Explore every episode of the podcast Life On Your Terms with Phil Graham

Most founders are busy. Very few are busy doing the right things.

In this episode I sit down with Andrew Highfield, a financial advisor whose firm looks after over £320 million for around 900 clients. Andrew wants to turn £1.5 million in ongoing fees into £1 million in net profit, so I break down exactly what his role as CEO should look like day to day.

I walk through the five activities my entire business runs on: putting out a clear signal to the market, making offers, quality control, client retention, and what I call randomness. You'll hear why warm leads should always come before cold marketing, why your existing clients are the highest ROI offer you'll ever make, and why the follow-up message most people send gets them ghosted.

We also cover:
- The four objections stopping your warm leads from buying
- Why fear of disrupting their routine is the real reason people don't commit
- How to write a follow-up with specifics, deadlines and liabilities that actually closes
- Why most strategy days are fantasy, and what to do instead
- Why every client question is a piece of content

If you're stuck at a plateau and want a clear action plan with the right people around you, DM me on Instagram, or book a call with my team with the link below.

https://linktw.in/mGVHgX

The minute you put someone on a pedestal, you shrink your own power. 

Fresh off a hunting trip in Italy with some of the biggest names in business, I share what it really takes to walk into those rooms full instead of empty, plus how to set goals that actually change your life. 

No win in business makes up for losing at home.

The more opportunity you create, the more it pulls you away from the people who matter most. I've watched it happen to countless entrepreneurs, and I've lived it myself. Claire and I have been together over 18 years, and we've been through disconnection, misalignment, and even talked about divorce.

In this episode I break down how I run my family like a business: the family maths that puts your time with your kids into perspective, why I build my calendar around my daughter instead of squeezing her in, our weekly family mastermind, the vision board in our kitchen, and why repair speed decides everything in a relationship.

I also get into something most people won't say out loud. Constantly wondering if the grass is greener is one of the biggest energy leaks in an entrepreneur's life. Go all in, or make the call.

Your closest relationships are your life's work. Invest in them fully.

Want to hit £1M selling your expertise?

I break down the five critical growth drivers every expert, coach and consultant needs to master, from leverage and monetisation to repeatable results and building a business around your strengths.

Score yourself against each one and find the biggest constraint holding your business back.

I recorded this in front of the £4-5M spa I'm building behind my home, and most of the money paying for it came from one thing: keeping clients.
This was taken from a YouTube episode, go to my channel if you want to see the build and how it's progressing.

In this episode I share 7 lessons that have made me millions selling my expertise. Why the order you set your goals in matters, why you should hire out what you hate first, how one of our clients makes £70-100K from a single two-hour workshop, and why you don't need a big following to build something like this.

If you're already successful but stuck at a plateau, this one's for you.

If I offered you £10 million but only three years left to live, would you take it? Almost nobody does. Which tells you your life is already worth more than any number in your bank account.

In this episode I share what it actually takes to build a million net profit business: the three things your content needs (value, personality and FOMO), why you have to get comfortable talking about money, how the quality of your clients sets your ceiling, and the hiring maths most founders never do. And why you only hit the big goals once you realise you're bigger than them.

Your most loyal people might be your most underpaid.

In this episode I share three lessons on building a team that performs: why your standards quietly become theirs, why you should never think out loud in front of your team, and why fair pay is one of the best investments you'll make. I also share a pay decision I put off for too long, and how one team member's output tripled once I finally made it.

You’re probably undercharging.

Your price determines who you attract, how much work you create for yourself, and ultimately how much money you make.

In this episode, I break down how to price based on the cost of the problem you solve, attract higher-level buyers, and know when it’s time to raise your prices.

Most entrepreneurs I coach have never once sat down and worked out what they actually want. Not from the business. From their life. 

So they chase money instead, and money without a number attached to it will run every decision you make: where you live, who you say yes to, whether you take the call on your kid's birthday.

In this episode I talk about why "financial freedom" is the vaguest, most useless target you can set yourself, why your calendar is the truest mirror of what you actually want, and why wealth follows character, not the other way round.

Turnover is vanity. Profit is sanity.

