Some business owners turn to coaching franchises like ActionCOACH because they want structure. But many leave frustrated. They’re sold a big promise, pay a high price, and walk away with nothing that moves the needle.

The real problem? The franchise business model. It’s built more for the franchisor than the entrepreneur. And more people are starting to notice.

Here’s what’s not working—and why a simpler, coach-led model like Accountability Now is better.

What Is a Business Coach Really Supposed to Do?

A business coach is there to help you grow. That means working with you directly. It means understanding your business, helping you focus, and keeping you on track with real actions—not just ideas.

But with most franchises, coaching becomes scripted. Many coaches are required to follow a playbook. It doesn’t matter if your business is a bakery or a tech startup. The advice stays the same.

Real coaching doesn’t work like that. It’s not about templates or theory. It’s about working alongside someone who gets what you’re going through. Someone who can adapt to your team, your goals, and your challenges.

Franchise systems tend to skip that. You get paired with someone trained in their brand’s system, not in your business. You get worksheets and a ton of PDFs (overloaded much?). What you don’t get is someone who’s actually built and grown companies from scratch.

And that gap matters. Coaches who follow scripts can’t help when things don’t go as planned. They can’t shift strategies or ask better questions. They just stick to the system. But real coaching is dynamic. It meets you where you are. And it changes when it needs to.

This is what business owners really need: support that adjusts to them—not the other way around.

The Franchise Business Model Is Failing Entrepreneurs

The franchise business model is designed to grow the brand. Not your business.

Here’s how it usually works: A company like ActionCOACH sells a license to someone who wants to become a coach. That person pays tens of thousands upfront, plus ongoing fees. In return, they get a playbook, some training, and the right to use the brand.

So what’s the problem?

Most of the time, these new coaches have never run a business before. They’re learning to coach by reading scripts. And if they fail—which many do—the franchisor still wins. They already got paid.

As an entrepreneur, you’re the one who loses. You spend time and money with someone who’s figuring it out as they go.

This model also puts pressure on the coach to sell, not serve. Because they’ve made a big investment, they need to recoup it fast. That can lead to upselling, hard pitches, or overpromising results. You feel that. It changes the relationship.

Real coaching isn’t transactional. It’s not about hitting quotas. It’s about earning trust and driving change. The franchise model doesn’t make space for that. It’s a volume game. And that leaves entrepreneurs stuck with overpriced help that doesn’t stick.

At the end of the day, you don’t want a coach who’s locked into a system. You want someone who’s locked into your success.

Where Is the Accountability? Why Scorecards Matter More Than Scripts

Good coaching is about follow-through. That means having clear goals, clear metrics, and checking in on progress—every single week.

At Accountability Now, we use scorecards. They’re simple. They track what matters. They keep clients focused on action, not theory.

Franchise coaches often don’t use real scorecards. Some don’t know how. Others aren’t allowed to change the system. That means they stick to a script and hope it works for you.

But no two businesses are the same. You need a coach who can adjust when things don’t work. You need someone who tracks your numbers with you. If a marketing plan isn’t working, they help fix it. If sales are stuck, they help you move.

Scripts don’t do that. Scorecards do. And real accountability only happens when someone’s paying attention to the details.

Here’s the thing: accountability is what moves businesses forward. It’s not the flashy ideas or the perfect pitch deck. It’s small, measurable steps, taken every week. That’s how you build habits, momentum, and results.

If your coach isn’t helping you track that, they’re just talking. At Accountability Now, we make the scorecard part of every coaching call. Not once a quarter. Not in theory. Every single time.

That’s how progress becomes real.

Autonomy Is the Future: Why Entrepreneurs Want More Freedom, Not Franchises

Entrepreneurs value freedom. It’s the whole reason most people start their own business. They want to make their own decisions. They want to choose how to grow.

Franchise coaching doesn’t support that. It forces you into a system. You can’t pick and choose what works. You have to follow the steps, even when they don’t apply.

For example, some franchise coaches are trained to run workshops or sell group packages. That’s part of the business model. It’s how the franchisor makes more money. But it doesn’t always fit your needs.

Maybe you just want one-on-one help. Maybe you don’t want a long contract. Or, just maybe, your business doesn’t fit into their structure. Too bad.

Accountability Now is different. We don’t sell packages based on brand rules and we don’t offer help based on what’s scalable for us. We work based on what you actually need.

That means you get freedom. You get a plan that works for your situation. And if things change, we adjust. No red tape.

More importantly, we trust entrepreneurs to know their own business. We don’t need to control the process. We’re here to support it. That’s a big shift in mindset. And it’s why more people are stepping away from franchise systems and looking for something more flexible.

You started your business to have control. Your coach should help you keep it.

Why Accountability Now Is the Smarter Alternative to ActionCOACH

Let’s be clear: Not every franchise coach is bad. Some care deeply. Some get results. But the model they work in holds them back.

At Accountability Now, we don’t use that model. We don’t charge licensing fees. We don’t hand out scripts and we don’t sell hype.

Here’s what we do instead:

• We track progress with scorecards.
• We work directly with our clients every week.
• We don’t sell long-term contracts unless they’re working.
• We adjust as your business changes.
• And we don’t hire coaches who haven’t done the work themselves.

We built this model because we got tired of seeing good entrepreneurs stuck with bad coaching. The kind that wastes time, drains budgets, and leaves people worse off than when they started.

Franchise systems may look polished. But results come from people, not platforms. From clarity, not complexity. From accountability, not automation.

If you’ve worked with a franchise coach and didn’t get what you needed, it’s not just you. The model was never designed to serve you first.

There is another way. We’re building it. And we’re doing it with entrepreneurs in mind.