Is Business Coaching Worth It? A Practical ROI Guide for BC Owners and Executives

If you own a business or sit in a senior seat in British Columbia, you’ve probably had someone suggest:

“You should get a coach.”

Maybe you’ve even looked at a proposal and thought:

“This is basically another salary. Is it really worth it?”

That’s the right question to ask.

This guide walks you through the real ROI of business and executive coaching, using simple numbers and realistic examples from BC owners and executives—so you can decide if it’s the right investment for you, right now.

💡 Want to run your own numbers as you read?
Book a quick call, and we’ll walk through your situation together.
👉 Schedule a 15-minute ROI call

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Why Business Coaching Is on Every BC Leader’s Radar

The rise of coaching for owners and executives

Coaching has moved from “nice-to-have” to mainstream in the business world.

Across BC—in Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna, Kamloops, and the Fraser Valley—owners and executives are hiring coaches to help them:

• Scale beyond the owner,

• Lead larger teams,

• Navigate rapid growth and economic uncertainty.

If you’re seeing more coaches on LinkedIn, at Chamber of Commerce events, or recommended by fellow CEOs, you’re not imagining it.

Why the “is it worth it?” question matters now.

Margins are tighter, labour is more expensive, and growth often requires better decisions, not just more effort. Coaching sits exactly at that intersection.

Serious BC leaders don’t just ask “What does it cost?” They ask:

• “What will I actually get back?”

• “How long until I see results?”

• “What needs to be true for this to pay off?”

This article is your practical ROI guide, not a sales pitch. If coaching is the right move, you’ll know. If it’s not, you’ll know that too.

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What Business Coaching Actually Is (and Isn’t)

Business coaching vs consulting vs mentoring vs therapy

Many leaders lump coaching in with consulting or mentoring. The focus is different:

• Business coaching

  • Focus: elevating you as an owner or executive and translating that into better business outcomes.

  • Style: questions, frameworks, accountability, and structured thinking.

• Consulting

  • Focus: solving a specific business problem for you or with you.

  • Style: analysis, recommendations, deliverables.

• Mentoring

  • Focus: passing on wisdom from experience.

  • Style: stories, suggestions, informal guidance.

• Therapy

  • Focus: mental health and healing past experiences.

  • Style: clinically oriented, not business-performance-first.

A good business or executive coach may wear a light consulting or mentoring hat, but their core job is to help you think and execute better, not run your company for you.

Common coaching formats for BC owners and execs

In BC, you’ll typically see:

• 1:1 business coaching for owners and founders (e.g., trades, construction, professional services, tech).

• Executive coaching for directors, VPs, and C-suite in mid-sized and larger organizations.

• Group coaching/peer masterminds for owners at similar stages, sometimes organized around specific regions (e.g. Vancouver Island) or industries.

• Hybrid programs blending workshops, online tools, and one-on-one sessions.

Want help choosing a format that fits your BC business?
👉 Book a 15-minute discovery call

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What ROI from Business Coaching Really Looks Like

Tangible returns: revenue, profit, time and team performance

On the “hard numbers” side, coaching can directly impact:

• Revenue growth – better strategy, pricing, offers, and sales systems.

• Profit margins – improved operations, job costing, and fewer expensive mistakes.

• Cash flow – better forecasting and disciplines.

• Owner/exec time – less firefighting, more strategic work.

• Team performance – stronger leadership, clearer expectations, reduced turnover.

Intangible returns: clarity, confidence, and better decisions

Then there are the “soft” gains that still matter to ROI:

• Clearer priorities → less wasted effort.

• More confident decisions → less delay and second-guessing.

• Less isolation at the top → better judgment and resilience.

• Stronger leadership presence → better culture and retention.

These intangible improvements are often the catalysts for the measurable gains.

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How Much Does Business Coaching Cost in BC?

(These are general ranges—coaches vary based on experience, niche, and format.)

Typical price ranges for business and executive coaching

In BC, you’ll commonly see:

• Business coaching for owners
  Roughly CAD $200–$500 per hour equivalent, often packaged as monthly programs.

• Executive coaching for senior leaders
  Typically higher, especially for seasoned coaches with deep corporate or industry experience.

Common structures:

• Monthly retainers (e.g. 2–4 sessions per month + between-session support).

• Fixed programs (3–6 months sprints with a defined curriculum).

• Intensives for specific transitions (e.g. new executive role, major acquisition).

One-to-one vs group coaching vs masterminds

• 1:1 coaching

  • Highest cost per person.

  • Deepest customization for your BC context (industry, city, team size).

• Group coaching/masterminds

  • Lower cost per person.

  • Built-in peer learning from other BC owners and leaders.

