Business Coaching and Consulting Franchise vs. Starting Your Own

What five years costs on each path, counting every cost we can source on both sides. Change the revenue to see how royalties grow with your sales.

Preview: figures awaiting verification

Some numbers on this page haven't been checked against their sources yet.

At a glance

Business Coaching and Consulting: franchise vs. independent
	Franchise (4 brands)	Independent
Franchise fee	$39,900 – $45,000	$0
Initial investment	$37,350 – $139,000	$318 – $2,057*
Ongoing royalties	6% – 20% of revenue; flat monthly fee (FocalPoint Coaching)	None
Operating costs (5 years)	$10,914	$10,914
Brand, training, and support	Included	You build your own

Franchise fee
Franchise (4 brands)
$39,900 – $45,000
Independent
$0
Initial investment
Franchise (4 brands)
$37,350 – $139,000
Independent
$318 – $2,057*
Ongoing royalties
Franchise (4 brands)
6% – 20% of revenue; flat monthly fee (FocalPoint Coaching)
Independent
None
Operating costs (5 years)
Franchise (4 brands)
$10,914
Independent
$10,914
Brand, training, and support
Franchise (4 brands)
Included
Independent
You build your own

We don't have a sourced revenue forecast for this business, so royalties and 5-year totals depend on your own numbers. Franchise investment figures come from each brand's disclosure (FDD Item 7) and already include the franchise fee. * Excludes independent startup lines we haven't sourced yet.

What franchisees report taking in

From each brand's own disclosure (FDD Item 19), copied exactly. These are gross sales before royalties and costs, not profit, and not a promise of what you will earn.

ActionCOACH
Item 19 reports 2025 gross revenue for 23 ActionCOACH outlets in the Great Lakes region only, overall and split into high, middle and low thirds; it gives no profit figures.
FocalPoint Coaching
FocalPoint's 2026 unit FDD makes no financial performance representation: Item 19 gives no sales or earnings figures.
The Growth Coach
Item 19 reports 2025 gross revenue for the 20 Growth Coach franchises open a year before 2025, overall and in thirds, and lists suggested program prices; it gives no profit figures.
The Alternative Board (TAB)
Item 19 reports 2025 member fees, member counts per franchisee, hours per board and franchisees' extra revenue from workshops and programs; it does not give each franchisee's total sales or profit.

What a franchise does give you

Franchises cost more, but the fees buy real things. Weigh them honestly.

Large, long-running business coaching brand with an established coaching system and programs
Initial certification training plus master-licensee launch support
CRM and ActionCOACH website, email and hosting provided
Regional and national conferences and a network of other coaches
Coaching brand that grew from 161 to 229 franchised outlets between 2023 and 2025 (FDD Item 20)
Flat monthly royalty instead of a percentage of sales
Initial training with lodging and food covered, plus a CRM and intranet
Franchisor-run direct marketing paid for by the initial marketing fee
Focused on coaching small-business owners, managers and sales teams
Ready-made group and one-on-one programs with suggested prices
Initial training with no separate training fee (you pay travel)
Lowest Item 7 range of the brands shown here; runs from home
Peer advisory board model: owners meet monthly as a group, plus one-on-one coaching
TAB bills and collects member fees for you
Proprietary planning tools (StratPro, HI-MAP) to sell as extra programs
Initial training of up to eight days, plus mentor support during your first marketing campaign

Going independent means

You keep 100% of what you earn after costs — no royalties.
You build your own brand, systems, and customer base.
You need more self-reliance, especially in the first year.

Brand by brand

Enter the yearly revenue you expect, low and high, to see five-year totals for each brand. We don't have a sourced forecast for this business to start from.

Back to the Business Coaching and Consulting guide · Sources for these figures