Should Coaching Be So Expensive?
I’ve been sat on writing this for a while, because, in honesty, my opinion wavers on this & it’s not quite as clear cut as I’d like it to be… & I know the topic of money & rates can be polarising & triggering for some…
…but there’s no getting away from it… coaching has become really frickin’ expensive! Particularly in the entrepreneurial space that I mainly hang out in.
It’s actually one of the reasons I don’t have an ongoing 1:1 coach at the moment: because the coaches I’d be interested in working with, charge beyond what I’m currently able to invest & right now, I’m not willing to compromise other aspects of my life that are important to me, to take that financial gamble… & I say “gamble”, because I’ve spent A LOT of money on business coaching over the last 5-6 years & the more expensive it got, the less helpful it was! So, it is absolutely a gamble.
Do I want to commit to another £30k on a coach? Only if I have access to them daily, 1:1!
That’s my personal experience & where I’m at right now anyways.
But let’s get back to the initial question – should coaching be so expensive?
Well firstly, what’s expensive?
£30k to some is their life savings, an annual salary or a deposit on a home… game changing! Whereas for some, it’s pocket change or something they could earn back in a month, week, maybe even a day!
So “expensive” is a funny word & in itself, doesn’t really mean much!
I personally love that the coaching industry is booming, has a lot of non-male representation & has given so many people an opportunity to change their lives by running a biz that works for them & can bring in a really good salary. I don’t like that it’s an unregulated industry, BUT I do like that earnings are uncapped… particularly for women and/or minority groups! THIS is an incredible step forward & super exciting.
And really, something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it… so if someone’s willing to pay £10k per month for coaching, then that’s set a market value, at some level.
BUT… during Covid, it all got a bit silly! Business coaches could be found preaching about charging more & delivering less. Rates skyrocketed & the unspoken, subconscious expectation was that you SHOULD be charging more & if you weren’t then you were somehow not as good & would get left behind in biz, or not part of the “cool crew”. (The fact I say “cool crew”, probably immediately eliminates me from that anyways lol).
Problem with that is – a few people got very rich, very quick!
And in the digital space, with biz costs being potentially so low, if you get rich, you are able to buy something which in psychology we call, “social capital”. Which, in this context means audience… when you’ve got more money in your online biz, you can spend more on ads & get seen by more people – thus building social capital, which thus helps to book more clients, reaffirm your position/expertise/rates… even if, dare I say, you’re not that good!
I mean we’ve all seen it in every space, not just coaching. Stumbling across a gorgeous independent jewellery brand, or sustainable activewear company, or talented artist… who is really struggling, with a few hundred social media followers & not enough recognition (or money!). Yet someone, seemingly half as “good” or “talented” is living it up in Dubai on a yacht, making £100k a day for an average service/product. It doesn’t make sense!
And that’s to some extent, always gonna be the way of the world. Nonsensical & inherently a bit unfair.
Does it make it wrong? No. Does it make it frustrating? Fuck yes!
But that’s where we are – the digital space is inherently, unfair & hard to strategise. There are some people making a shit ton of money who aren’t that great & the most talented, values-driven people, remortgaging houses & filing for bankruptcy. Then, to be subjective, there are of course the beautiful ones in the middle of this fictitious venn diagram, who have nailed it & are frickin’ awesome at what they do & raking it in! You lot are my favourite kind of entrepreneur & that’s why, the answer to the initial question “should coaching be so expensive?”, is so bloody hard to answer!
Let’s get something straight…
I want the coaching industry to boom! I want those who had capped earning potentials in other career routes, or less equity in their lived experience to soar! To make more money than they ever dreamed would be possible & doing something they love! I love the idea that the coaching industry can empower this kind of progression for some.
I do want to make lots of money in this industry myself, so that I can continue to build some sort of legacy for my children & community & dare I even say, globally! (I’m still a way off that but it’s the dream for Flourish First!).
I do want people who have been told that they wouldn’t amount to much, or that they’d be stuck in a job they don’t love forever, or that they “haven’t got what it takes”, to truly flourish!
BUT… What I also want, is to shift the idea that the more someone charges for a service like coaching, the better they are, or the more support you’ll get! This fundamentally is NOT true!
