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.
Plenty of SME owners have a business coach's number saved — and only dial it when something has already broken. A key client walked. Cash is tight. A senior hire didn't work out. That's not coaching. That's crisis management with a coaching label on it, and it's the single biggest reason owners underrate what coaching can actually do for their business. The data on this is clear: coaching works best as a sustained relationship, not a fire extinguisher.
The named enemy is Firefighter Coaching — engaging a coach reactively, only when something is visibly wrong, then quietly letting the relationship lapse once the immediate fire is out. It feels efficient (why pay for something you don't currently need?) but it means the coach only ever sees your business in crisis mode, never gets to build the pattern recognition that comes from watching it operate normally, and never gets the chance to help you avoid the next crisis before it starts. Research from the ICF Global Coaching Client Study, conducted with PwC across 2,165 clients in 64 countries, found that companies see a median return of seven times their coaching investment — but that return compounds with structured, ongoing engagement, not one-off sessions. The same research base recommends a minimum multi-month engagement with measurement checkpoints, because behaviour change takes repetition, not a single conversation.
You can read more on the ROI research in this breakdown of the ICF/PwC study.
1. Fixed cadence, not trigger-based — weekly or fortnightly, regardless of whether anything is "wrong." The value comes from the coach seeing patterns across months, not being parachuted in after the fact.
2. A standing agenda, not just a crisis agenda — every session covers the same three things: what moved forward, what's stuck, and what decision is coming up that needs outside perspective before it's made, not after.
3. A record that compounds — track what's been raised and resolved over months, so pattern-level issues (the ones that only show up over time) actually get seen instead of resetting every time a new crisis starts the conversation from zero.
"I catch up with Kevin once a week and it is definitely the highlight of my week. He just sees different opportunities so clearly. I would not have considered the B2C market as an opportunity before working with Kevin and now it is a major focus for us. He has opened up so many new opportunities for us."
— John Roberts, Co-owner and COO, Oragene
The honest reason most owners only call a coach in a crisis is that a fixed cadence feels like an ongoing cost, while a crisis call feels like a necessary one. But that framing has it backwards — the businesses getting the 7x return aren't the ones calling in a panic, they're the ones with a standing weekly slot where the small decisions get better before they ever become a crisis worth calling about.
If the only time you've spoken to a coach this year was in a crisis, that's the pattern Kevin helps you change first.
...and you become the owner who gets help before the crisis, not after it.
Thursday, November 05, 2026
Flat revenue usually has one cause, not five. Five checks, each with one number, help you find which link is holding your business back before you hire, advertise or discount.
Thursday, November 05, 2026
Before you chase new customers, count how often the ones you have buy. Three numbers, one worked example from Kevin's Know Your Numbers training, and a 30-day test.
Thursday, November 05, 2026
BNI's referral network generated over 4 million referrals in a single quarter, and its model rests on depth over breadth. Here is the Dream 100 method SME owners can use to make referrals a system, not a hope.
Thursday, November 05, 2026
A group programme and one-on-one coaching solve different problems. Here is who each suits, what The Icehouse publishes, and six questions that settle it.
Thursday, November 05, 2026
An Auckland physiotherapy clinic wanted to stand apart from every other clinic. Here is the positioning, the work behind it, what we can and cannot say, and four steps to copy this month.
Thursday, November 05, 2026
A rival undercutting you doesn't mean 'grow harder' is the answer. Igor Ansoff's growth matrix shows SME owners the four real routes, and how to pick one on purpose.
Thursday, November 05, 2026
Still at the kitchen table at 9pm telling yourself this is temporary? The isolation of owning a business is common, measurable, and fixable — here's how.
Thursday, November 05, 2026
Still polishing a plan that's been 80% finished for three months? Toyota's Lean ECRS method and Kevin's own 'ship at 70%' rule, for recovering perfectionists.
Thursday, November 05, 2026
Busy one month, silent the next, and no idea which deals were ever real? Neil Rackham's SPIN questions surface the truth weeks before a quiet month does.
Thursday, November 05, 2026
Revenue's climbing and the bank balance still isn't. The real fix usually isn't your price — it's that your marketing never said who you're actually for.
Thursday, November 05, 2026
You're doing the books, the invoicing and the tax, and strategy always loses the fight for your time. Here's the one-hour weekly habit that gets it back, no forty-page plan required.
Thursday, November 05, 2026
Most owners do not lack ideas. They lack a weekly rhythm that turns a plan into action. A five-question check, who Making It Happen ($297) suits, who should skip it, and the real next step. Checked 5 November 2026.
Thursday, November 05, 2026
Vistage puts you in a group of 12 to 16 owners with a Chair. Simple-Growth is one owner-run coach who finds your constraint first. Here is who each suits, what is public on cost, and six questions to ask. Checked 5 November 2026.
Wednesday, November 04, 2026
Rocket Lab began in New Zealand and is now headquartered in Long Beach, California. Three source-linked lessons in outside thinking for US business owners, plus a five-question blind-spot test.
Wednesday, November 04, 2026
Only 39.7% of small businesses actually grew revenue last year, Federal Reserve data shows. If growth feels like the fix for your cash, team or time problems, the numbers say otherwise.