Why Your "Coach" Doesn't Want to Cure You

I follow a fabulous contrarian over on Substack.

Their name is Cookie and they don't sugarcoat anything. Raw opinion, all the time. I love that about them.

Cookie said something that's been gnawing at me: "There's more money to be made keeping people confused than giving them the answers they're wanting."

Here's the full Note:

That's not cynicism. That's reality.

The Treatment Economy

Look at any industry built on "helping" people. Healthcare keeps you coming back for treatments instead of preventing disease. Coaching keeps you enrolled in programs instead of solving your actual problem.

The subscription model isn't just for Netflix anymore. It's how gurus make their money.

Think about it. If a coach actually solved your problem in one session, would you need them anymore? If a course genuinely taught you everything you needed to know, would you buy the next one?

The answer scares the hell out of most "experts" in this space.

The Confusion Machine

I've been burned by this. Paid good money for courses that could have been solved with a simple checklist. Joined programs that stretched three weeks of content across three months. Bought into systems that were intentionally complex to justify their price tag.

The coaching industry has turned problem-solving into problem-prolonging. They don't want to cure you. They want to manage your symptoms just well enough that you keep paying, but not so well that you graduate.

This is why most business courses teach you seventeen different ways to find your niche instead of just picking one and testing it. Why productivity gurus give you forty-seven apps to try instead of helping you focus on the three things that actually matter.

Complexity sells. Solutions don't.

The Healthcare Parallel

Cookie's comparison to healthcare isn't random. Both industries profit from ongoing relationships, not permanent solutions. A cured patient stops paying. A successful student stops enrolling.

But here's what makes the coaching industry worse: at least doctors went to medical school. Most business coaches learned everything they know from other business coaches who learned from other business coaches. It's a pyramid scheme all the way down.

What Real Help Looks Like

Real help is direct. It's specific. It gives you exactly what you need to solve the problem you have right now.

Real help doesn't require a six-month program when a two-hour workshop would do. It doesn't need a community when clear instructions would work better. It doesn't make you dependent on the helper.

I learned this working construction, then in the military, then in corporate jobs. Good managers solve problems and move on. Bad ones create systems that require their constant involvement.

The best bosses I ever had made themselves unnecessary. They taught me what I needed to know, trusted me to do it, and moved on to the next problem.

That's what good teaching looks like. Not this subscription-based confusion circus we're drowning in.

The Simple Alternative

Want to help people? Actually help them.

Give clear answers to specific questions. Create products that solve problems permanently. Price things fairly for the value delivered. Don't build dependency—build capability.

Stop selling courses on "How to Find Your Purpose" and start selling templates that help people organize their thoughts. Stop offering "Mindset Transformation" and start teaching specific skills. Stop creating communities for every tiny problem and start writing clear instructions.

The world doesn't need more coaches. It needs more people willing to share what actually works without turning it into a lifestyle brand.

Why This Matters for Creators

If you're building anything in the creator space, you have a choice. You can join the confusion machine, or you can actually solve problems.

The confusion machine is more profitable in the short term. Longer programs, higher prices, repeat customers. It's also soul-crushing and unsustainable.

Actually solving problems builds something different. Satisfied customers. Word-of-mouth growth. Work you can be proud of. Money that doesn't come with guilt.

Cookie's right. There's more money in confusion. But there's more satisfaction in clarity.

The question isn't whether you can make money keeping people confused. The question is whether you can sleep at night doing it.

Choose clarity. Choose solutions. Choose to be the person who actually helps instead of the person who profits from prolonging problems.

The world has enough gurus selling dreams. It needs more people sharing solutions.

What's the clearest way you can help someone today? Do that instead of building a program around it.

Thanks for reading!

Hi, I'm Joe. I help creators share their unique voices simply and effectively. Here's how I can help you:

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