Today I want to answer another frequently asked question that we get from business coaches around the world: Are business coaching franchises still relevant in the 21st century?
A lot of things have changed since business coaching franchises came into existence in the past couple of decades. The industrial world shifted into an information age and more and more people started making their living buying and selling information. In the information age, specialization was the order of the day.
This was the context in which business coaching franchise systems were born. Business coaching franchises emerged as a way for the entrepreneurial class to buy customized, targeted business education from a business knowledge specialist.
How a Changing World Affects Business Coaching Franchises
But over the past several years, the world has changed again. We’ve evolved into what some people have called the connected age. In the connected age, people interact with each other on a daily basis using social networks, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and so on.
When people want to learn about a subject, they go to YouTube and search. There, they’ll find people who are willing to share information for free. Now, just having a bunch of business information is no longer enough. Relationship building, where people can interact with you and that information, is the order of the day. It’s not enough anymore to go out and buy a franchise, because there is an abundance of information available for free on the Internet.
Value as a business coach is longer in what you know. Value now is connecting with business owners and helping them contextualize the abundance of information out there for free.
Value as a business coach is longer in what you know. Value now is connecting with business owners and helping them contextualize the abundance of information out there for free.
What to Do Instead?
Business coaching franchises are proprietary models — but the world has shifted. It’s not about proprietary models anymore. It’s about aggregating information to help clients get to the good stuff. This is a fundamental shift and, frankly, business coaching franchises are behind. We’ve been tracking the growth of business coaching franchises in the last several years, and the business coaching franchise industry is on the decline.
These days, businesses such as Coaches’ Coach and others sift through huge amounts of intellectual property, aggregate it, and create unique approaches based on the latest best practices. That’s the difference between a business coaching franchise and business education and training companies like the Coaches’ Coach. Which is right for you? Check out our ebook, The Business Coaching Franchise Buyer’s Guide, and decide for yourself!
