What does a business coach cost?

Commonly $500 to $2,500 a month depending on seniority and format, with masterminds and group programmes at the lower end.

Is it better to have both?

For many owners, yes, and it is usually cheaper than it sounds. The software handles the continuous thinking, which is most of it; the person handles what needs a person. That tends to mean fewer sessions rather than none, and better ones — you arrive with the numbers already understood instead of spending half the call explaining them.

How do I tell a good coach from a bad one?

A good one asks about your numbers and disagrees with you. Be wary of anyone whose main product is encouragement, or who promises a result they cannot control.

← Answers

Can software replace a business coach or advisor?

Not entirely, and anyone claiming otherwise is selling. What software can do that a coach cannot is read your actual numbers before it says anything, remember every decision you have made, and be there on the Tuesday you need it rather than the third Thursday of the month.

What a good coach gives you

Accountability, someone who has run a business, and a relationship where hard things get said. Real value, and there is a reason owners pay hundreds to a couple of thousand a month for it.

What a coach usually cannot do

See your books. Most advice at that level is given from what an owner reports, and owners report the version they carry in their heads. A conversation about margin without the margin in front of both people is two opinions.

Where software genuinely wins

Continuity and evidence. It reads the actual figures, remembers what you decided in March and why, notices when something you said contradicts something you said before, and is available when the decision is actually in front of you rather than at the next scheduled call.

Where it does not

It has never run a business, has no stake in yours, and cannot sit across a table when you are at the end of your rope. It also cannot see the room, the crew's mood, or your marriage — and it should say so rather than pretend otherwise.

Also asked

What does a business coach cost?: Commonly $500 to $2,500 a month depending on seniority and format, with masterminds and group programmes at the lower end.
Is it better to have both?: For many owners, yes, and it is usually cheaper than it sounds. The software handles the continuous thinking, which is most of it; the person handles what needs a person. That tends to mean fewer sessions rather than none, and better ones — you arrive with the numbers already understood instead of spending half the call explaining them.
How do I tell a good coach from a bad one?: A good one asks about your numbers and disagrees with you. Be wary of anyone whose main product is encouragement, or who promises a result they cannot control.

Written for your trade

This is the kind of thing Solomon works through with owners using their own numbers. See how it works →