I’ve had some of the best coaching of my life from a £33 group programme.
I’ve paid £222 for a one hour, one-off session & left feeling like I would have been happy if I’d paid 10x that amount. On the flip side, I’ve also paid circa £2k per month for nearly 2 years & struggled to be seen, heard or supported by my coach in the way that I needed… no blame or shame for anyone here… just an honest reflection.
And I know I’m not the only one. That lived experience of mine (& of many others), tells me that the amount a coach charges doesn’t dictate how effective/good/experienced/hel
The problem is – without experiencing those polar examples, how will you know? And that’s the tough bit! And I’m not sure I have an answer for you… yet!
All I have control over right now, is the part I play in the coaching industry mix. I have always tried to be fair with my pricing – having a decent mix of price points & always a more “accessible” way of working with me available – so money doesn’t hold people back too much. I’ve offered scholarships & sponsored places too, as I try to work towards strengthening my DEIJ policy.
But as a coach, navigating this industry, it’s not easy to be on this side of the equation either!
I’ve charged £1k per month for 1:1 coaching & been fully booked for years, with a waitlist… & I’ve had tumble-weed when I’ve put out a £57 offer! How can you make sense of that!? And if I can’t make sense of that, how is a discerning, potentially anxious client who is looking for the right coach?
Again, speaking from my personal experience – 10 years into entrepreneurship, 6 years into a coaching biz & having invested over £100k into my learning & biz development, I know what I have to charge as a coach, that feels like a decent reflection of my experience, knowledge & biz goals – & doesn’t leave me in debt or scraping my way back to £0 every month (I mean I do have bills to pay!). So I know I won’t be the “cheapest” option on the market.
I also know, that if I took some of the biz coaching advice I’ve been given over the years, I could be charging 5-10x what I do… because well, I can. Other people do. Other people who are less experienced than me.
But does that feel right or good to me? Nope. Not right now anyway. And I think that’s the biggest struggle for me, as an ambitious, values-driven coach & entrepreneur… I HAVE to have my biz model feeling aligned, even if that has an impact on my immediate earning potential. and THIS is why I had to move away from marketing myself as any sort of “business coach” – as I didn’t want to fall into the cookie-cutter mould of dishing out “charge more, give less” biz advice that doesn’t actually align or feel good to me or to the client.
So do I coach entrepreneurs & biz owners? Yes!
Do I tell them what they should be charging? No!
Do I empower them with tools to understand their own values & what alignment looks like for them? Yes!
Do I preach a 6 or 7 fig biz model template? No!
I have clients that were already turning over fuck loads in their biz before working with me. I have clients who hadn’t even got their first client yet, come for coaching. I can help both of those people, because…
…the secret to great coaching is… seeing & understanding that person.
They are individual. So their goals, values & struggles, are individual. So naturally, the coaching support I provide, won’t be the same for any two people.
Anyway, I feel I may have digressed here! Back to the original question…
…I guess I want to throw it over to you! Because, as an individual who may have worked with a coach, may be working with one now or may be seeking one in the future, you will have your own views on this. You’ll have your own lived experiences around coaching, investment & growth.
As a coach myself, I flit between the thought that “would life just be a lot simpler, if I sat behind my desk all day & charged £75 an hour so anyone could book when they wanted, for as long as they wanted…” and “I know there is abundance in the world & people paying £10k a month for coaching with people who aren’t as experienced as me… I’d like a piece of that pie”. I’m sharing this in the interest of honesty by the way, as a pondering & discussion starter!
What I know I don’t want to do, is spend more of my time trying to build arguably meaningless “social capital” on social media, just to prove my worth in an unregulated, nonsensical industry online marketing space – than I do on actually pursuing my passions of helping people with positive psychology.
I want to fill my days with creating things that actually matter & help. and I want to do whatever I can to support people in reaching their potential. After all, that’s exactly why I’m building the Flourish First®️ brand. It’s also why I founded the Flourish First®️ Coaching Academy – so that discussions like this can be at the forefront, as we certify & support industry-leading coaches, who go on to shape the future of this incredible industry.
So where’s the happy middle point do you think? I’d love to know your thoughts…
