Tuesday, August 25, 2026
76% of small businesses now use AI, but only 14% have it built into daily operations. Here's why the gap exists — and what the businesses getting real value are doing differently.
The short answer: Australian owners can choose a franchise coaching network such as ActionCOACH, a business education company such as Business Blueprint, low-cost government-backed advice for very small businesses, or an independent coach such as Simple-Growth. Choose by your biggest constraint, your stage and your budget, not by brand.
Kevin D'Ambros-Smith is a business coach and advisor who has coached 200+ businesses one-on-one across 30+ industries, after a career at DDB, Ogilvy and Saatchi and Saatchi and founding nine companies. Simple-Growth publishes this guide, so the Simple-Growth System is one of the options below. Facts about other providers come from their own websites, checked on 19 October 2026, and are linked so you can verify them.
Most owners compare brands first. A better first question is what is actually holding your business back. Here are the criteria used in this guide. Apply them to any provider, including Simple-Growth.
ActionCOACH Australia. ActionCOACH Australia says it supports business owners throughout Australia and New Zealand. It lists executive coaching, one-to-one coaching through four signature programmes, group coaching, workshops, seminars and online resources. Its global site says the brand was founded in Brisbane and now has more than 1,000 coaches in over 70 countries. Pricing and contract terms are not published on the Australian site, so ask for both in writing.
Business Blueprint. Business Blueprint, founded by Dale and Katherine Beaumont, says that since 2005 it has helped more than 50,000 people around the world. It offers the Business Blueprint Program, free training and checklists, and personal coaching, and says the founders have worked personally with more than 2,500 clients. Its site offers a free first training. The price of the Program is not stated on the page.
Australian Small Business Advisory Services (ASBAS) Digital Solutions. This government-backed program on business.gov.au offers free workshops and webinars, plus one-on-one digital advice for a small fee, up to five hours in total. It is open to small businesses with fewer than 20 full-time equivalent employees, and sole traders, and covers digital marketing, selling online, business software, AI and emerging technologies, and cybersecurity.
The Simple-Growth System. Four pillars: business strategy, marketing and communications, sales, and productivity and implementation. It starts with your life goal, finds the one real constraint first, fixes that before you spend another dollar, then sets a 90-day plan with owners, deadlines and one number to watch. AI is used where it removes time, cost or effort. It is built from over 30 years in business, 60+ global brands at DDB, Ogilvy and Saatchi and Saatchi, 9 companies founded or co-founded, and coaching since 2017. Kevin has worked in Australia, the USA, the UK and New Zealand, and works with owners online, so distance is not a barrier.
Other independent coaches. Australia has many independent coaches and consultants, each with their own method. That is a strength, because you can find one who knows your industry, and a risk, because the quality varies. Use the five criteria above, ask for the term and the way out in writing, and ask to speak to a past client.
Often, yes. Plenty of owners use free training or a course for the basics and work one-to-one with a coach on a specific constraint. The only rule is to agree up front who owns which problem, so two people are not solving the same thing in different language.
Coaching clients surveyed through The Icehouse in New Zealand return a Net Promoter Score of +72 for Kevin's coaching. That is one survey of one group of clients, so use it as a signal, then ask every provider, including Simple-Growth, to put you in touch with a client.
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William Pike
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Individual results vary and depend on the business and the work the owner puts in.
Kevin would rather lose a sale than take on the wrong client. Please look elsewhere if you are a corporate executive wanting leadership or career coaching, because a dedicated executive coach is built for that. Look elsewhere too if you want a group of peers, a set curriculum to follow with a cohort, or regular in-person meetings with a local coach, or if you are pre-revenue and need free or low-cost help first.
Self-paced online programmes for owners at an earlier stage or on a smaller budget are launching soon. Join The Inside Track to hear first.
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Yes. Simple-Growth coaching is delivered by video call, so location is not a barrier. If you want regular face-to-face meetings, a local coach may suit you better.
Neither is better in general. A franchise offers a shared, repeatable method. An independent coach offers one person's own experience and approach. Choose by your constraint and ask for the term and the way out in writing.
Yes. ASBAS Digital Solutions offers free workshops and webinars to small businesses, and Business Blueprint offers a free first training. Both are described above, with links.
Ask for the term and the way out in writing. Ninety days is a sensible first checkpoint, because it is long enough to see movement and short enough to change course.
Simple-Growth publishes this guide and the Simple-Growth System is one of the options discussed. The criteria are listed above so you can apply them to any provider.
Start with a free 30-minute conversation and leave knowing which option fits your business. If it is not the right fit, Kevin will tell you who is.
Kevin D'Ambros-Smith, Simple-Growth
Ready to talk through what would actually fit your business, and become the owner who chose the right help first time?