• Hybrid programs

  • Mix of content, group sessions, and some 1:1 time.

  • Good option if you’re budget-conscious but want tailored support.

Understanding contracts, retainers, and program pricing

For ROI, look beyond the monthly price to:

• The total cost over 3, 6, or 12 months.

• What’s actually included (sessions, email support, workshops, access to tools, team sessions).

• Cancellation or renewal terms—are you locked in long term?

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A Simple Framework to Calculate Your Coaching ROI

Step 1: Clarify your baseline

Before you start coaching, capture your starting point:

• Annual/Monthly revenue and profit.

• Owner/exec hours per week.

• Key operational metrics (e.g. conversion rates, project timelines, utilization).

• People metrics (e.g. voluntary turnover, absenteeism on key teams).

Step 2: Pick 3–5 measurable outcomes

Examples:

• Increase annual revenue by $200,000.

• Improve net profit margin by 2–3 percentage points.

• Reduce owner working hours from 70 to 50 per week.

• Reduce turnover on a key team.

• Shorten sales cycles or project timelines.

Step 3: Run the basic ROI formula (with examples)

Basic ROI formula:

ROI % = (Total Gain from Coaching – Total Cost of Coaching) ÷ Total Cost of Coaching × 100

Example 1 – BC owner with a growing service business

Imagine a local service business in the Lower Mainland:

• Coaching investment:

  • $1,500/month × 6 months = $9,000

• Before coaching:

  • Revenue: $1,000,000/year

  • Net profit margin: 10% → $100,000 profit

• After 6–12 months:

  • Revenue grows to $1,100,000

  • Profit margin improves to 11%

New profit = 11% of 1,100,000 =
0.11 × 1,100,000 = 121,000

Profit increase = 121,000 – 100,000 = $21,000

Now plug into the formula:

• Gain from coaching = $21,000

• Cost of coaching = $9,000

• ROI = (21,000 – 9,000) ÷ 9,000 × 100

• 12,000 ÷ 9,000 = 1.333… → 133% ROI

Plus, the owner reclaims 10–15 hours/week, which can be redirected to higher-value work or personal life.

Example 2 – Senior executive retaining a key employee

A senior leader in a Vancouver-based company invests $12,000 in executive coaching over 6 months.

As a result, they:

• Improve their leadership style,

• Retain a key manager who otherwise might have left.

Replacing that manager (recruiting, onboarding, lost productivity) could easily cost 50%+ of a $120,000 salary = $60,000.

If coaching helps avoid that loss:

• Gain from coaching ≈ $60,000

• Cost of coaching = $12,000

• ROI = (60,000 – 12,000) ÷ 12,000 × 100 = 400% ROI

Want to see how your numbers stack up?
👉 Schedule a 15-minute ROI call

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Visual: Hard vs Soft ROI from Business Coaching

You can turn the table below into a graphic in your blog or slide deck:

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Real-World ROI Scenarios for BC Owners and Executives

(Fictional composites inspired by real BC situations.)

Example 1 – Owner of a growing local service business

A trades business in the Fraser Valley:

• Pre-coaching:

  • Owner working 70+ hours per week.

  • Scheduling chaos and inconsistent margins.

• Coaching focus:

  • Job costing, pricing, scheduling tools, basic leadership systems.

• Outcomes over 9–12 months:

  • Revenue up ~15%.

  • Profit margin up 3 percentage points.

  • Owner down to ~50 hours per week.

  • Turnover down as clarity improves.

Example 2 – Partner in a professional services firm

A partner in a Victoria-based accounting firm:

• Pre-coaching:

  • Strong book of business but no scalable business development system.

  • Struggles to delegate and grow the team.

• Coaching focus:

  • Positioning, pipeline structure, delegation, leadership communication.

• Outcomes:

  • Higher-value clients, better utilization and realization rates.

  • Clearer path to growth or succession.

Example 3 – Senior executive in a mid-sized BC company

A VP in a Kelowna tech company:

• Pre-coaching:

  • Decision fatigue, reactive leadership, bottlenecked teams.

• Coaching focus:

  • Strategic focus, stakeholder management, executive presence.

• Outcomes:

  • Fewer priority swings → less wasted effort.

  • Stronger cross-functional alignment.

  • Better retention of high performers.

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When Business Coaching Is Worth It

Signs you’re ready to get value from a coach

Coaching tends to pay off when:

• You have real revenue and operations to improve.

• You’re willing to be transparent about numbers and challenges.

• You’re ready to implement between sessions, not just talk.

• You’re open to being challenged, not just validated.

• The business has a cash buffer; coaching fees don’t jeopardize basic operations.

