Many small business owners wonder how much does a small business coach cost. There comes a point in almost every business owner’s journey when having a business coach and mentor who can guide you and push you to step outside of your comfort zone is imperative to your future success.
Hiring a business coach is an investment and often a step that business owners take reluctantly, only when they feel it’s necessary, or in other words when things aren’t going so well. Many don’t see the value of taking a proactive approach to their business growth and investing in business coaching services prior to that make-or-break point, which ultimately could help you avoid arriving at that point in the first place. According to a survey conducted by the International Coach Federation (ICF), executives and entrepreneurs who use a business coach can increase their net income by an average of 46%. However, further statistics revealed that 42% of organisations don’t use a business coach.
Executives and entrepreneurs who use a business coach can increase their net income by an average of 46%.
Often the hesitation with regards to looking for a coaching programme that’s right for you comes from not knowing how much a small business coach costs. In this blog article, I’d like to explain the why, how and how much behind small business coaching services so that you can make a more informed decision for yourself and your business.
What does a business coach do and why hire one?
A small business coach is trained and experienced in working with business owners to help them take their businesses from where they are now to where they want to be. The process is shaped around the business owner’s goals and objectives and the role of the business coach is to guide the coachee in a way that helps them clarify their vision and work towards those goals.
Business coaching is often a service that stretches over many months so as to allow the coachee to apply what they learn. With regular sessions, the coach becomes a mentor who is available to support the business owner during difficult times and is prepared to push them when they believe it’ll be of benefit to their growth.
50% admit their coach as much as their best friend, spouse or therapist.
Having a business coach helps you to stay accountable with the goals you set for yourself. It allows you to see your situation from a different perspective, as your business coach will approach it more objectively than you do. Since running your own business is often a lonely place, working with a business coach gives you the opportunity to brainstorm solutions to your problems with someone else and have someone shine a light on areas of your business you might have overlooked in the past. What’s more, during times of doubt, which all business owners face, your business coach will be there to support you and get you back on track.
Business coaching is a two-way relationship as the business owner needs to be ready to do the hard work and take on challenges if it means levelling up in their personal or professional life. As a business owner participating in business coaching sessions you cannot expect an immediate improvement in your business, especially if you choose not to apply any of the guidance from the coaching sessions.
How do I find a business coach or mentor?
Finding the right business coach as well as the right business coaching programme is a process that should be taken seriously. Doing thorough research and pulling in different resources will help you to make the right decision.
First of all, before you even pick the right business coach for you, you should block out time in your calendar that you will dedicate to working on your business. Inevitably, your business coach will ask you to do that anyway. Coming already prepared and knowing that you can put in the time to achieve the results you want is going to make the process smoother for you and your business coach.
Now to find the right coach, the first thing you should do is ask for referrals. Contact your business friends and see if any of them used a business coach in the past who they can recommend. Even if they haven’t they might know someone who has. Getting referrals is often the fastest way to find the right coaching service for yourself as people will only ever refer you to services they used and found value in.
Another great way to do some further research is to carry out a simple search on Google, LinkedIn or Facebook, and see what comes up. This gives you the opportunity to read people’s reviews and testimonials, too.
Once you shortlist some coaches, one of the variables you’ll be comparing against is the price. With a service such as business coaching, it’s good to invest for success. Something that costs us more is often something we value more. And if you value it more you are more likely to put in the effort to get the most out of it. Additionally, going back to the previous point we made in the introduction – the price of business coaching services often reflects the experience of the business coach.
Be sure to arrange a ‘discovery call’ with the potential business coaches before committing to anything. Speaking to them will give you a better idea of their energy, attitude and personality, which are all important aspects when you’re about to commit to a long-term working relationship with them.
Last but not least, the small business coach cost is not the only aspect of business coaching that you should consider. Be prepared for your ‘discovery call’ by putting together a list of questions to ask your future potential coach. Below are some helpful suggestions on what to ask.
Questions to ask a potential business coach
- How can you help me?
