Business Coaching Costs: Affordable vs. Premium Options

When it comes to business coach charges, you’ll find some wildly different numbers.

Some are a few hundred pounds while others, thousands. 

Typically, this can be broken down into two categories: affordable and premium business coaching. 

The option you choose, however, depends on a range of factors. Therefore, let’s take a look: 

What Affects the Cost of Business Coaching? 

The price range of business coaching services usually depends on five key factors: 

• Coaching Format: Large or small group sessions and one-on-one coaching. 

• Experience of Coach: Number of years of coaching the coach has. 

• Programme Structure: Structured curriculum with fixed lessons or a more flexible and tailored approach. 

• Session Length & Frequency: Short, 30-minute sessions once a month or hour sessions Monday to Friday month-long. 

• Additional Support & Resources: This could include performance assessment, networking opportunities, private consultations, etc.

Affordable Business Coaching: What to Expect 

If you’re on a tight budget but still want the benefits that business coaches offer, more affordable options can provide some valuable guidance. 

Typically, these will be group coaching sessions or one-on-one sessions with a beginner coach  (normally online coaching). We at Action Coach, for example, offer group sessions from £200 to £1,000 per month. 

You’ll often find that these more affordable types of business coaching are less flexible and bespoke as they must cater to a range of people (unless you find affordable one-on-one sessions). This is because they need to satisfy the needs of groups of people rather than individuals. 

One benefit to affordable sessions, such as group sessions, though, is that you’ll be in a group of like-minded people. This could be small business owners all the way to enterprise owners, depending on the group you join. 

The benefits this could bring alone are huge. You could find potential partners, customers, friends, accountability partners, and much, much more. 

Generally, we’d recommend affordable business coaching for startups or small businesses looking to improve areas such as operations, marketing, and leadership while keeping coach costs low. 

Premium Business Coaching: What Sets It Apart 

When referring to premium business coaching, we’re normally referring to executive coaches, like mentors, offering one-on-one services

These one-on-one sessions range in duration and frequency and, therefore, price. At Action Coach, we offer one-to-one coaching ranging from £1,500 to £3,000 per month. 

As you can see, this is between 3 to 15 times more expensive than affordable business coaching (depending on duration, frequency, type of coach, etc.). 

Unlike affordable business coaching sessions, however, these are usually a lot more tailored to an individual's needs. Because of this, it’s a personalised experience that’s often more intimate and meaningful. 

Alongside this, they’re normally face-to-face and not online. You may also get additional tools, assessments, and networking opportunities than affordable business coaching. 

We recommend this type of coaching programme for business owners looking to scale, expand, or are facing complex challenges that require specialised expertise. 

Affordable vs. Premium Coaching 

When to Upgrade from Affordable to Premium Coaching 

Affordable business coaching is a good starting point for a lot of small business owners, however, at some point, you’ll want to upgrade to premium coaching. But when is that point? 

The clearest reason to switch is that affordable one-to-one sessions or group sessions are no longer providing you value. You’ve already learnt and implemented what they’re speaking about. 

Another reason would be if you’re struggling with more advanced business problems. For example, scaling, or, if you’re hitting any roadblock that requires very specialised expertise and advice. 

Alongside this, naturally, as you have these affordable coaching sessions, your business should be expanding. Therefore, you have access to a greater budget. 

You could count this budget as profit, or, you can roll it over into premium coaching and mark it down as an expense. That’d be a much better way to utilise your money. 

Other than that, it really depends on you. If you feel like affordable coaching is no longer benefiting you, either switch coach or type of coaching, or switch to premium coaching, as this will be the next best thing. 

How to Choose the Right Coaching Programme 

Selecting a coach is a very individual process. Only you know who’s the right coach for you. Therefore, the following guide will help you find out. 

Assess Your Business Needs 

Start by clarifying why you’re hiring a business coach. For example, are you looking to improve your leadership skills, improve team performance, or change your company culture? 

As you’re aware, different programmes cater to different needs. Therefore, understand what you want to achieve from coaching and then find a coach offering the solution to your problem. 

If you’re unsure what your objective is, look at your skills gaps. Where do you think you’re lacking the most, and which lack, if improved, will have the greatest impact on your business? 

Consider Your Budget 

Budget plays a significant role in business coaching in the UK. As you now know, affordable options range from £200 to £1,000/month and premium options, £1,500 to £3,000, which are two very different price ranges. 

Ideally, you want a coaching option you can comfortably afford. You don’t want to feel the impact of coaching or fall into any financial hardship from it. It should be reasonable in regard to your current earnings. 

How “affordable” and how “premium” your business coach is, though, will depend on your business needs. Simply put, some coaches, depending on expertise, experience, etc., have different business coaching rates. 

Evaluate Time Commitment 

Alongside the above, you should really consider finding a programme that suits your availability. 

When it comes to business coaching, you’ll want to think about coaching duration, location, and frequency. 

Therefore, if you have time but can’t travel or live in a remote area, online coaching will be more beneficial than in-person coaching. If you live in a city with good business coaches but can’t do it often, a low-frequency programme (a few times a month) may be better. 

Look for Long-Term ROI 

There’s a reason you’re getting coaching. Therefore, we recommend that you track and monitor metrics that should be impacted by the coaching you receive. 

For example, if your business coach is helping you improve employee retention, track and analyse your employee retention rates. You can then see whether the coaching is being successful or not. 

Think About Your Learning Style 

Everybody learns differently. Some people thrive in a hands-on environment, which is typically a group or one-on-one business coaching, while others, more theoretical, which is like a structured program, usually found in more affordable business coaching services. 

There isn’t really the best option, so to speak; the best option depends on your learning style. Therefore, think about it and see whether the business coaching you’re interested in suits your specific style. 

At ActionCOACH, we believe that choosing between affordable and premium coaching can be broken down easily. 

An affordable coach is more recommended for small businesses, whereas enterprises, premium business coaches. 

The reason for this is budget constraints and the individual's current skill gaps and coaching requirements. They’re both wildly different.

To see which option is best for both you and your business, speak with one of our advisors to explore our options.