One of the most honest questions I am asked — and one I have wrestled with myself — is this:

What is a fair price for business coaching?

It sounds straightforward. In reality, it is one of the more difficult questions many coaches face.

For a long time, I found this surprisingly hard to resolve.

Not because I doubted the value of the work. But because much of my coaching sits at the intersection of business growth, leadership development and community impact. Many of the leaders I work with are founders of small businesses, social enterprises, CICs or local organisations doing important work with limited resources.

Balancing accessibility with sustainability is not always simple.

Over time, I have come to realise that pricing coaching is not really about time. It is about structure, accountability and the commercial impact the work creates.

Why Pricing Took Me Time to Resolve

When I first started building BigohCoaching, much of the work grew organically through relationships and referrals.

A founder would attend a workshop.
Someone would join a Growth Circle.
A conversation would turn into a coaching relationship.

Often the work deepened quickly. We would move from surface-level questions to much bigger conversations about leadership, direction and commercial sustainability.

Because the work was relational and rooted in trust, I initially focused more on helping people move forward than on building a clear pricing structure.

In hindsight, that created a tension.

On one hand, the coaching was delivering real value — helping leaders clarify direction, strengthen leadership and build more sustainable organisations.

On the other hand, I had not always translated that value into a confident commercial structure.

Like many coaches, I leaned too far towards accessibility at the beginning. The intention was right, but the model needed to evolve.

The Breadth of Coaching I Have Been Privileged to Do

Another part of the story is that the coaching I deliver does not only sit within the small business space.

Alongside BigohCoaching, I have had the opportunity to work with senior leaders and professional institutions in environments where the expectations of coaching are clear and the stakes are often high.

For example, through my work with The Oxford Group, I have delivered executive coaching and leadership sessions for senior leaders within organisations such as Legal & General, Société Générale and Williams Racing. These environments demand clear thinking, strategic decision-making and strong leadership presence.

In sport, I have also been part of a small group of executive coaches supporting Senior Leadership Teams connected to UK Sport, working alongside performance leaders responsible for elite sporting environments where accountability and results matter deeply.

Within the housing sector — an area close to my professional roots — I have worked with the Chartered Institute of Housing and UpKeep Training, supporting experienced professionals progressing toward Chartered Member status. This work involves reflective leadership development grounded in the realities of housing policy, regulation and organisational leadership.

I have also spent time supporting the next generation of leaders, delivering leadership and management learning within higher education and professional development programmes, helping emerging managers translate theory into practical leadership capability.

These experiences have reinforced something important for me: whether working with senior executives, public sector leaders or founders building businesses from the ground up, the core coaching challenges are often remarkably similar.

Clarity.
Confidence.
Decision-making.
Leadership responsibility.

What the Work Actually Looks Like

A common misconception about coaching is that it is simply a conversation.

In reality, the work is far more structured than that.

Many coaching engagements involve working with founders or leaders over several months to bring clarity and discipline to how their organisation operates.

For example:

• Supporting a catering business owner to move from irregular bookings to a clear £15,000 revenue target supported by structured
      pricing and a focused marketing plan.
• Helping a CIC founder move from a “passion project” mindset to a structured organisational roadmap with defined purpose,
      services and growth strategy.
• Working with a trades business owner to introduce clearer team accountability and improve margins.
• Helping leaders understand the difference between leadership and management so that teams operate more effectively.

The work often blends strategic reflection with practical action. We look at the business model, the financial realities, leadership behaviours and the systems shaping day-to-day performance.

The aim is simple: greater clarity, stronger leadership and organisations that operate more predictably.

The Value Clients Often Experience

When coaching works well, the impact tends to show up in several ways.

Clients frequently describe experiencing:

• Greater clarity about direction and priorities
• Stronger decision-making, particularly around pricing, strategy and leadership
• More structured organisations, with clearer roles and systems
• Increased confidence in their leadership

Sometimes the shift is commercial — improved revenue, stronger margins or clearer sales structures.

Sometimes the change is personal — founders rediscovering the confidence and perspective that first led them to start their organisation.

Often it is both.

Why Coaching Cannot Be Reduced to an Hourly Rate

Another important realisation for me has been that coaching cannot be reduced to the length of a session.

A session may last an hour or ninety minutes.
But the thinking and decisions it unlocks can influence months of progress.

A single pricing decision can reshape a business’s margins.
A leadership shift can transform team culture.
A clearer strategy can unlock growth that had been stalled for years.

When viewed through that lens, hourly pricing alone does not capture the value of the work.

What matters is the structural change the coaching supports.

The Importance of Rhythm

Meaningful change takes time.

Leadership habits evolve gradually.
Systems must be implemented and tested.
Teams need time to adapt to new expectations.

Short engagements can create awareness.
Sustained engagements create transformation.

That is why most BigohCoaching relationships run over several months rather than a handful of isolated sessions.

Where I Have Landed

More recently, I have come to a clearer understanding of how the work should be positioned and priced.

The key realisation was simple: pricing must reflect both the depth of the work and the seriousness of the commitment required.

When the structure is clear and the investment reflects the value created, the coaching relationship becomes stronger.

Both coach and client show up fully.
The work deepens.
Progress becomes more consistent.

A Final Thought

If you are considering coaching, the most useful question is not simply:

“What does coaching cost?”

A more helpful question might be:

What would change in my business or leadership if I had greater clarity, stronger systems and consistent accountability over the next year?

Because very often, that is where the real value of coaching sits.

If you would like to explore whether BigohCoaching could support you or your organisation, you are welcome to arrange an introductory conversation.

Sometimes a single conversation is enough to clarify the next step.