# ProGlobal Business Advisors

> Business advisory firm in Columbia, Maryland (serving owners nationwide) that helps business owners build, scale and exit with confidence — and trains the advisors who do this work. Founded by Malcolm Reid Sr.

## Money pages
- [Business advisors: what they do, what they cost, and how to choose one](https://proglobalba.com/business-advisor): A business advisor is an experienced operator who diagnoses what is limiting a company's growth or profit, then helps install the systems that remove it. Most charge $1,500–$10,000 per month. Unlike a consultant who delivers a project, an advisor works with the owner over time on the whole business.
- [Business advisory services: what they include and how they work](https://proglobalba.com/business-advisory-services): Business advisory services are ongoing engagements where an experienced advisor works with an owner to diagnose what's limiting the business and install the systems that fix it. They typically cover strategy, pricing, sales, delivery, financial clarity and exit readiness — and are measured on whether the business changes, not on a report delivered.
- [Business growth consultants: what they do and when to hire one](https://proglobalba.com/business-growth-consultant): A business growth consultant helps an established business grow by finding the specific constraint holding it back — pricing, sales process, delivery capacity or founder dependency — and installing the systems that remove it. Most work as ongoing advisors rather than one-off project consultants, and typically charge $1,500–$10,000 per month.
- [Business coaching franchises vs independent advisory: how to choose](https://proglobalba.com/business-coaching-franchises): A business coaching franchise delivers a corporate methodology through a local licensee — you get a proven, standardised system and a recognised brand. Independent advisory gives you direct access to an experienced operator, more flexibility, and no franchise-fee markup. Choose a franchise for a consistent system, an independent for bespoke depth.

