The Road to Premium Clients: Strategies That Work

Entrepreneurship vs. Corporate: Which Path Truly Brings Freedom?

Many ambitious professionals reach a crossroads at some point in their careers—stick with the stability of corporate life or take the leap into entrepreneurship? It’s a tough choice, and both paths come with their own unique rewards and challenges. But if you’re seeking true independence, wealth, and a life by design, entrepreneurship might be the best (but hardest) path forward.

In a recent episode of The Amanda Kaufman Show, I sat down with Eugene Berezin, a messaging and high-ticket sales expert, to discuss the realities of entrepreneurship—the good, the bad, and the often-overlooked truths about building your own business.

The Entrepreneurial Dream vs. Reality

As Eugene put it: “If we want to build independence, if we want to build wealth, if we want to build life by design, a lot of the time, it is easier to build it as an entrepreneur—even though entrepreneurship has hands and it’s not easy in its heart.”

There’s no question that entrepreneurship offers unmatched freedom and financial potential. You set your own schedule, choose the projects that excite you, and create opportunities instead of waiting for them. However, it also comes with its own set of hardships—inconsistent income, decision fatigue, and the constant pressure of being the one in charge.

For many, the alternative—corporate stability—is tempting. A steady paycheck, benefits, and a clear career path can make the corporate world seem like the safer choice. But Eugene challenges this notion with one simple question: Will you truly be happy?

Key Differences Between Corporate and Entrepreneurial Life

So how do you decide if you should stay in your 9-to-5 or take the leap into business ownership? Let’s break it down:

1. Freedom vs. Stability

✅ Entrepreneurship: Allows for time and financial freedom, but requires a high level of discipline, risk-taking, and adaptability.
✅ Corporate: Provides consistent income and security, but often comes with limitations on creativity, flexibility, and financial upside.

2. Risk vs. Reward

✅ Entrepreneurship: Comes with high risk but high potential reward—your income is directly tied to your ability to grow and sustain your business.
✅ Corporate: Offers lower risk but capped potential—raises, promotions, and opportunities are often dictated by company structure, not your effort alone.

3. Passion vs. Predictability

✅ Entrepreneurship: You get to build something aligned with your passions, but it can take years to fully establish.
✅ Corporate: You may have less control over your work, but your path is typically more structured and predictable.

How to Know If Entrepreneurship Is Right for You

Eugene shared a critical insight: “Entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone. But if you have a deep desire for independence, if you’re willing to push through discomfort, and if you’re passionate about what you do—it might be the best decision you’ll ever make.”

Before you take the leap, ask yourself: ✅ Do I thrive in uncertainty, or do I need structure and stability?
✅ Am I willing to take calculated risks in exchange for long-term rewards?
✅ Can I handle the emotional and financial ups and downs of running a business?
✅ Do I have a clear vision for what I want to create and why?

If you answered yes to most of these, entrepreneurship may be the right path for you.

Final Thoughts: Choosing the Path That Aligns With You

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to choosing between entrepreneurship and corporate life. Some thrive in the structure and security of a corporate role, while others crave the independence and potential of running their own business.

The key is to align your goals, personality, and priorities with the career path that truly serves you. If entrepreneurship excites you, but fear is holding you back, remember: Every successful entrepreneur once faced the same decision.

Want to dive deeper into this conversation? Listen to my full interview with Eugene Berezin on The Amanda Kaufman Show! 

Chapters list

00:00 Introduction to Coaching and Connection

02:55 Eugene's Unique Background and Expertise

05:55 The Importance of Identifying Your Why

09:12 Finding Profitable Market Fit

12:12 Common Mistakes in Business Launching

15:03 Creating Ascension Ladders in Coaching

17:58 Defining Success and Scaling Challenges

20:56 Building a Strong Reputation in Coaching

24:09 Eugene's Future Projects and Focus

Full Transcript:

Eugene Berezin (00:00)

the more offers I have, the more money I'm going to make. And I will argue, repeat what was good. Repeat what was good until it is either not good or until you solved a problem that will create a larger problem for your clients.

