Is Business Coaching a Waste of Money? (Or the Smartest Bet You’ll Make This Year)

08 Sep Is Business Coaching a Waste of Money? (Or the Smartest Bet You’ll Make This Year)

Posted at 16:04h in Blog by admin 0 Comments

Let’s be blunt: plenty of owners have paid “coaches” who delivered little more than a weekly pep talk and a healthy invoice. That’s real—and it’s why the question keeps popping up: Is business coaching a waste of money?

Short answer: Bad coaching is. Great coaching isn’t—it pays for itself, then keeps paying.

The difference is in outcomes.

Why the Skepticism Is Earned (and Fixable)

Coaching isn’t tightly regulated. Anyone can hang a shingle and call themselves a coach. That’s why you’ve heard horror stories: big fees, fuzzy plans, zero ROI.

Here’s the truth Eric lays down in the video: “You’re not buying hours; you’re buying results.” If a coach helps you get clarity, install better systems, and add serious profit, the fee isn’t an expense—it’s a multiplier.

Benchmark to know: Independent studies cited in the coaching industry report a median 7X ROI for business coaching. Translation: invest $10K; generate ~$70K through better revenue, tighter systems, and stronger leadership. Not theory—observed outcomes when coaching is done right.

The Real Cost Most Owners Miss: Doing Nothing

Worried about the price of coaching? Fair. Now ask a harder question:

How much are stagnant sales costing you every month?
What’s the price of rework, delays, and firefighting because systems are duct-taped together?
How many opportunities have you watched competitors take while you “think about it”?
What’s burnout costing you—in health, in time with family, in key staff turnover?

Not hiring the right coach can be the most expensive decision you make.

What Good Coaching Actually Delivers

Great coaching isn’t motivational speeches. It’s measurable business change:

Clarity that moves cash
Prioritization, focus, and a plan that kills the noise and chases the right numbers.
Systems that scale
Documented process → consistent delivery → faster onboarding → higher margins.
Leadership that multiplies output
Managers who coach, hold standards, and build a team that executes without you.
Accountability that sticks
Weekly scorecards, quarterly rocks, and a cadence that turns intentions into results.
Profit discipline
Pricing, mix, utilization, and operational choke-point removal—tracked, not guessed.

If your coaching doesn’t translate to profit, time, or enterprise value, it’s theater. Demand the real thing.

Quick Math: Is Coaching Worth It for Your Business?

Use this napkin test:

What’s one core metric you can improve in 90 days?
Examples: +10% qualified leads, +3 pts gross margin, -15% WIP days, -20% overtime.
What’s that worth in monthly dollars?
Multiply by 12 months.
Compare to a coaching fee.

If the math doesn’t pencil out, don’t sign. If it does—even conservatively—you’ve got your answer.

How to Choose the Right Coach (So You Don’t Burn Cash)

Use this six-point filter:

Proof of outcomes: Case studies, references, before/after metrics. Not vibes—numbers.
Diagnostic first: They start by assessing your bottlenecks, not pitching a one-size-fits-all program.
Plan on paper: 90-day priorities, KPIs, and who/when/how—not “we’ll see.”
System + cadence: Weekly/biweekly check-ins, dashboards, and a quarterly reset.
Commercial fluency: Pricing, margin, cash conversion, hiring, ops. They speak P&L, not platitudes.
Chemistry & challenge: You feel respected and pushed. If they only nod, they’re not coaching.

Who Should Not Hire a Coach

Dabblers. If you won’t implement, don’t waste your money.
Excuse-makers. If every roadblock is “the market” or “my people,” you’re not coachable yet.
Hour shoppers. If you buy minutes instead of outcomes, you’ll miss the point—and the payoff.

What Working With a Real Coach Feels Like

The fog lifts. You know exactly what matters this week.
Meetings get shorter. Agendas tighten, decisions speed up, results show up.
Firefighting fades. Systems replace heroics. Fatigue drops; confidence rises.
Momentum compounds. Small wins stack into big ones: more profit, more freedom, more optionality.

Think less “rah-rah,” more “precision tune-up with horsepower gains.”