Business coaching or executive coaching?
Both are real options. They differ most on who signs the cheque, which decides almost everything else: the fee, the sales cycle, and what you have to prove before anyone pays.
Business coaching
Crowded, but the buyer has a budget.
- Hourly
- $150 to $400/hr
- Crowding
- Heavily worked
- Who buys
- A founder or owner-operator spending company money on a revenue problem.
- Where work comes from
- LinkedIn, Referrals, Speaking and podcasts
- You need first
- A track record buyers can verify. Fluency in the client’s numbers.
- The catch
- Very crowded at the entry end, and clients measure you against revenue, which is both the opportunity and the exposure.
Executive coaching
The deep seam. Hardest to reach, richest to work.
- Hourly
- $200 to $500/hr
- Crowding
- Lightly worked
- Who buys
- A senior leader, coached on the company’s budget against the company’s objectives.
- Where work comes from
- HR and L&D referrals, Conference speaking, Coaching firm networks
- You need first
- ICF or EMCC credential for most buyers. Documented case studies. Professional liability insurance.
- The catch
- The barrier is credibility, and it cannot be shortcut. Buyers filter on credential and track record before they ever hear your positioning.
The short answer
On income these two are close enough that money should not decide it. Pick on the work and the buyer instead.
Business coaching is easier to enter. A track record buyers can verify is the main gate, against icf or emcc credential for most buyers on the other side.
Executive coaching is less crowded. That matters more than most niche advice admits: being the hundredth entrant into a well-paid seam is usually worse than being the fifth into a moderately paid one.
If your background already points at one of them, take that one. Credibility you already have is worth more than a slightly better band you have to spend three years earning.