I'm on a mission to take 10 founders to a million net profit this year, not a million in sales, a million they actually keep. In this episode I break down the three things you need to build wealth on your own terms: authority, profitability, and freedom. 
Plus why "grow your following" is the worst advice you've ever been given, and the limiting beliefs quietly capping your income.

If you're sick of working hard for a number that doesn't change your life, this one's for you.

Your business has five growth drivers. Today I'm focusing on the one that breaks everything else if you get it wrong: you.

I've built my own business to millions in net profit and worked with over 12,000 founders. And every single time someone hits a plateau, it comes back to the same thing. They've run out of reasons.

In this episode I'm breaking down three lessons that changed how I think about self-worth and success:

Why your old reasons stop working, and how to rebuild a list that actually creates urgency again.

Why nothing material is bigger than you. Not the house, not the hire you're scared to make, not the client you're scared to lose. Your worth is infinite. Everything else is finite.

And the deeper truth behind why you haven't put your prices up, had the hard conversation, or built the life you actually want. It's not a strategy problem. It's a self-love problem.

Fix the founder, fix the business. Listen now.

Everyone is telling Ali Abdaal to get more clients.

Well, I told him the opposite. Ali has built the Lifestyle Business Academy, a $10,000 six month incubator for professionals who want to build an online business and buy back their options.

Nine months in, the offer sells. The problem is what happens after the sale.

So I sat down with him in Scotland to pull the business apart.

And this episode walks through our entire conversation

If you're ready to move faster, click the link to book directly with my team:

https://linktw.in/mGVHgX

What if being nicer to your clients is actually holding them back?

In this episode, I break down why the best coaches and business owners aren't afraid to challenge people.

I share a conversation I had with Ali Abdaal about client accountability, explain why polarity is the key to standing out in your marketing, and reveal how stronger opinions, better messaging, and solving real problems can attract better clients and drive more sales.

Book a call directly with my team:
https://linktw.in/mGVHgX

Your vibe attracts your tribe.  Enough said.

Book a call directly with my team:
https://linktw.in/mGVHgX

Fresh off a 90 minute mastermind call with our Expansion Partner clients, I'm debriefing the lessons that created the biggest breakthroughs. If you want to sell more this month, it comes down to two things: an offer with a clear promise you can articulate in under 10 seconds, and understanding the three layers of conversion. Attention, trust, action. Get these right and sales follow.

Book a call directly with my team:
https://linktw.in/mGVHgX

In 2021 I had a private call with Alex Hormozi, back when he had 6,000 followers and was checking out of Gym Launch. I've never shared what we discussed, until now. With his permission, I'm debriefing the lessons on retention, personal brand, investing and sales workshops that you can plug straight into your business.

Book a call directly with my team:
https://linktw.in/mGVHgX

I quit a seven-figure fitness business I built from scratch. Here's why.

15 years in fitness. One of the first coaches to crack a million. Then I walked away.

In this episode I get into why comfortable is the most dangerous place to be in business, how to know when you've outgrown something you built, and why the constraint holding you back is never your marketing or your sales. It's you.

If you're peaking, coasting, or troughing right now, this one's a mirror. Listen in.

Book a call directly with my team:
https://linktw.in/mGVHgX

How do you attract high-paying clients consistently?

In this episode, I reveal the simple formula behind attracting the highest-quality clients in your market:

Attention × Believability × Call to Action.

I break down why chasing views and virality is often a distraction, the real metric that drives revenue, and how to create content that generates inbound enquiries from people who are ready to buy. 

If you're a coach, consultant, expert, or service-based business owner looking to generate better leads, increase conversions, and build a more profitable personal brand, this episode is packed with practical insights you can implement immediately.

Book a call directly with my team:
https://linktw.in/mGVHgX

What really holds a business back from growth?

In this episode, I break down the two questions every entrepreneur must answer: Why are you building your business? and How big do you actually want it to become?

If you're a coach, consultant, expert, or business owner looking to scale profitably without sacrificing your freedom, this episode will help you build a business that grows in the right order, and for the right reasons.

Book a call directly with my team:
https://linktw.in/mGVHgX

In this episode, I'm sharing the five uncommon skills that have genuinely made me millions -- skills you rarely hear talked about but that separate the experts who get paid from the ones who stay invisible. Pattern recognition, profit over turnover, structure, clarity, and proximity.