Amanda Kaufman (00:34)

Well, hello and welcome back to the Amanda Kaufman show. We are continuing our series on the coaches that don't suck. And I'm joined today by Eugene Berrizin. we met, I think we were in maybe a similar coaching program for a period, but we mostly really got to know each other because we're both pretty good at following people we like on multiple different platforms.

So I think we started on Instagram and then we were over on the LinkedIn and now we're Facebook friends and it's just like our friendship has evolved like that. So Eugene, welcome to the show. I'm so glad that you're here.

Eugene Berezin (01:11)

my gosh, thank you so much for having me, I appreciate it. Thank you for the invite, truly.

Amanda Kaufman (01:16)

yeah, of course. you know, I was I always when I invite people onto this show, I always ask them for their background. And I loved Eugene's because, you know, I can always appreciate kind of an eclectic, dare I say a little bit nerdy of a background. So check this out. He's an expert in messaging and positioning high ticket sales. He is a clinical psychologist and software engineer.

So this is a person who really enjoys education. And I noticed that too, as we got to know each other on the different platforms, we're commenting back and forth. And you have a real eye for a lot of different frameworks and recognizing patterns and things. It's pretty cool. So Eugene, why don't you take 30 seconds and introduce yourself? What should we know about you?

Eugene Berezin (02:00)

hey, so what should we know about me? So my unique ability, like you said, is I think you nailed it, like messaging, high ticket coaching, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, marketing, marketing. What I'm really good at. What I'm really good at. I'm really good at building people up. Like basically like, hey, like this is your unique ability.

Amanda Kaufman (02:15)

Marketing, marketing, marketing, and yeah, here we are.

Eugene Berezin (02:25)

this is how we're gonna position it, this is how we're gonna sell it, this is how we're gonna close sales, this is your unique way of closing sales. And let me review your process, and this is how you don't sack at it. Go ahead and implement it. And if people implement it, like great. Ian, fun fact, I actually started coaching when I was in college. I met...

friend and he had a he had his business and he said my gosh you a psychologist and I don't get along with my team I'm a startup like I'm a new business owner like I have a boy I have a small team like we are not efficient can you just like go into a psycho now like he called it psycho analysis and that was my first paid coaching session and my therapist was like

Amanda Kaufman (03:14)

Awesome.

Eugene Berezin (03:16)

Everything was great except for you boosted your experience More than you should so Like you don't have to lie about your skills and abilities because people see that So that's well a little bit more than 30 seconds about me, but this is me

Amanda Kaufman (03:35)

This is you, I love it, I love it. And so I'm curious, you know, have so many talents, you've studied so many different fields, like what is it that's caught your eye about high ticket and coaching and, you know, bringing a person's expertise out in a really valuable way? Like what is it about that focus that has you hooked? Like why, why do that?

Eugene Berezin (04:02)

Yeah, well, I think the first thing is really closing the wealth gap because there's so many talented people who are really, really good at what they do. like, fun fact, I didn't just like woke up and chose violence and high ticket. Like my first offer was career coaching because I was like, okay, a lot of software engineers, like they undersell themselves and then

A lot of software engineers came to me like, well, how do I make it a business? really that, because if we want to build independence, if we want to build wealth, if we want to build life by design, a lot of the time, it is easier to build it as an entrepreneur, even though entrepreneurship has hands and it's not easy in its heart. And sometimes you think like, well, is it?

Like maybe I should just go to corporate and like just be happy, but will you be happy? When economy swings back and there's a sense of opportunity, will you be like, my gosh, I'm so glad that I'm back in corporate when the economy expanded and people are ready buy right now. So that's why.

Amanda Kaufman (05:10)

Yeah, I love that. know, and I have experience on both sides of the corporate entrepreneurial fence. And I was actually just out for dinner and a movie. It was wicked. I went and watched Wicked, you guys. But I went out with my mom and I was saying, man, you know, whatever financial dip or whatever entrepreneurial challenge, you know, that I face, I would face it still.

