For those of you looking for greater freedom and autonomy as a business coach, perhaps you’ve been looking at a franchise opportunity. However, coaching franchises can be extremely costly and restrictive. (If you’re unfamiliar with coaching franchises, you can read our article here.) Today we’ll be weighing up the pros and cons of the Business Doctors Franchise against Business Coach Academy, taking a look at what each company offers, the costs you’ll incur, as well as reviews from paying customers.
Founded in 2004 by Rod Davies and Matthew Levington, Business Doctors provides small and medium-sized businesses with a host of support programmes to help them develop their strategies. As a franchisee, you will have access to a one-stop consulting solution, enabling easy customer diagnostics and development support. They are now looking to grow their team of coaches to provide more businesses with the help they need.
Business Doctors Cost
Before we get into the fine details, let’s take a look at the costs involved. Becoming a Business Doctors franchisee requires that you pay a franchise fee of £53,400. We’ll talk more about what you get for this hefty sum later on. Furthermore, there are ongoing management service fees, which depend on the size of your business. The management service fees are set at 10% of your monthly turnover up to £10,000 and 5% of your monthly turnover when you’re bringing in more than £10,000 per month. You’ll only pay management service fees after the initial 6-month “launch phase”; however, from month 7, you’ll have to pay a bare minimum of £120 per month, which builds to £600 from month 16, regardless of how much money you’re bringing in.
Business Coach Academy cost
First and foremost, Business Coach Academy is NOT A FRANCHISE. This means becoming a ProCoach requires a minimum upfront investment of as little as £4,950. In fact, there are 3 options to choose from:
- Certification – £4,950 initial investment and no operating costs. This is ideal for people who want more security with an in-demand skillset.
- Part-time – £4,950 initial investment and £495 monthly operating costs. This is ideal for people who want a side hustle that generates £10,000 per month.
- Elite – £14,950 initial investment and £990 monthly operating costs. This is ideal for people who want to be self-employed, earning £20,000–£50,000 per month.
Keep in mind that you’re not buying into a franchise, so it’s far more simple, flexible, and affordable compared to coaching franchises. Furthermore, if you don’t hit £10,000 per month, you won’t pay anything; you’ll get £1,000 cash just for the trouble!
Is Franchising a Good Idea?
Buying into a franchise can severely restrict your coaching business. Furthermore, some franchises may urge you to quit your current position, go all in, and take on a great deal of risk. So franchising isn’t necessarily the best idea. Solutions out there like Business Coach Academy are designed so that you can train to become a prestigious business coach while staying in your current role by simply dedicating a few hours to the training at the weekend.
Who is the Business Doctors platform aimed at?
This franchise opportunity is aimed at coaches and consultants, both those with years of experience and those who are new to the industry, who want to make a real difference. Managers or people who have worked in the corporate world and are looking for a new opportunity are also seen as a good fit. Business people looking for an investment with low-risk options and high returns or a new coach who’s looking to be part of a recognised business support network to help kickstart things will both work well as part of this franchise. While business doctors will provide training to coaches, your aptitude for the job will be taken into account before your license is given to you.
Who is the Business Coach Academy Licence aimed at?
Business Coach Academy’s programme is for people with a high level of professional experience; either they’ve worked at the director level in the corporate world or ran their own company previously. This experience gives you a strong framework and credibility as you begin your journey towards becoming a prestigious 6-figure business coach.
The programme is designed so that it can be done part-time, too. This means that, unlike franchises, you won’t have to give up your busy role, incur huge costs (both upfront and ongoing), and go all-in, taking on a huge level of risk as you do so. They’ve helped directors from prestigious firms like Apple, JCB, IBM, and Nike become successful coaches.
Business Doctors Reviews
Although we struggled to find any reviews from franchisees directly on the Business Doctor’s website, we were able to find some franchisees who shared their experiences on the website Glassdoor.
Receiving an overall score of 3.2 stars, with 36% of franchisees saying they would recommend it to a friend, one franchisee wrote:
“The strategy development approach is solid, but new business development is very difficult, and the franchise approach only works for a few.”
This was backed up by another franchisee, who wrote:
“It’s a good idea, but only in theory. The marketing message approach and materials are poor.”
It wasn’t all negative, though, with one happy franchisee writing:
“It’s great for entrepreneurs. You get the freedom of being your own boss and can earn as much as you’re willing to work. However, it can be a difficult transition if you’re coming from a corporate background.”
Quotes from Glassdoor
The franchise has also won the British Franchise Award for Leadership and Culture. The franchise says that this is a result of building a fantastic team and franchisee network.