I'll break down what each one actually means in practice, why they matter if you sell any form of expertise, and how to start making them visible in your business today.

Book a call directly with my team:
https://linktw.in/mGVHgX

Three months ago I stopped chasing fitness clients and started helping experts, advisors and coaches build the structure around what they know.

In this episode I unpack why: how vision plus mission creates direction, why your calendar reveals whether you're actually living your vision, and why the biggest cost in business is ignorance. If you sell what you know, this is for you.

Book a call directly with my team:
https://linktw.in/mGVHgX

Most founders want to grow faster. Few ask what's going to break when they do.

In this episode, I'm sharing the mental model I use with expansion partners to think about growth properly - across profit, authority, and freedom - and why chasing more clients without fixing what's already broken will kill your business faster than staying still.

Everyone tells you to be relatable on social media. That's only half the equation. Relatable equals stuck. In this episode, I'm covering the four posts every expert-led founder needs pinned to their profile, and the thinking behind why they actually convert.

The toughest decisions in business aren't the technical ones. They're the ones you keep avoiding. In this episode, I'm walking through the decisions that separate founders who scale from founders who stall - across all five growth drivers.

Built to Scale. One day, in person, capped number - building the business and the life around it. Tickets drop soon and the room will fill fast. Date's in the diary: 5th September. Stay close.

Never rest in a bad position. 
This week I open up on the frameworks, confessions, and brutal truths behind building a wealthy consulting business - and why most people aren't prepared to pay the price.

Add A Zero to your business in the next 12-months - https://phil-graham.com/expansion-add-a-zero

I'm running a free workshop on Zoom on the 20th May, click the link to grab your space:

https://phil-graham.com/2026-personal-brand/

Your growth and happiness are directly tied to how willing you are to do the things that scare you. That's it. That's the whole game.

Let Us Install Your Expansion Growth System - 

https://calendly.com/d/cx6g-7zg-4q8/expansion-partners-check-in-call?utm_medium=youtube

Your financial advisor is not your wealth creator. You are. 

Here's what they're actually good for, and where most founders are getting it badly wrong.

Where you place your life force determines everything. 

This episode breaks down the exact filter we use inside Expansion Partners to identify what your business actually needs, and what to do about it.

You have too many options and zero momentum.

That's not an information problem.

It's a focus problem.

Five things. Every day. No excuses.

•⁠  ⁠Weekly Life & Business Growth Tips delivered straight to your inbox: https://phil-graham.com/newsletter-signup/
•⁠ Let Us Install Your Expansion Growth System - www.calendly.com/d/cx6g-7zg-4q8/expansion-check-in-call
•⁠ Add A Zero to your business in the next 12-months - https://phil-graham.com/expansion-add-a-zero

Stop asking your accountant how to grow your business.  It's like going to the dentist and asking them to fix your back - a professional yes, but not the right one for you.

•⁠ Let Us Install Your Expansion Growth System - www.calendly.com/d/cx6g-7zg-4q8/expansion-check-in-call

•⁠ Add A Zero to your business in the next 12-months - https://phil-graham.com/expansion-add-a-zero

Your focus is your life force. Here's how to protect it.

•⁠ Let Us Install Your Expansion Growth System - www.calendly.com/d/cx6g-7zg-4q8/expansion-check-in-call

•⁠ Add A Zero to your business in the next 12-months - https://phil-graham.com/expansion-add-a-zero

Most entrepreneurs try to charge more before they are ready. The real strategy is building skill, results, positioning, and leverage so that the market happily pays you more.

If you want to increase your hourly rate, grow your reputation, and build a business that values your time properly, start here.

Subscribe for more content on entrepreneurship, business growth, leadership, personal brand, and scaling your company.

Most founders can't answer this question honestly.

What are you actually building towards?

Not the revenue number. Not what the guy in your industry is doing.

What do you actually want?

Because here's the truth: a business should give you three things. Financial freedom. Fire in the belly. Control of your time.

If you're missing one of them, you already know which one.

This episode is about getting clear on your North Star before the business you built swallows the life you were supposed to be living.