## Answers (definitive, TL;DR-first)
- [What does a business advisor do?](https://proglobalba.com/answers/what-does-a-business-advisor-do): A business advisor analyses how a company actually operates, identifies the constraints holding back growth or profit, and helps install systems to remove them. Unlike a coach who mainly asks questions, an advisor brings operating experience and will tell you what to do — covering strategy, sales, delivery, finance and exit planning.
- [How much does a business advisor cost?](https://proglobalba.com/answers/how-much-does-a-business-advisor-cost): Most business advisors charge $1,500–$10,000 per month for one-to-one work, or $500–$2,500 per month in a group programme. Hourly rates run $150–$500. Price tracks the advisor's operating experience and the scope of the engagement — not the number of hours you get.
- [Is a business coach worth it?](https://proglobalba.com/answers/is-a-business-coach-worth-it): A business coach is worth it when your growth is limited by something structural — pricing, founder dependency, no repeatable sales process — and the coach has fixed that before. It is not worth it if you have no revenue yet, or if you cannot name the problem you are paying to solve.
- [Business coach vs consultant: what's the difference?](https://proglobalba.com/answers/business-coach-vs-consultant): A consultant is hired to solve a defined problem for you and hand over a deliverable. A coach develops your ability to solve it yourself. An advisor sits between the two: directive like a consultant, ongoing like a coach. Pick a consultant for a project, a coach or advisor for permanent change.
- [Coach vs mentor: what's the difference?](https://proglobalba.com/answers/coach-vs-mentor): A coach is trained, usually paid, and works to a structure built around your goals — they ask rather than tell. A mentor is typically informal and unpaid, and shares their own path and judgement. Coaches develop capability; mentors offer perspective from someone who has been where you are.
- [How do you find a good business coach?](https://proglobalba.com/answers/how-to-find-a-business-coach): Start by naming the constraint you want fixed, then look for someone who has removed that exact constraint in a real business. Screen on operating experience and reachable references, not follower count. Ask what they would examine first — the good ones ask about your numbers; the weak ones talk about mindset.
- [How do you become a business coach?](https://proglobalba.com/answers/how-to-become-a-business-coach): There is no licence or required qualification — business coaching is unregulated, so anyone can start tomorrow. What actually makes it work is having run something yourself, a defined niche and problem you solve, a repeatable method, and a way to reach owners. Certification helps credibility; it does not create clients.
- [How do you become a business consultant?](https://proglobalba.com/answers/how-to-become-a-business-consultant): You become a business consultant by picking a problem you have already solved in a real job, packaging it as a defined engagement with a price, and selling it — usually to someone who already knows your work. No licence or degree is required. Your first client normally comes from your existing network.
- [Do you need a certification to be a business coach?](https://proglobalba.com/answers/do-you-need-certification-to-be-a-business-coach): No. Coaching is unregulated — no certification is legally required to call yourself a business coach or to charge for it. Credentials like ICF signal training and can matter for corporate and HR buyers. Owner-operators rarely ask. Track record, references and a clear method persuade far more than a certificate.
- [How do you get your first coaching clients?](https://proglobalba.com/answers/how-to-get-your-first-coaching-clients): Your first coaching clients come from people who already know you — former colleagues, past clients, your network — not from ads or content. Make a specific offer to a specific problem, ask directly, and start with a small paid engagement. Free work and cold outreach are slower and teach you less.
- [How should you price your coaching packages?](https://proglobalba.com/answers/how-to-price-coaching-packages): Price coaching packages on the value of the problem you remove, not on your hours. Work out what the constraint costs the client per month, then charge a fraction of it. In practice that means $500–$2,500 a month for group work and $1,500–$10,000 for one-to-one. Charge monthly, in advance, with a defined scope.
- [How do you add recurring revenue to a coaching business?](https://proglobalba.com/answers/how-to-add-recurring-revenue-to-a-coaching-business): Add recurring revenue by moving from one-off projects to a monthly retainer built around something the client needs every month — a standing operating rhythm, reporting, or ongoing access. Charge monthly in advance on a rolling agreement. Group programmes and licensed tools add leverage. Retainers only hold if the client sees value land each month.
- [How do you scale a coaching business past yourself?](https://proglobalba.com/answers/how-to-scale-a-coaching-business): You scale a coaching practice by making the method, not you, the product. Document what you do into a repeatable process, move some delivery to group or async, then hire or license associates to run it. The ceiling is not effort — it is that everything currently depends on your presence.
- [Business advisor vs consultant: what's the difference?](https://proglobalba.com/answers/business-advisor-vs-consultant): A business consultant is hired to solve a defined problem and hand over a deliverable, then the engagement ends. A business advisor works with the owner over time across the whole business and is judged on whether the company changes. Choose a consultant for a project with a clear endpoint, an advisor for ongoing change.
- [Business coaching vs consulting: which does your business need?](https://proglobalba.com/answers/business-coaching-vs-consulting): Consulting delivers a solution for you and hands it over. Business coaching develops your own ability to produce the result, largely by asking rather than telling. Advisory sits between them: directive like consulting, ongoing like coaching. Pick consulting for a defined deliverable, coaching or advisory for lasting change in how you run the business.
- [What does a business consultant do?](https://proglobalba.com/answers/what-does-a-business-consultant-do): A business consultant is hired to solve one defined problem and hand over a deliverable — a plan, a system, an implementation — then the engagement ends. They bring specialist expertise for a bounded scope, work to a fixed price and timeline, and are measured on whether the project shipped, not on whether the whole business changed.
- [How do you start a consulting business?](https://proglobalba.com/answers/how-to-start-a-consulting-business): You start a consulting business by choosing one problem you can already solve, packaging it as a scoped engagement with a fixed price, then handling the basics — an entity, a contract, insurance — and winning a first client from your network. Whether you are personally qualified is a separate question; the business runs on positioning, pricing and pipeline.
- [Do you need a small business consultant?](https://proglobalba.com/answers/small-business-consultant-do-you-need-one): You need a small business consultant when a specific, bounded problem is costing you money and sits outside your own expertise. Many small businesses do not need one yet: if you have no revenue, the real problem is demand, and no consultant can manufacture customers. Below is a plain test for which situation you are in.
- [Business coach vs life coach: what's the difference?](https://proglobalba.com/answers/business-coach-vs-life-coach): A business coach works on your business — pricing, sales, systems, growth — and is measured on commercial results. A life coach works on you: fulfilment, habits, personal direction. They overlap in mindset, but the goal is different. Choose a business coach when the problem is the business, a life coach when the problem is you.
- [Executive coaching vs business coaching: what's the difference?](https://proglobalba.com/answers/executive-coaching-vs-business-coaching): Executive coaching develops an individual leader — their decisions, communication and effectiveness — usually inside a larger organisation. Business coaching, or advisory, works on the whole business: pricing, sales, delivery and growth. Choose executive coaching to develop a person, business coaching to change how the company runs.
- [Group vs one-on-one business coaching: which is better?](https://proglobalba.com/answers/group-vs-one-on-one-business-coaching): Group business coaching is more affordable and adds peer accountability, but the guidance is general. One-on-one coaching is bespoke to your business and usually moves faster on your specific constraint, at a higher price. Choose group for structure, learning and community; one-on-one when you have a specific problem that needs focused, tailored work.