Business Coach Academy reviews
Business Coach Academy has all 5-star reviews on TrustPilot. They have an outstanding track record when it comes to training coaches, with 100s of testimonials from coaches. Some of the results include:
- Coaches who have signed new clients in a matter of days
- Coaches who have gone from 0 to 6 figures in the space of a year
- Coaches who only have to work 10 hours per week
- Coaches who have gained the freedom to work from anywhere in the world
These are just some of the results they’ve been able to help their Certified Coaches achieve, and there are hundreds of others just like them:
How to Apply to Business Doctors
To apply to Business Doctors, you will need to download and complete the application form and inquiry form from the website. If your application meets the appropriate criteria, the franchise will invite you to a meeting where you will discuss the opportunity. Once you have made up your mind and you want to proceed, you can then apply through the company to obtain your license.
What does the platform include?
Business Doctors will provide franchise owners with an in-depth training programme that will cover all aspects of the organisation. You will also have automatic access to a website, a full suite of marketing collateral, email software, and established campaigns.
As a franchisee, you will have access to:
- Proven concepts
- Fully supported lead generation and client acquisition systems
- Customer-focused tools and processes
- Strong brand identity and established reputation
- A territory in the UK, South Africa, India, Belgium, or any of the other 6 countries where Business Doctor’s has franchises
- A territory encompassing over 10,000 SMEs
- Full training and ongoing support services
As part of the initial payment, you’ll also gain access to the coaching and consulting platform, where you’ll receive:
- Diagnostic platform certification
- The structured customer acquisition process
- Diagnostic support and proposal creation
- Growth, improvement, and development tools
- Customer service portal
- Monthly management meeting
- Access to tools and resources
How to apply for the Business Coach Academy Licence
You can learn more about the licence and book your call via the Business Coach Academy website. Once it’s been established that you’re fit for the programme, you’ll have immediate access to the profit coach platform, community, resources, and materials.
What does the training include?
The 9-week online programme provides you with all the tools, training, and resources to launch your own highly successful coaching business.
The ProCoach Training
Each program has slightly different training. The Certification consists of 9 modules, while the Part-Time program has an additional 9 modules around sales and marketing. Finally, the Elite program has an additional 3 modules to help you build your coaching business to £20,000–£50,000 per month. Here’s an overview of the first 9 modules you’ll go through as part of the ProCoach Certification.
Each module is an in-depth discussion around one vital aspect of coaching, and once all 9 modules have been completed, you’ll receive your certification. You’ll also have access to the course and the 9 modules forever on any device, as well as complete flexibility as to whether you want to pause or repeat any parts of the program.
Here’s a breakdown:
- 9 weeks training
- 1 year mentorship
- Full access to the extensive coaching community
- Monthly live Q&As
- Expert tools, worksheets, and materials
- 1-1 calls with a millionaire coach
Here’s an overview of each coaching module:
Going Pro
The first week of the Profit Coach training is all about laying the foundations for your new business. This involves structuring and optimising for achieving success in the easiest, fastest way possible.
Best Coach
The second module is concerned with learning the best coaching skills to handle any situation. This second module is designed to give you total clarity about the difference between coaching and other change models, such as consulting. This means you only need to do what’s necessary to get your client exceptional results, and, as a result, your services will be in very high demand.
Coached Model
In the Coached Model module, you’ll learn the exact questions to ask clients. You’ll learn precisely how to create major personal shifts in any business owner by following a proven process—a 4-step system to deliver immediate value to every client you ever coach. You’ll have a clear coaching plan and know exactly how to deliver immediate value to any new client. Every session will be templated and already done for you, making your life as easy as possible.
Client Rulebook
By week 5, you’ll be learning how to create a clear process that helps you deliver exceptional results and, most importantly, retain your clients for years.
Proof Generator
In this stage of training, you’ll build confidence and credibility by getting and conducting free coaching sessions. These will prove that you have the ability to change people’s businesses and lives by following what you’ve learned in the previous modules, eliminating any sense of imposter syndrome or lack of confidence in yourself and your own ability.
Perfect Offer
By the end of week 7, you’ll have crafted the perfect offer and profile setup to attract prospects who are ready to talk and become paying clients without having to deal with overly complex marketing funnels or things of a technical nature.
Fast Funnel
Nearing the end of your training, you’ll be able to use the FAST Funnel with $0 ad spend, a proven system to generate $1000-$5000 PCM clients on-demand. This means you can increase your income whenever you want and achieve true financial security.
Income Escalator
In the final week of your training, you’ll learn how to continuously make your coaching business easier to run and, at the same time, more profitable. These elite tools and tactics have helped generate results like this:
Business Coach Academy or Business Doctors?
Both seem like solid options and great companies overall if you’re looking to become an established coach. Business Doctors is an award-winning franchise with nearly 20 years of experience. However, Business Coach Academy is not a franchise. This means it’s more than possible to get the same, if not better, results at just a fraction of the price. Furthermore, you won’t have to give up your job to go all in; there’s no lengthy contract, and, to begin with, you can do everything by committing just 5 hours of your time at the weekend.
Final Note
Feeling overworked in your corporate position? Dreaming of a better life where you have the autonomy, work-life balance, and family time you deserve? Or are you worried about job security and feel like you need an exit strategy from your current high-stress job? Learn more about how you could become the next Business Coach Academy success story here.