Nobody gets to the end and says they wished they worked more.

Do something about it.

Most founders are terrified of their team seeing the numbers.

They worry about jealousy, pay demands, or people leaving to start their own thing.

In this episode, I break down:
- who in your company should see the numbers
-  who shouldn’t
-  how financial clarity creates accountability, alignment, and faster growth.

If you want a team that thinks like owners and drives the business forward, this is essential listening.

Most entrepreneurs believe they need more time, better marketing, or more content to grow their business.

The truth is far simpler.

Most founders are operating at 50% energy because they have no system for managing their sleep, inputs, and focus.

In this episode, I break down the three growth drivers that control your energy, decision making, and performance as a founder.

When these three systems are dialled in, everything changes.

Connect with Phil Graham: 
•⁠  ⁠Weekly Life & Business Growth Tips delivered straight to your inbox: https://phil-graham.com/newsletter-signup/
•⁠ Let Us Install Your Expansion Growth System - www.calendly.com/d/cx6g-7zg-4q8/expansion-check-in-call
•⁠ Add A Zero to your business in the next 12-months - https://phil-graham.com/expansion-add-a-zero

Most founders think they have a marketing problem.

They don’t.

They have a sales engine problem.

In this episode, I explain why posting more content, updating your website, and spending more on ads won’t fix a slow pipeline. Instead, I break down the simple systems that actually generate predictable conversations and sales.

You’ll learn how to create a triggering event that attracts qualified leads, build a list you control (not the algorithm), and develop the key assets that turn interest into revenue.

If you can’t generate a sale without your website or social media, this episode will show you exactly what’s missing.

If you’re working 40+ hours a week and still can’t switch off… this is for you.

Most workaholics don’t lack discipline.

They lack direction.

In this episode, I break down the Founder’s North Star - - the 3 pillars of achievement, fulfillment and freedom - - so you can stop grinding blindly and start building a business that actually supports your life.

Workaholic → Lifeaholic.

There’s a season where you grind hard. Long hours. High stress. Total immersion.

But if you stay there forever, you don’t own a business - you own a job with better branding.

In this episode, I break down how to evolve from being owned by your work… to engineering real freedom through systems, team, and intentional design.

You don’t need to love work less.

You need to design it better.

Build the asset. Create optionality.

That’s the real flex.

Most founders don’t burn out from lack of success.

They burn out from building success the wrong way.

In this episode, I break down Clean Scale vs Heavy Scale - and the framework for building a business that grows without costing you your sanity, time, or family.

If you want more profit without more chaos, listen in.

One of the hardest parts of entrepreneurship isn’t effort - it’s focus.

You work all day, feel busy, and realise nothing meaningful moved.

In this episode, I share:

• why the old hustle operating system breaks as you grow
• what to focus on once you’ve delegated and built a team
• the three daily priorities that drive momentum at any level

Short. Direct. High-leverage.

If you feel busy but stuck, start here.

Founders Hike details:
https://phil-graham.com/the-founders-hike/

Most business owners think they’re selling a product or service.
They’re not.

They’re actually competing against every other option their market is considering - competitors, alternatives, DIY solutions, and “doing nothing.”

In this video, I break down the #1 sales mistake that quietly costs business owners tens of thousands each year and show you how to fix it using competitive positioning, smarter messaging, and contrast-based selling.

You’ll learn:
• Why traditional sales pitches fail
• How buyers really compare you to competitors
• How to identify flaws in other market options
• How to position your offer as the obvious choice
• How to shorten sales cycles and close faster
• How to win more sales without discounting

Whether you’re an entrepreneur, coach, consultant, or business owner struggling with slow sales or intense competition, this episode will change how you sell.

Join me and the team at the Founders Hike next month - unpack and get clear on key business decisions, surround yourself with like-minded entrepreneurs and get some exercise in.

Click the link below 👇🏻

https://phil-graham.com/the-founders-hike/

Most founders don’t fail because they’re lazy.
They fail because they avoid hard decisions.

These 10 brutal sales mistakes decide:
• How much money you make
• How stressed you feel
• How strong your team becomes
• And how much freedom you actually have

If you’re serious about scaling without chaos, start here.