10, maybe even 100 fold to keep the time freedom that I have, the creative freedom that I have, the expression freedom that I have. I think when I very first started my career, and looking back, I'm like, that was actually pretty smart. When I first started my career, I was all about like, let's get security, let's have some stability. But then I went into corporate consulting, which is a pretty intense.

career path, but I'm so glad that I did because I built some basic core skills around influence and time management, project management, understanding what people value, what people don't value, those kinds of things before I went into entrepreneurship. And I really appreciate that I have that background, but it is, to your point, very, very challenging. So...

You know, a lot of our listeners are, you know, building a business where they've been, a lot of my audience, they have been very successful in one field and now they're pivoting into, you know, entrepreneurship or into a new field. What would you say are the top things that they should be keeping in mind to maximize their chances of success?

Eugene Berezin (06:48)

Yeah, like that's such a great question. I think number one is really identify your why. Because making a lot of money and it's not your why. And if making a lot of money and it's your why, go get a job. You will be better at making money like at a corporate job at the very senior like C-suite level. Like it's really not that bad, but

If your why is a lot bigger like your time freedom or you want to create individual impact, is your true why? Why do you want to make a lot of money? So this is the first thing. And the second thing is to really identify your niche that is marketable, market fit or profitable rather market fit. So when you have to...

Amanda Kaufman (07:36)

Okay, we're gonna unpack that,

because that's definitely a big area. So when you're looking at, you're working with somebody or you're evaluating, I'm actually gonna be doing an audit for somebody pretty soon of their messaging. What do you look for? I'll share what I look for, but I wanna know what you look for when somebody is saying like, I wanna be an XYZ coach or I wanna build this business.

Eugene Berezin (07:38)

Yes.

Amanda Kaufman (07:59)

When you're looking for profitable market fit, like what are the tells? How do you know?

Eugene Berezin (08:06)

I think the first thing is really like for me to really understand if that person will be successful in what I teach and what kind of business model they want to run. Do they want to run a high-value courses, things like that, or small lower ticket, like maybe memberships, things like that, or they want to run more.

premium offer, Like this is like this, the business model. And after that, I would really start with the problem. What is the problem that you confidently, like if I wake you up in the middle of the night without Chad GPT, without Google, you won't just, this is it. Like for me, like it's like really building people up. Like I don't need Chad GPT. I don't need anything else. Like you wake me up in the middle of the night. I can do that.

Amanda Kaufman (08:58)

I love that test. Wake me up in the middle of the night. What can I do? You know, like, am I really great at? That's so good. Keep going.

Eugene Berezin (08:58)

So what is

Yeah, and find people who have that problem that you can actually help and deliver. it sounds really easy on paper, but it starts with researching, doing the market research, and more importantly, not letting your imposter syndrome to say, let's just lower my prices.

Amanda Kaufman (09:10)

Hmm.

Eugene Berezin (09:27)

And I'm going to just aim for people who are strugglers, who are not as successful and who might be afford my services. This is when we get stuck because people like people want our services. They can afford our services. So sell premium offer to premium buyer at the get go and then do your market research. See how you can deliver. See what is deliverable, what is not deliverable. And

The more data you get, the more successful you will be.

