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.
Choose The Entourage if you run a six, seven or eight figure business and want a large community, in-person events and a structured programme you apply to join. Choose Simple-Growth if you want one experienced coach working with you one-on-one on the single constraint holding your business back, with the first conversation free and no programme to buy first. Whichever you pick, ask for the price in writing and name the one problem you want fixed, or you may pay for the wrong help.
A disclosure first: Simple-Growth publishes this guide, and Kevin D'Ambros-Smith is an independent business coach, so he is not neutral. That is why this page explains who each option suits instead of ranking them. Everything said about The Entourage comes from its own web pages, read on 4 November 2026 (New Zealand time). If something here is out of date or wrong, let Kevin know and it will be corrected. Market: New Zealand.
This is not for you if you want someone to guarantee a number. Neither provider can honestly promise one.
| What you want to know | The Entourage (its own pages) | Simple-Growth |
|---|---|---|
| Price of coaching | Not shown. The coaching page offers a free 30-minute call with an Entrepreneur Development Manager. | Not published for one-on-one coaching. Discussed on the free 30-minute call. |
| Price of short courses | The Profit Program page does not state a price in its text. It offers a 14-day money-back guarantee. | Self-paced programmes from US$97. |
| Who it is for | Six, seven and eight figure businesses for Elevate and Accelerate. | Ambitious owners and founders in any industry, chosen by mindset, not sector. |
| Proof published | Ten client results with headline numbers, and totals such as 3,500 businesses. | Named client testimonials word for word, and an NPS of +72 from coaching clients surveyed through The Icehouse. |
| Free first step | Free 30-minute call. | Free 30-minute call. |
Neither of us publishes a price for one-on-one coaching, so the honest advice is the same for both: ask for a written 12-month total, excluding GST, before you commit.
The Entourage publishes strong headline results, such as one client moving from $150K to $700K a month. That is useful, and worth asking about. Two things to check when you read any provider's totals: the pages we read give different totals in different places, for example $6b revenue generated on one page and over $2 billion on another, and a community of 1m on one page and 500,000+ on another. Ask which figure applies today and how it was measured. Apply the same test to Simple-Growth: our NPS of +72 comes from coaching clients surveyed through The Icehouse, not from all clients, and our testimonials are quoted word for word with no numbers added.
Xero's small business data for the September quarter 2026, published on 29 October 2026, shows New Zealand small business sales up 5.6% on a year earlier but wages up only 1.3%, and the average time to be paid at 25.4 days. Sales are growing, so the pressure is on margins and cash. The right coach or programme is the one that fixes your biggest constraint first, whatever that turns out to be.
"Kevin understood a manufacturing and trades business from day one. No jargon, no theory, just clear advice on where to focus so that we had clear targets and ideas we could act on straight away to improve our customer acquisition and engagement."
Heidi Johnston
Windowmakers (quoted word for word)
Neither is automatically better. The Entourage suits an owner who wants a large community, events and a structured programme. Simple-Growth suits an owner who wants one coach and a focus on the single constraint first. The right answer depends on your business and how you like to learn.
The pages we read do not state a price for coaching or in the text of the Profit Program page. It offers a free 30-minute call, so ask for a written total there.
One-on-one coaching is discussed on the free 30-minute call. Self-paced programmes start from US$97. Eligible New Zealand businesses may be able to access co-funding through the Regional Business Partner Network, though funding is not guaranteed.
No. Some owners join a community for events and learning and work with a coach one-on-one on their own business. Be clear about what each is for, so you do not pay twice for the same thing.
Take the free 30-minute call, then take the answers to any other provider. You owe nothing for asking.
Be the owner who picks the help that fixes your biggest constraint first, with the written price in hand.
Not sure which suits you? A 30-minute conversation will tell you, and you are welcome to take the answers anywhere.
Sources (checked 4 November 2026): The Entourage, Business Coach in Auckland, NZ and The Entourage, Profit Program (both the provider's own claims, not independently verified); Xero, New Zealand small business jobs grow 2.5% year-on-year in September quarter, 29 October 2026 (New Zealand, Xero Small Business Insights, sample size not stated). Net Promoter Score of +72: coaching clients surveyed through The Icehouse. The testimonial is quoted word for word from the person named. Last updated 4 November 2026.
Ready to pick the option that fits your business?
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.
Monday, October 05, 2026
Eighty-four percent of small business owners sacrifice health or relationships to their business, new 2026 data shows. Here is the Transferability Number test that shows why, and what to fix first.
Monday, October 05, 2026
You're about to have your busiest quarter of the year. If nobody's planned for it, your bank balance is about to go the wrong way at exactly the moment the business looks like it's winning.
Monday, October 05, 2026
Ask most owners what they do and they'll answer instantly. Ask them why their business exists, beyond making money, and watch the pause. That pause is costing you customers, hires and referrals.
Monday, October 05, 2026
Ask your team to name the business's single most important goal this quarter. Five different answers from five people means you have one problem, not twelve: nobody knows what the goal actually is.
Monday, October 05, 2026
You trained your team to build rapport and never push, and your best customer last quarter still went with the competitor who pushed them to rethink the brief. Here's why relationship-selling is the weakest profile in B2B sales.
Monday, October 05, 2026
You've boosted the posts, hired the agency, rewritten the website twice, and the phone still isn't ringing. Before you spend another dollar, ask whether a stranger could explain what makes you different in one sentence.
Monday, October 05, 2026
Your competitor just launched the move you'd been 'finalising' for six months. Here's the fifty-year-old decision framework that fixes the real problem: not your strategy, your decision speed.
Sunday, October 04, 2026
EOS, Scaling Up, Vistage, ActionCOACH or Simple-Growth? A fair comparison with best-for and not-ideal-if for each option, a fit matrix and a nine-question quiz.
Sunday, October 04, 2026
What does a business coach cost in New Zealand? Published monthly and hourly ranges, cheaper options, how RBPN co-funding can help, and a checklist for judging value.
Sunday, October 04, 2026
New 2026 global research shows trust alone only earns a brand 48 percent acceptance into new territory - relevance takes it to 71 percent. Here is the two-question test that finds the real gap before you spend on expansion.
Sunday, October 04, 2026
The personal touch that built your reputation at ten staff quietly becomes the bottleneck that breaks it at thirty. Here is how to turn a habit into a system before it costs you.
Sunday, October 04, 2026
Most owners check star ratings and warm adjectives before hiring a coach. Here is the three-detail test that tells you whether a review is evidence or decoration.
Sunday, October 04, 2026
The Christmas shutdown is about eleven weeks away. Here is the one-page-per-role handover document that decides whether you actually switch off this year.
Sunday, October 04, 2026
The biggest sales research study ever run found the best reps ask, they don't tell. Here is the SPIN method, and the four questions that come before any pitch.