The self-improvement industry is estimated to generate approximately $11 billion annually. Unfortunately, the primary focus on self-improvements tends to be physical self-improvement, with diet and exercise materials ranking number one in overall sales. When people want to lose weight or get in shape, however, it has become incredibly common to hire a personal trainer, or what might more accurately be described as a fitness coach. Unfortunately, when it comes to business or other types of self-improvement, the coaching model has been slower to take hold. Here are three reasons a coaching culture is far more effective than a self-help culture. 1. Accountability Almost invariably, improvement in any area will involve breaking certain habits. For instance, in order to save money, you either have to stop spending money somewhere else or free up time to fill with more income earning activities. Any way you slice it, saving money will inevitably involve changing certain habits. The longer you have been doing something a certain way, however, the harder it will be to change it. Accountability is a critical component in breaking bad habits in order to create new, healthier habits. No self-help book will ever be able to hold you accountable, but a coach will. 2. Tailored help and advice A self-help book or materials can address certain things that might be common to people struggling with a certain issue, but it can't address your specific and individual needs. For instance, a diet book can help you determine the type of foods you need to be eating, but it can't help you rearrange your schedule in order to fit in the time you need to shop or prepare those foods. Without the actual logistical help necessary to make appropriate changes to accomplish the end goal, you are more likely to quit before you ever really get started. 3. Visual examples Anyone who has ever tried to put together DIY furniture knows the vast difference between how things look on paper and how they actually work. The same is true of self-improvement. Reading a book makes everything sound easy, but when we try to do things ourselves, they suddenly become very complicated. A coach, however, gives us a direct visual example every step of the way of not only what the end result should look like, but how to accomplish each step to achieve that end result.