Amanda Kaufman (09:57)

Yeah, you know, that's so good. For years, I teach it as, I call it the problem of appropriate magnitude. And it's like, there's criteria for the problem that you solve as a coach. I think sometimes where you do that exercise of like, I wake up in the middle of the night and I'm really good at, and then you fill in the blank about what you're good at. And then you're running around looking for that problem. That problem needs to be big enough that

they probably are already spending money on it somehow. Maybe they've worked with another coach previously, maybe they've enrolled in courses and they just weren't able to necessarily cross the threshold. But I love that, like go find people that would actually pay. That's so super important. And you know, I think there's a big myth around info products and...

kind of the self-education space that the less you charge, the less good it actually has to be. I actually find that to be opposite land, right? Like if I want to build in volume, I need to have very thoughtful strategic messaging. There needs to be, like because the way people buy the lower ticket stuff, it's, I think, a lot less flexible.

than when you're talking to a premium client. And I know that was so opposite to what I thought. And I think a lot of people think, because if it's a lower price tag, then it's gonna be easier to sell. Not necessarily, you need different skills. when you're looking at whether it's a problem of appropriate magnitude, in that case, it's like, well, do a lot of people agree that that's a problem that they want to solve? So I love that.

What would you say is the number one set of mistakes that you see people making when it comes to being successful in launching their business or sustaining it?

Eugene Berezin (11:51)

Well, I think one mistake that I see, and it depends on the one stage, right? Sometimes we gain success in our business because like here's a like, here's a like weird phenomena of anything new. When there's anything new, you will gain, I'm not gonna, not necessarily instant success, but you will gain the momentum at some point, normally it's happening faster.

And then you have this sense of invincibility like, well, if I can sell that, let me just sell something else or let me just add like other three, four offers because the more offers I have, the more money I'm going to make. And I will argue, repeat what was good. Repeat what was good until it is either not good or until you solved a problem that will create a larger problem for your clients.

And then elevate another offer on the back end, not necessarily in the front end. So, and this is how you create a central model in your business. But a lot of business owners, what they do are like, okay, will be, I will advertise my VIP and then I will advertise this and then I will advertise like career coaching and then grief counseling and then, then, and then, and then like, well, like focus on one thing.

Until you aren't at a million dollar bucks in your business, you have no business of creating an offer suite. Don't do it. Grow, standardize, optimize, and then maybe think about the offer suite.

Amanda Kaufman (13:32)

So I wanna unpack something here because you said something that I've also experienced and believe, but I can see how somebody listening to it might be the first time that they're actually hearing this idea. So you said, paraphrasing, essentially make sure that the offer that you are fulfilling now is creating a problem.

for the next level offer so that it's a true ascension ladder. And I know the first time I heard that, I was like, wait, no, I'm supposed to be solving problems. So can you unpack for us a little bit? Like, what do you really mean by that? If the reason they're in your program is to solve a problem, why would we build a program that creates a problem?

Eugene Berezin (14:14)

Because it is an evolution. So if you read a A Gap and a Gain, we will never be in the gain 100 % because as soon as we like gain our goal, for example, my client, right, we started working together and his goal was like, I wanna be sold out. Like that's my goal.

This is my goal. This is my number. I want to be sold out. I'm like, well, like your goal is could be better, but like, fine. You want to be sold out. You want to be sold out. And he got sold out. But then we created another problem. like, wait a minute. My business model may not be sustainable because if I want to hit a certain revenue, my calendar is going to run my

business basically if I if I keep working like that, so how do I do that? So in the next level probably like well, how do how do you optimize it for your level of? sophistication Right because again, it's not necessarily create a group. It's not necessarily create a course. It's not necessarily create like Like the common denominator how we like what what is for you is it as a charge?

Ultra high ticket and work with just like five clients or is it like keep it more so medium and create a group coaching program group mentorship program or is it like a small coaching program? Relatively affordable price like below $5,000 and tech consulting when it is for you How do you create spaciousness? So and again for your client it can be different like your career coach

Let's say you help people to get a job. They get a job. So what is the next level? Is it like, do they want to go into leadership? Do they want to like, do they want to, I don't know, manage up, manage down? Do they want to like, do they want to build something on their own? So it can be like, it can be one. And that problem actually will come from your clan after you're done with your clan as, okay, what do you want? What is next for you?

and they will tell you.

