, you're over here spending money on ads trying to get new people when you've already got a warehouse full of warm people who already like you, already trust you, already bought from you.

A conversion event fixes this. Completely.

What you'll learn:

→ The clogged pipe problem - Why your warm audience isn't upgrading

→ What a convers...

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 buil...

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 re...

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 d...

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 you have right now. With three big ideas, we explore:

1. The use of sprinkling in some sweat so that you can connect with your current clients.
2. Connecting with your audience more authentically so that they feel connected to you and want to buy from you.
3. 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 ho...

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 ti...