Join me for a hike and mastermind, make new connections, and solve your biggest business problems.

And sure, if we get fitter and build a little sweat along the way, that’s two birds with one stone!

Click the link below 👇🏻

https://phil-graham.com/the-founders-hike/

If you want to get out of your head, into the hills, and spend a few hours around serious founders, you’re welcome to join us.

Register here: https://phil-graham.com/the-founders-hike/

How I’m approaching 2026.

In this episode, I break down the behaviours, decisions, and standards I’m doubling down on, and what I’m cutting, to grow without chaos.

Less noise. More precision. Better direction.

If you’re a founder doing £250k–£5m and this resonated, Expansion Partners is where this thinking gets implemented. It’s a private room for operators ready to be challenged and build the next phase of their business correctly.

https://calendly.com/growth-phil-graham/expansion-call

Direction matters more than goals.

In this final episode of the year, I reflect on ambition, performance anxiety, and the hidden cost of tying your self-worth to business goals.

We explore why building a business for “success” often leads to burnout, and how designing a business around your actual needs leads to freedom, peace of mind, and control of your time.

If you’re heading into 2026 with big ambition but little stillness, this episode will change how you think about growth.

Want a clearer, more profitable plan for 2026? The 2026 Profit Formula™️ shows you how to map your profit, sharpen execution, and build real leverage.

https://phil-graham.com/2026-profit-formula/

Frustration isn’t a sign you’re failing - it’s the down payment on your next level.

In this episode, we dig into the real reason business owners get stuck: rising marketing costs, a collapsing trust landscape, weak teams, and the uncomfortable truth that most people avoid the work that actually moves the needle.

Here’s what we cover:

• Why attention is harder (and more expensive) than ever
 • The “trust recession” and why human-led branding is the new advantage
 • The mindset mistake that keeps founders trapped in anxiety loops
 • Belief gaps, skill gaps, strategy gaps, and how to close them fast
 • How to handle underperforming team members before they quietly sink the ship
 • Why you must confront discomfort, not medicate it with motivational noise
 • The real cost of avoiding hard conversations in your business
 • How to turn frustration into momentum instead of burnout
 • And the single leadership shift that will determine your growth in 2026

If you’re tired of feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or constantly putting out fires, this episode will give you the clarity - and the kick - to fix it.

Listen now and get back into growth mode.

Marketing costs are exploding - and most founders don’t realise why.

In this episode, I break down the uncomfortable truth behind rising ad costs, the death of faceless corporate marketing, and why personal brands are becoming the only defensible edge going into 2026.

You’ll learn:

• Why my own ad spend 3.5x’d, and why others are seeing 10x
 • How AI is flooding the internet with synthetic content
 • Why “more volume” is no longer a winning strategy
 • The shift from production to provenance in modern marketing
• Why founder-led brands, human story, and high-friction channels are about to dominate
• The single mistake that will make your marketing costs skyrocket next year
• And the playbook every business needs to build a brand people can actually trust

If you rely on ads, content, or online visibility to grow your business, this is non-negotiable listening.

The landscape is changing fast... here’s how to stay ahead of it.

Every founder has five growth drivers that determine their trajectory.
In this episode, Phil breaks down the operating system behind real scale - identity, retention, leverage, monetization, and attention - and shows how gratitude shifts you out of fear and into expansion.
A must-listen if you’re building for 2026 and want clarity, momentum, and a stronger mindset.

Whenever you’re ready there are 3 ways of working together…

1.⁠ ⁠If you want to go deeper with this work, I’m running a Personal Brand and Profit Intensive at my home in January. The first one sold out fast. I’m running a second date. If you want the details, email me at growth@phil-graham.com or send me a message on Instagram with the word ‘Jan’

2.⁠ ⁠If you’re interested in working with me long term, Expansion Partners is our flagship partnership for established founders who want structure, guidance, and serious growth in 2026. You can speak with my team here:

https://calendly.com/growth-phil-graham/expansion-call

3.⁠ ⁠If you want help fixing the biggest blind spots in your business, I’ve created a free course that walks you through all of it. It’s simple, clear, and built to help you make fast progress. You can get it here:

https://phil-graham.com/expansion-add-a-zero