Amanda Kaufman (16:23)

That's exactly it.

know, I love that little turn of phrase, the new level, new devil. You know, I remember when I very first started my coaching business, I was like, when I get to six figures and I get those first private clients then, okay, look, lots of coaches in this community. When you start engaging when then thinking you should have sirens going off, right? Like that's...

Eugene Berezin (16:32)

Yeah.

Amanda Kaufman (16:52)

When then? my gosh, like, so I thought when I have this full practice, then I'm going to have made it. Well, fast forward about 18 months into my business, I did it. I got, you know, full, full practice. I was carrying 16 premium clients at one time and my business almost folded because I was again, like kind of trading that time for money. The calendar was ruling the day, but.

I'd filled up so much I really had no time for developing and building any new relationships so I couldn't grow from where I was. And I was so overextended all the time, I tried to hire help to help me but I just didn't have anything standardized to make the help helpful. You know, like it was just a big old mess. I mean, it taught me some really, really valuable things but I think sometimes we get into this thinking like when I arrive there.

then I'm gonna, you know, and it's like, whatever level you get to, there's gonna be new challenges that frankly, you can't see it when you're standing. You don't get to see what the new challenge is gonna be until you like hit that top plateau and you're like, I see. There's all these other things that I need to consider as well. And that's the game of business. Like it keeps on going like that.

Eugene Berezin (18:02)

Yeah.

Yeah, like, no, like that's absolutely true. And also like, what is your definition of success? Right. Because there are so many business owners like, okay, I am at seven figures right now, but my business doesn't feel fun anymore.

Amanda Kaufman (18:10)

that part.

Eugene Berezin (18:18)

this is why like 2024 has been so interesting because there are so many entrepreneurs that I respect and love, including my coach, including my mentor was thinking about, or I actually did de-scaling because like, you know what?

running multi-seven figure business, this is not my definition of success. I still wanna be at that high profit margin, but do I really wanna work that hard? Do I really wanna put that level of effort? Do I wanna have a team?

Amanda Kaufman (18:47)

I think you're right.

I've observed the same thing in this space and I even experienced the same thing. There's this contraction that seems to be largely going on where people are pulling back. And I think part of that, my hypothesis, I don't know, we'll see, but my hypothesis is there's a lot of different factors at play that are kind of contributing to this overall sense of like, wait, I wanna have a steadier

growth and I want to do that from a strong foundation. And I think that like the number one reason why is probably because the industry itself is maturing. More people have been competitive and successful in the space. So there's more, I think, standardization of approach. There's more, you know, with all of those different kinds of things, I think.

there was this wild west of explosion of the coaching industry that now we're seeing a bit of a correction for, right? Where the audience isn't unlimited and you don't have unlimited team members that you can cycle through and all of these kinds of things that people tried, it ended up kind of blowing up in their face in some instances. And I think everybody kind of...

It's a small enough industry, we can see each other and like what's going on and then we're like, wait, okay, I don't wanna suffer that same fate or I don't want to repeat those same mistakes. I think I'd much rather build from a much firmer foundation and sacrifice a little bit of that speed of growth in favor of having a more deliberate growth.

Eugene Berezin (20:24)

Yeah, I think you're 100 % right because it's like also like what is important for you and also another thing does your growth sacrifices your client delivery because we all been in the program where we will love out like

Amanda Kaufman (20:40)

That was a big issue, yes.

Eugene Berezin (20:44)

I've been in coaching programs that like, respect those entrepreneurs. I'm not saying that like, she's a scammer. Like, like she's a terrible coach. Like, no, like I respect all of them, but like not enough operational capacity and not enough standardization, not enough prioritization. And like, yeah, she's going to like crazy, but like at what expense? And then the word is going around and like, like you've been in that coaching program. Yeah, me too.

Amanda Kaufman (20:53)

Yeah, some people see it pretty extreme.

Eugene Berezin (21:12)

And you know, people start rolling eyes and things like that.

