Monday, November 02, 2026
Seven things you can check before you hire a business coach, and how ActionCOACH, Business Mentors NZ, EOS, Simple-Growth and The Icehouse compare on each. Method and bias disclosed. Checked 2 November 2026.
Pick Quick Wins ($97) if you need more sales this month. Pick Making It Happen ($297) if you have a plan and it keeps stalling. Pick Know Your Future ($497) if you are busy every day and cannot say where the business is heading. If you are not sure which one is yours, book a free call first.
A disclosure first: Simple-Growth publishes this guide and sells these programs, so you are reading a seller. That is why it also tells you who should skip each one and when a different kind of help fits better. Checked 3 November 2026. Market: United States. Prices are in US dollars, one payment, as shown on each sales page today.
Most owners do not lack ideas. You are busy, the plan sits in a drawer, and another quarter goes by. A Bank of America Small Business Owner Spotlight, reported by Allwork.Space on 18 November 2025, found 74% of US owners forecast revenue growth, while three in five were affected by labor shortages and several were working more hours to cover the gaps (the article does not state the sample size or survey dates). Wanting growth is easy. Finding the hours and the focus to act on it is the hard part.
If you leave that gap open, another year goes by of being the busiest person in the building and still not knowing whether the business is moving toward the life you want. The old rule says more effort fixes it. It rarely does. Finding the one thing that is actually holding you back, then fixing that first, usually does.
Each one is self-paced, comes with instant access, and carries a 30-day money-back guarantee: if it isn't useful, you ask for a refund.
"Kevin has been a game changer for us. I had tried a couple of high-profile US entrepreneur programs but found these just talked about 'mindset', whereas Kevin gives practical advice to grow your business that you can implement immediately."
Brett
Abeille (a one-on-one coaching client, quoted word for word)
Start with the problem you feel this week. Sales flat: Quick Wins. Plans stalling: Making It Happen. No clear direction: Know Your Future. If two feel true, pick the one that costs you the most each month.
The sales pages are written for ambitious owners in New Zealand and the United States, and prices are in US dollars. Kevin D'Ambros-Smith is based in Auckland and works with US owners online.
Each sales page states a 30-day money-back guarantee: if it isn't useful, you ask for a refund. Read the terms on the page before you buy.
These are self-paced and fixed-price, so you work at your speed without a monthly commitment. A coach works with you one-on-one on your numbers. A peer group, such as Vistage, meets monthly and requires an application; its site lists no public price.
No. Each one stands alone. Many owners start with one and add another later.
Be the owner who picks the right first step and gets it moving this week.
Not sure which fits? Book a free 30-minute conversation and you will leave knowing which one to start with, or whether to start with none of them.
Sources (checked 3 November 2026): Allwork.Space, report on the Bank of America Small Business Owner Spotlight, 18 Nov 2025 (United States, second-hand report). Vistage, home page (membership and price information). Program details are from the three Simple-Growth sales pages. The testimonial is quoted word for word from the person named. Last updated 3 November 2026.
Wednesday, October 07, 2026
When you are surrounded by your industry, it is hard to see the wood for the trees. Here is why an outside perspective finds growth moves insiders miss, and how US owners can use it.
Wednesday, October 07, 2026
Small businesses grow at half the rate of big ones, and it is not about budget. Techaisle's 2026 global survey reveals why depth of relationships beats contact count, and how to build your own Dream 10 this week.
Wednesday, October 07, 2026
Rising revenue feels like proof the business is winning. If your margin is quietly shrinking at the same time, you are growing broke. Here is the three-line check that catches it.
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.