## Guides (blog)
- [Founder dependency: how to tell if your business runs on you](https://proglobalba.com/blog/founder-dependency-how-to-tell-if-your-business-runs-on-you): Founder dependency is when the business only works while the owner is in it — sales, delivery and decisions all route through one person. The tell is simple: if you cannot take two weeks off without revenue or quality dropping, the business depends on you rather than on systems.
- [The weekly numbers every owner should watch](https://proglobalba.com/blog/the-weekly-numbers-every-owner-should-watch): Every owner should watch five numbers weekly: cash in the bank, cash due in and out over the next 30 days, new pipeline added, delivery capacity used, and one profit measure such as gross margin. Weekly beats monthly because problems surface while there is still time to act, not after.
- [Recurring revenue models for coaches: four ways to build stability](https://proglobalba.com/blog/recurring-revenue-models-for-coaches): Coaches can build recurring revenue four ways: a monthly advisory retainer, a membership or continuity program, a productized program sold on a repeating cycle, and licensing a method to other coaches. Retainers are the most durable and the easiest to start; licensing scales furthest but demands a proven system.
- [The credibility crisis: earning trust in a digital-first world](https://proglobalba.com/blog/the-credibility-crisis-trust-in-a-digital-first-world): Buyers are more skeptical because anyone can look credible online, and polish no longer proves competence. What signals real credibility now is verifiable evidence: a track record you can check, named people behind the business, references you can call, and plain talk about limits. Honest firms win by being easy to verify.
- [Embracing AI: what it actually changes for small businesses](https://proglobalba.com/blog/embracing-ai-what-it-changes-for-small-businesses): For small businesses, AI genuinely helps with repetitive work: drafting first versions, summarizing documents, handling routine support questions, and analyzing data faster. What it does not replace is judgment, relationships, and the systems underneath the work. Treat it as a capable assistant that needs checking, not a replacement for how the business runs.
- [The power of community in small business coaching](https://proglobalba.com/blog/the-power-of-community-in-small-business-coaching): Peer community accelerates results in business coaching because owners learn faster from people solving the same problems, stay accountable to a group rather than a private goal, and adopt shared standards that raise everyone's bar. The value is not the content; it is the pressure and perspective that come from not building alone.

## Tools
- [Founder dependency self-assessment](https://proglobalba.com/tools/founder-dependency-assessment): A free 7-question self-assessment scoring how much a business depends on its owner.

## About the author
- [Malcolm Reid Sr](https://proglobalba.com/author/malcolm-reid-sr): Founder & CEO of ProGlobal Business Advisors; 25+ years in business leadership; author of the firm's guides and answers.