Amanda Kaufman (21:15)

Exactly, you know, I think I think the the cool thing about everybody coming online and and getting so connected is That there's more opportunity than ever to be able to build a good reputation But the thing about a reputation is is that you know, it doesn't take much to take it down so if you are building something that Isn't necessarily honoring, you know, we always try to over deliver on our promises because we know how

I think it was Warren Buffett that said that a reputation takes 25 years to build and seconds to destroy. So we've always kind of erred on the side of over delivery to our maximum ability. But I think the game of entrepreneurship, it's changing and I think it's changing for the better. think people are being held more accountable to having better products and you don't...

I think it's still like, even with that accountability, don't feel like you can't play the game, dear listener, because it's still an incredibly low barrier to entry market. I think that there's still like a lot of people that just phone it in and they don't show up with a level of consistency to be able to build the trust. And so if you are someone who shows up on time and you are someone who follows through and you are someone who can build routine,

You're already at such a very significant competitive advantage. So Eugene, where are two next? What's your biggest project that you're working on right

Eugene Berezin (22:45)

So my biggest project, I saw it's interesting that we were talking about scaling and descaling, right? Like my next biggest project is actually fulfilling more premium level, like one-on-one coaching and working with people one-on-one at like more so limited capacity because I built my career coaching program, like really, really.

Amanda Kaufman (22:58)

Nice.

Eugene Berezin (23:07)

fast, right? And I built my group coaching program really, really fast. this time around, I really would like to actually document the process. like, because right now, I know the process, but also, I want to know what are the must have components of the program if I were to have a mastermind or not. And also, do I need like, again, like,

It's a bit like it's your intention. Like, do you want to work with a group or do you want to work just like at the higher like price ticket, you know, like five people and you make your revenue like for the year or 10 people and you make your revenue for the year and you don't bother with fulfillment. So this is the this is the big step more so like standard standardizing and removing

unnecessary components. For example, I removed my, when I call Netflix and Joe for Entrepreneurs, the course component for my coaching because I work with consultants who already have a business and like, Eugene, I'm not gonna go live, just like you do because this is not aligned with my business. I do have a podcast.

But like this, like, we're, creating a group program with my consulting clients. Like this is the, like, this is literally insanity. This is not for me. And I have another client who like, my gosh, yes, live. And this is how I book my speaking engagement. This is how I promote my conference that I'm building. So, and it's really like determining what is that critical component. And instead of like just shove one course,

like one Netflix and chill like I don't know like nine, ten modules for everyone. Like, like you need to you need to get better at sales. So go and really model how we did sales. This is this is the lesson for you. you need to really identify your IQC ideal qualified customer. This is this is the video how you do that. And so the next week.

you better have a little bit more clarity and like really more concise picture for your problem versus just overwhelm everybody with a ton of videos, with a ton of past coaching codes and people just get distracted and not getting the work done.

Amanda Kaufman (25:30)

Totally, yeah, think like penetrating overwhelm is a huge, huge, huge thing that a lot of coaches could really capitalize on, really focus on. That's such a great strategy. So Eugene, what is the best way for people to follow you?

Eugene Berezin (25:45)

Yes, so you can follow me on a link and I have a wonderful wonderful link in community Eugene Bereson You can find me on instagram as well eugene.bereson And you can also follow me on youtube at eugene.bereson And tune into my podcast Heart and Profit podcast on apple itunes spotify so

And feel free to send me an feel free to start a conversation. I would like to hear what resonated with you specifically from this episode and like, what's your takeaway? Like, what are you implementing next in your business for what you heard today?

Amanda Kaufman (26:29)

I love it, I love it. And dear listener, we'll make sure to have all those links for you in the show notes. And don't forget to subscribe to the Amanda Kaufman show. You don't wanna miss another episode, another interview, or another one of my solo episodes. And go ahead and leave a five-star review. It'll help others to make the choice to listen in on this episode. And you can also just directly share this with three of your friends.

Thank you so much for joining us and we will see you in a future episode. See you soon.

Eugene Berezin (27:02)

Thank you, see you soon.