Over the past ten years, business coaching has gradually risen to a billion dollar industry while outpacing the growth of the consulting business. Business coaching offers a viable business opportunity for those considering starting a business or expanding existing service offerings.
How Does Business Coaching Differ From Consulting?
"Coaches motivate people to action. They help them prioritize their projects and goals. They help them plan their work and work their plan---but they don't necessarily give them the actual strategies to execute, steps to take, business or marketing plans to follow, nor do they give financial or legal advice," states Janet Switzer in "How Experts Build Empires: Developing and Selling Coaching Programs."
One individual to discover the business coaching craze is ActionCoach's founder Brad Sugars. ActionCoach has grown to over 1000 franchisees in 26 countries who typically target small businesses with $500,000 to $10 million in sales.
Director of Franchise Sales and Marketing Jodie Shaw says, “Corporate executives are highly educated and can’t see themselves washing dogs or flipping burgers in a new business,” Shaw said. “The ActionCOACH opportunity helps make their corporate life an apprenticeship to owning and operating their own professional service business.”
Business Coaching Benefits for Small Business
Business coaches can provide many benefits to a small company or small business including:
- Help with business growth
- Devise a time line action plan
- Improve operational efficiency
- Strengthen the top and/or bottom line
Why is Business Coaching Hot?
"Over 85% of small and medium-sized businesses fail in the first five years. There is a huge market to help these small businesses. Also, it is not just the tools; it's the accountability that makes coaching work. Most business owners are not accountable to anybody," says Action International U.S. Sales Manager, Richard Bernstein.
Business Opportunity Risks
Although the coaching profession has experienced strong growth, coaches can run into the same problems that have crippled consulting businesses. The heavy spending days of corporate consulting has reduced engagements from long-term to short-term with CEO's demanding a better return on investments. Business coaches will have to prove their value to small business owners.
