Sunday, November 08, 2026
Losing quotes to whoever answers first, not whoever's most polished? Here’s how one account cut quote time from 90 minutes to under 10 — and how your team can too.
Last updated 9 November 2026. Published by Simple-Growth (Motherbase Limited). Market: New Zealand.
If you run a business turning over $1 million to $3 million, the Icehouse Owner Operator Programme costs $6,295 + GST for three one-day workshops, one a month. A one-to-one coach costs a different amount for a different job. The choice comes down to whether you need a curriculum and a peer group, or a diagnosis of the one thing holding your business back.
A disclosure first: Simple-Growth publishes this guide, Kevin D'Ambros-Smith coaches for Simple-Growth, and Simple-Growth partners with The Icehouse, so he is not neutral. That is why both options below are described the same way: what it costs, what you get, who it suits and who it does not. Everything about The Icehouse comes from its own pages, read on 9 November 2026 (New Zealand time). If something is out of date, tell Kevin and it will be corrected.
According to the Icehouse's programme page, the Owner Operator Programme is a practical academy for ambitious owners: three one-day in-person group workshops, held monthly over three months, with an optional one-on-one session with an Icehouse business coach. The price shown is $6,295 + GST. The page lists the current group meeting on Tuesday 15 September, Tuesday 20 October and Tuesday 17 November 2026, and says it suits New Zealand owners turning over $1 million to $3 million, in groups that mix industries and regions. It also says Management Capability Development funding may be available through your Regional Business Partner, that partners sometimes offer scholarships, and that payment plans may be available.
The Icehouse's about page says over 4,000 Kiwis have taken part since 2001, and over 1,400 owners have completed its flagship Owner Manager Programme. These are the provider's own figures. Because the current group finishes on 17 November, ask the Icehouse when the next intake starts.
| Option | Published cost | Format | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Icehouse Owner Operator Programme | $6,295 + GST | Three one-day in-person workshops, monthly, plus an optional one-on-one session | NZ owners turning over $1M to $3M who want a structured curriculum and a peer group |
| One-to-one coaching with Simple-Growth | Discussed on a free 30-minute call; co-funding may apply for eligible businesses | Find the real constraint, then a 90-day plan with owners, dates and measures | Owners whose growth is stuck and who cannot name why, at any stage |
| Business Mentors NZ | $295 + GST registration, 12 month journey | Volunteer mentor, matched after registration | Owners who want a sounding board and a wider network |
Costs are taken from each provider's own pages. Simple-Growth's coaching fee is not published here; it depends on the format and is discussed on the call.
This is not for you if you are hoping someone else will do the work. A programme, a mentor and a coach all need you to act. Many owners use both: a programme for peers and structure, then a coach to apply it to their own numbers.
Possibly. The government's Management Capability Development Fund, reached through the Regional Business Partner Network, covers half of one-to-one training costs or three-quarters of group training costs, up to $5,000 per business a year, for eligible businesses with under 50 full-time equivalent staff (business.govt.nz page, last edited 3 August 2026). The page describes the application as four to 12 hours of effort, and approval is not guaranteed. Speak to a Regional Business Growth Advisor before you pay, so you know whether you qualify. Simple-Growth is an approved Regional Business Partner Network provider.
The Icehouse programme page lists $6,295 + GST for three one-day in-person workshops held monthly over three months, with an optional one-on-one session with an Icehouse business coach.
The Icehouse says it is for New Zealand business owners with $1 million to $3 million turnover, in groups that mix industries and regions.
Possibly. The Icehouse says Management Capability Development funding may be available through your Regional Business Partner. The fund covers half of one-to-one costs or three-quarters of group costs, up to $5,000 per business a year, for eligible businesses with under 50 full-time equivalent staff. Approval is not guaranteed.
No. A programme gives you a curriculum and a peer group; a coach builds a plan around your own numbers. Many owners use both, one after the other.
Not sure which fits? A 30-minute conversation will tell you honestly whether a programme, a coach, a mentor or nothing at all is the right move, and you are welcome to take the answer anywhere.
Sources (read 9 November 2026): The Icehouse, Owner Operator Programme (New Zealand; provider's own information); The Icehouse, about us (provider's own figures); business.govt.nz, Management Capability Development Fund (New Zealand); Business Mentors NZ (provider's own information). Related: a four-step ladder for business help in Auckland and what NZ business coaches charge. Last updated 9 November 2026.
Ready to find out which route fits your business?
Saturday, October 10, 2026
Most small business owners feel confident about their sales pipeline right now. New research shows that confidence is measuring the wrong thing entirely.
Saturday, October 10, 2026
Rising revenue and a shrinking bank balance usually mean the same thing: one account doing the job of four. A simple account split fixes it before it becomes a crisis.
Saturday, October 10, 2026
A coaching style that worked in your first month can quietly become the wrong one by your twelfth. The best coaches change how they coach you as you change.
Saturday, October 10, 2026
Managers now spend over a fifth of their working week in meetings, and senior leaders admit most of it is wasted. A fixed meeting rhythm fixes more than your calendar.
Saturday, October 10, 2026
Most SME owners set ad budgets and discount limits by gut feel. One number, worked out properly, tells you exactly what a customer is worth and what you can afford to spend to win one.
Saturday, October 10, 2026
Most small businesses pour their whole marketing budget into this week's sale. The research on 30 years of advertising says that is exactly the wrong ratio.
Saturday, October 10, 2026
Most SME owners are confident they will hit this year's goals, and most will not. The fix is not more effort, it is a plan that fits on one page and gets checked every week.
Friday, October 09, 2026
The share of owners blaming the economy for not planning long-term has tripled in a year. Here's the one-page plan that actually fixes it, not excuses it.
Friday, October 09, 2026
A new market, a new product line, a second location: most lose money the same way, by skipping the three numbers that would have told them how big the opportunity really was.
Friday, October 09, 2026
Most people picture coaching as a conversation. The sessions that actually move a business are a loop, repeated every week, until it becomes how the owner thinks.
Friday, October 09, 2026
A forty-item to-do list with none of the three that mattered finished is not a time management problem. It is a filter problem, and the Eisenhower Matrix is the filter.
Friday, October 09, 2026
A good salesperson gets four real conversations a day. A good presentation, given once, can reach four hundred. Here is why most SME sales teams never use it.
Friday, October 09, 2026
Customers do not leave because a competitor shouted louder. They leave because, in the exact moment they needed someone, your brand was not the one they thought of.
Friday, October 09, 2026
Most SME owners track one number: the bank balance. The businesses that compound track four, using Kaplan and Norton's Balanced Scorecard, and catch the problem before it ever reaches the bank account.
Thursday, October 08, 2026