Situations where coaching often pays off quickly

• Scaling from owner-centric to team-driven operations.

• Leadership transitions (new CEO/exec role, merger, major growth).

• Fixing chronic issues—turnover, margin erosion, stalled growth.

• Preparing for exit or succession where increasing enterprise value matters.

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When Business Coaching Isn’t the Right Investment (Yet)

Red flags and common misconceptions

You may not be ready if:

• You’re pre-revenue or still at “idea” stage.

• Cash flow is so tight that coaching fees would risk payroll or taxes.

• You secretly want the coach to “fix” your business for you.

• You’re unwilling to share real numbers or act on feedback.

Alternatives if coaching is premature

• High-quality books and courses from credible business thinkers.

• Local BC programs, government resources, and accelerators.

• Peer groups or masterminds at lower price points.

• Short, focused advisory sessions around specific issues.

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How to Set Up a High-ROI Coaching Engagement

Setting clear goals and KPIs with your coach

At the start, agree on:

• 3–5 specific outcomes (revenue, profit, time, turnover).

• The timeframe for progress.

• How you’ll measure success (metrics and milestones).

Designing the right cadence and format

Common patterns:

• Bi-weekly 60–90-minute sessions with between-session support.

• Monthly strategy sessions plus shorter check-ins.

• High-intensity first 90 days, then maintenance.

Choose a rhythm that fits your schedule and leaves time to implement.

What both sides need to bring for it to work

You bring:

• Radical honesty about what’s happening.

• Willingness to experiment and change.

• Commitment to doing the work between sessions.

Your coach brings:

• Structure, tools, and proven frameworks.

• Pattern recognition from similar clients.

• The courage to challenge you constructively.

Want help designing a coaching engagement that’s ROI-focused from day one?
👉 Book a 15-minute strategy chat

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How to Choose the Right Business or Executive Coach in BC

Experience, methodology, and fit

When evaluating BC-based (or remote) coaches:

• Experience

  • Have they worked with businesses similar to yours (size, industry, stage) in BC or comparable markets?

• Methodology

  • Do they have a clear process linking conversations to real business outcomes?

• Fit

  • Do you feel safe enough to be honest, but challenged enough to grow?

Questions to ask before you sign anything

• “Where do you see coaching having the biggest ROI for someone in my situation?”

• “What does the first 90 days look like?”

• “How will we measure success?”

• “Can I talk to a couple of clients in similar roles or industries?”

Big red flags:

• Vague promises but no clear process.

• Pressure to sign long contracts without a proper discovery call.

• Guarantees that feel too good to be true.

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FAQ: Business Coaching ROI for BC Owners and Executives

1. How long does it take to see ROI from business coaching?

Most owners and executives start to notice changes in clarity and focus within a few weeks, and meaningful business results over 3–12 months, depending on:

• How complex the business is,

• How quickly you implement, and

• How ambitious your goals are.

2. How much should a BC business budget for coaching?

It depends on your size and goals, but many small to mid-sized BC businesses invest somewhere between 1–3% of annual profit into leadership and coaching. The key is that the expected gain over 12–24 months is clearly higher than the cost.

3. Is group coaching enough, or do I need 1:1 support?

If you’re newer to leadership or budget-conscious, group coaching or a mastermind can be a great start. If you’re leading a more complex organization, or facing sensitive strategic issues, 1:1 executive or business coaching usually delivers better ROI.

Some leaders use both: 1:1 coaching for deep issues and a mastermind for peer learning.

4. Can I claim business coaching as a business expense?

In many cases, yes—coaching for business and leadership development is treated as a business expense. Always confirm this with your accountant to ensure it fits your specific situation and structure.

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Is Business Coaching Worth It for You? A Quick Checklist

Use this checklist to pressure-test your decision:

1. Do I have meaningful revenue and operations to improve?

2. Is there at least one clear bottleneck (growth, profit, time, leadership)?

3. Can I afford coaching without jeopardizing basics like payroll and taxes?

4. Am I willing to share real numbers and be transparent?

5. Do I have time and energy to implement between sessions?

6. Am I open to being challenged, not just encouraged?

7. Can I commit to 3–6 months to see real change?

8. Can I name 3–5 metrics I want to improve (and track them)?

9. Do I feel trust and alignment with at least one coach I’ve spoken to?

10. Would a 3–5x return over 12–18 months be a game-changer for my business or career?

If you’re checking “yes” on most of these, business or executive coaching is likely a high-leverage investment.

Curious what coaching ROI could look like for your business in BC?
👉 Schedule your 15-minute ROI call with Joel

You’ll walk away with clearer numbers, a realistic view of coaching ROI for your situation, and a simple next step—whether you decide to work together or not.