Monday, November 09, 2026
The Icehouse publishes a price, dates and a turnover range for its Owner Operator Programme. Here is what that buys, who it suits, when one-to-one coaching fits better, and how co-funding may apply.
The short answer: Acquisition.com's free course is a strong way to learn how to build and price an offer, and it costs nothing but your contact details. It is aimed at businesses already at $1m+ in revenue. A coach is the better fit when you need someone to look at your own numbers and tell you which problem to fix first.
A disclosure first: Simple-Growth publishes this guide and sells coaching and online programs, so read it with that in mind. The Acquisition.com facts below come from its own free-course page, opened and checked on 11 November 2026. Market: United States. Last updated 11 November 2026.
The page offers a free Scaling Course Bundle on leads, offers and money models, designed for businesses at $1m+ in revenue. It previews six modules: the Value Equation (four variables that affect what buyers will pay), offer stacking, the Grand Slam Offer framework, removing objections before they are raised, pricing psychology and risk reversal through guarantees. No price is shown, and the page mentions no paid tier.
It states that the frameworks helped portfolio companies reach over $250M in annual revenue, with a disclaimer that Alex and Leila Hormozi's results are not typical and not guaranteed. The page shows no testimonials or named customers. Signing up means consenting to calls, texts and emails, including automated dialing, so read the form before you submit it.
Free and well-structured is hard to beat as a starting point. Whatever else you decide, it is worth a few hours if your offer is weak.
| If this is you | Better fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| My offer and pricing are weak, and I like learning from video | The free Acquisition.com course | It is built around offers, leads and money models, at no cost |
| I am under $1m in revenue and unsure what to fix | A coach or a diagnostic first | The page is aimed at $1m+; at earlier stages the constraint is often different |
| I want someone to review my own numbers | A coach | A course teaches a method; a coach applies it to your business |
| I know what to do but do not finish it | A follow-through program or a coach | Accountability, not information, is the gap |
| I want both | Course first, then a coach | Learn the framework free, then have someone apply it to your numbers |
The US Census Bureau reports that nonemployer businesses grew an average 2.7% a year from 2012 to 2023, against 1.1% for employer businesses, and that employers' share of all US businesses fell from 24.6% to 21.6% over the period (Census Bureau, 2025). In other words, most US businesses are small and many have no employees at all. A framework designed for companies already past $1m may not fit the owner at the start of the climb, which is why the first job is to find the constraint at your stage.
That is Simple-Growth's starting point: find the one constraint, fix it first, then decide what to add. To test the approach cheaply, there are three self-paced online programs with prices on their live pages: Quick Wins (US$97, 15 ways to grow sales), Making It Happen (US$297, follow-through) and Know Your Future (US$497, direction). Each page states a 30-day money-back guarantee. One-to-one coaching is quoted after a free call. Compare other options in EOS or Simple-Growth?
The page labels it free and shows no price. Signing up asks for your name and contact details and consent to calls, texts and emails.
The page says it is designed for businesses at $1m+ in revenue. Smaller businesses can still learn from it, but may need a different first priority.
It can replace some learning. It cannot look at your numbers or hold you to your plan. Many owners use both.
Quick Wins for fast sales ideas, Making It Happen for follow-through, Know Your Future for direction. If you are unsure, a free 30-minute call will tell you.
Use the free course if it fits your stage, and use a conversation to find out whether your constraint is the offer at all.
Sources (checked 11 November 2026): Acquisition.com, free Scaling Course Bundle page (the company's own claims); US Census Bureau, nonemployer business growth 2012 to 2023 (United States). Programme prices and guarantees from the live Simple-Growth sales pages. Results vary. Back to the growth tips hub.
Wednesday, October 07, 2026
January feels like the obvious month to commit to a coach. It is actually the worst one. Here is why the owners who get the most out of coaching start in November instead.
Wednesday, October 07, 2026
Wrong hires are now costing Australian SMEs an estimated 7.3 billion dollars a year. The mistake almost never happens in the interview room. Here is where it actually happens.
Wednesday, October 07, 2026
Somewhere in your pipeline right now is a buyer whose budget has to be spent before their financial year ends. Here is how to find them before a competitor does.
Wednesday, October 07, 2026
Most SME marketing budget goes to whichever channel the owner already knows, never the one that would actually work best. Here is the simple test that finds it.
Wednesday, October 07, 2026
Most strategic plans fail quietly, from an optimism nobody questioned out loud. Here is the 20-minute pre-mortem that finds the weak spot before you commit a dollar to it.
Tuesday, October 06, 2026
What a business coach for an NZ food, beverage or FMCG brand should do: price waterfall, real constraint, velocity story and a 90-day plan.
Tuesday, October 06, 2026
73% of small business owners feel more confident than ever, yet 57% have flat or falling revenue. Here is the real constraint behind the gap, and the 15-minute test that exposes it.
Tuesday, October 06, 2026
Most SME owners know their cost per click. Almost none know their true cost to win a customer, because the real costs live in four different spreadsheets nobody has ever combined.
Tuesday, October 06, 2026
A pleasant weekly chat and a structured coaching session can look identical from the outside. Here's exactly what should be happening in the room if the second one is real.
Tuesday, October 06, 2026
Most SME task lists have no visible connection to the goal on the whiteboard. OKRs fix that gap in three simple steps, without turning your week into a spreadsheet exercise.
Tuesday, October 06, 2026
Giving away a free sample, audit or pilot feels like it removes risk for the prospect. Mostly it just removes their reason to commit. Here's the structure that converts instead.
Monday, October 05, 2026
There is no single best business coach in the USA. Here are five criteria for choosing one, a fair look at the main formats, and why an outside perspective can change what you see in your own business.
Monday, October 05, 2026
Eighty-four percent of small business owners sacrifice health or relationships to their business, new 2026 data shows. Here is the Transferability Number test that shows why, and what to fix first.
Monday, October 05, 2026
You're about to have your busiest quarter of the year. If nobody's planned for it, your bank balance is about to go the wrong way at exactly the moment the business looks like it's winning.
Monday, October 05, 2026
Ask most owners what they do and they'll answer instantly. Ask them why their business exists, beyond making money, and watch the pause. That pause is costing you customers, hires and referrals.