- Can you tell me about a time you helped a client do xyz?
- Have you worked with people like me?
- How do you define success?
- How would you handle telling me I’m wrong?
- How will you know I’m the right client for you?
- What is your process?
- What are your guidelines on communication between sessions?
Those are just some suggestions of questions that you can ask your candidate business coaches.
Before your first conversation with the coach, you should think about what it is you want to get out of your coaching and form some questions around those objectives.
How much does it cost to hire a small business coach?
Business coaching is a service offered by individuals with varying levels of experience. Just like anything in life, you get what you pay for. Therefore, during your search for the right small business coach for you, you’ll see that those with more experience will offer coaching packages with a higher price tag as their service is worth more.
What’s important to remember is that for the relationship to work it needs to be a win-win arrangement. You’ll want to find a coach that you believe delivers you a return on your investment, whilst he or she feels they are being paid what they are worth.
It’s important to stress that business coaching is an investment. And an investment is defined as “an act of devoting time, effort, or energy to a particular undertaking with the expectation of a worthwhile result”. When you’re working with the right business coach for you, the increase in revenue and profit that you’ll enjoy as a result of working with them will pay for those services. Therefore, the small business coach cost you will weigh up should be considered in terms of the return on your investment.
Furthermore, any good business coach, who decided to start their business in order to help as many businesses as they can, will offer several different programmes to suit different budgets. Typically you’ll see a significant difference in price when comparing 1-2-1 coaching and group coaching programmes. There can be other variables, such as the frequency of sessions or level of support provided.
So, knowing all the above, what sort of investment should you be expecting when looking to hire a business coach?
For a base level group coaching programme you should expect to pay between £100 and £500 per month (plus VAT). Joining a group coaching programme allows you to learn the skills you need to take your business to the next level, whilst networking with other small business owners. Programmes like this often last several months and allow you to not only learn from the coach, but also from others in your cohort. Many people find they form lifelong friendships in such programmes making the entrepreneurial journey a lot less lonely.
Group coaching is often a great solution for micro-businesses, i.e. businesses that have less than 10 employees.
To work 1-2-1 with a good coach helps you to define your personal and business goals more precisely. You’ll have the full attention of your business coach who’ll help you to set a clear vision for the next five years, or more. You’ll take the time to create a road path of how to get to your long and short-term goals with specific actions. You’ll be kept accountable and will have the opportunity to discuss any doubts.
To invest in such personalised service, you should expect to pay between £1000 and £3000 per month (plus VAT). Such programmes are suitable for small business owners who already have a team under them.
For larger businesses that need help working on the development of their team and executive coaching, business coaches offer packages that start from around £2000 per month (plus VAT) and more, depending on the service provided.
Is it worth it?
Now that you know what in the typical small business coach cost when hiring one to help you improve the health of your business you’re probably asking yourself whether that investment is worth the results? Can I not get to the same results on my own?
The answer in this blog may appear to be biased. Nonetheless, it is based on many years of experience of working with small business owners and transforming their businesses whilst giving them more free time, higher profits and teams they can rely on. And so, the answer to the question “Is hiring a business coach worth it?” is – yes, as long as you put in the work.
Great business coaches have great clients. The success of business coaching is largely down to the client. Are you prepared to do the work and apply a growth mindset?
The reality is that an average coach with great resources and a great client can get great results. At the same time, a great coach with a client who is not fully committed will struggle to achieve results.
No matter how good you are with achieving your goals on your own, at some point you are bound to hit a ceiling. You might find yourself in a situation where things are going well but you no longer know how to navigate your business to scale it even more. That’s when having a business coach look at the situation from outside helps.
To sum up, the small business coach cost should be seen as an investment and considered in terms of your ROI. The financial resources that you’ll put into the business coaching programme you choose will payback for themselves as long as you put in the work. If you’re still sitting on the fence in regards with hiring a small business coach, schedule a free chat with me to discover if this is a service that could help you take your business to the next level!
