Tuesday, November 03, 2026
Half your customer base needs chasing, discounting or managing. The fix usually isn't your delivery — it's who your marketing is attracting in the first place.
It's the end of a long week, and the thought that shows up isn't "how do I grow this." It's "can I actually keep doing this." If you've had that thought recently, you're far from alone — 40% of US small business owners say they've considered giving up their business entirely (Xero Emotional Tax Return 2026, via CPA Practice Advisor).
That thought isn't proof you're failing. Most of the time, it's proof you've been carrying something heavy entirely on your own for longer than anyone should.
There's a quiet idea that asking for help is something owners do once everything's already gone wrong — a last resort, an admission. It's the opposite. Asking for help, early and honestly, is what owners do to stay in the game long enough to actually build the thing they set out to build. The owners who wait until it's a crisis are the ones who run out of options.
The warning signs are usually boringly practical, not dramatic: you stop opening the P&L until the accountant chases you, you say yes to a client you'd normally turn down because you're tired of deciding, or you catch yourself hoping a problem resolves itself rather than picking up the phone. None of that means you're failing. It means you've been making every call solo for too long, and the fix is smaller than it feels from inside the week.
I've founded or co-founded nine companies. Some have been very successful. Some have been failures — real ones, the kind where you genuinely don't know if you'll keep going. My own way of putting it is: sometimes you win, sometimes you learn. My job as a coach isn't just to help you grow. It's also to help you avoid the mistakes that nearly took me out, because I've been scared about a Friday wage bill too, more than once, and I remember exactly how small the world feels when you think you're the only one who's ever felt that way.
You don't need a coach booked by tomorrow to start somewhere honest. Ask yourself this week:
"One of the highlight presentations during OMP. Really enjoyed your wisdom and insight — thanks Kevin!"
— Liz Wotherspoon, Director, The Icehouse
This isn't a pitch dressed up as empathy, and it isn't a diagnosis of what's wrong with you — exhaustion like this is common, not a character flaw, and it's worth taking seriously rather than pushing through on autopilot. It also isn't a sign you picked the wrong business or the wrong life. Plenty of owners who went on to build something they're proud of felt exactly this tired at exactly this point. If you've already got a genuine peer, co-founder or board you lean on honestly, you may not need this right now. If the honest answer to "who did I last disagree with productively" is "I can't remember," that's the gap worth closing.
You can do this. Not because it'll be easy from here — because the version of you that's been doing it entirely alone was always carrying more than it should have had to. That doesn't change overnight, but it starts changing the moment one other person is properly in the picture with you.
Kevin works personally with a select group of SME owners to build the clarity and support that make carrying this alone unnecessary — not a guarantee, just a far better way to do it.
Wednesday, October 28, 2026
Which jobs should a US small business hand to AI first? Published US data, a five-check test and a 30-day plan to pick one job, track one number and keep the decisions that matter.
Wednesday, October 28, 2026
Most small business owners already believe AI works, but barely one in ten has invested in using it properly. Here is the simple ladder for turning casual AI use into real, compounding productivity gains.
Tuesday, October 27, 2026
Vet and allied health practices rarely have a clinical problem. Here is how to find the real constraint, keep patients returning and build a 90-day growth plan.
Tuesday, October 27, 2026
Most SME owners are fixing the wrong problem. Here's the 3-step method that finds the one constraint actually holding your growth back, before you spend another dollar.
Tuesday, October 27, 2026
A third of US small business owners say they don't know whether they have the tools — AI included — to grow next year. That's not a confidence problem, it's a visibility one, and it's fixable in an afternoon.
Tuesday, October 27, 2026
Confidence up a quarter, down the next, tariffs easing then tightening — waiting for certainty is its own decision, and usually the wrong one. Here's a simple way to keep deciding well when the ground keeps moving.
Tuesday, October 27, 2026
There's one role almost every SME owner has avoided filling for a year or more — while quietly doing it themselves instead. Here's the Who Not How framework, and the three-step test that makes the hire obvious.
Tuesday, October 27, 2026
They nodded, asked great questions, said it's exactly what they need — then disappeared. Here's why warmth isn't a buying signal, and the three-message sequence that gets stalled deals talking again.
Tuesday, October 27, 2026
Most SME marketing describes the product and targets a demographic — and both miss why people actually buy. Here's the Jobs To Be Done framework, and how to find the job your business is really being hired to do.
Tuesday, October 27, 2026
Nearly half of businesses miss the target they set for themselves — and it's rarely because the team didn't try hard enough. Here's the three-number check that builds a 2027 target you can actually hit.
Monday, October 26, 2026
ActionCOACH, an EOS Implementer or an independent coach? A fair, source-linked guide for US owners, with a six-question test to match the help to your biggest constraint.
Monday, October 26, 2026
Gallup's 2026 global workplace data shows manager engagement is collapsing faster than everyone else's. Here's the research-backed 3-step fix for SME owners wearing the manager hat too.
Monday, October 26, 2026
Only about a third of seasonal businesses hold enough cash to cover their leanest months before the slow season hits. Here's the ten-minute reserve check before this year's peak trade.
Monday, October 26, 2026
A well-known coaching ROI study found a $7.90 return per $1 spent. Here's an honest look at where that number comes from, and what actually transfers to an SME owner.
Monday, October 26, 2026
Only around 20% of companies complete 80% of their strategic goals, and fewer than half of employees know what's expected of them. Here's how OKRs fix that at SME scale.