Tuesday, November 03, 2026
A New Zealand owner connected her ERP, email, website and analytics to AI. What changed, what the early numbers show, what we do not know yet, and what you can copy this month. Checked 4 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 If something here is out of date or wrong, let Kevin know and it will be corrected.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.
Sunday, November 01, 2026
Revenue can climb for years while the business quietly becomes more dependent on you, not less. Here's the growth driver most SME owners never put on their own dashboard.
Sunday, November 01, 2026
You cancelled the weekend away again. If you can't step away long enough to ask whether a coach is worth it, that's not a reason to skip the question — it's the reason to ask it.
Sunday, November 01, 2026
94% of NZ owners say they're not reaching their business goals. Not from lack of effort — from nowhere to see progress. Here's the visible scoreboard that fixes it.
Sunday, November 01, 2026
If every deal needs your personal persuasion to close, you don't have a sales process — you have a treadmill. Here's how to fix the offer so it does some of the selling for you.
Sunday, November 01, 2026
A positioning statement sits in a folder. Distinctiveness lives in the details customers actually notice. Here's the gap between knowing your difference and being remembered for it.
Sunday, November 01, 2026
Saying yes to every enquiry feels safer than growth. It isn't. Here's the strategic choice — who you're actually playing to win with — that most SME owners never make on purpose.
Sunday, November 01, 2026
Most NZ businesses are owner-run and many have no staff, so advice has to fit one person's week. Here is how coaches, consultants, mentors and peer groups differ, what is publicly known about cost, and how RBPN funding can help. Checked 1 November 2026.
Sunday, November 01, 2026
Four well-known ways to get help growing your business, compared on who each suits, what is publicly known about cost, and the seven questions to ask before you sign. Checked 1 November 2026.
Saturday, October 31, 2026
Most SME owners have a 12-month plan for the business but no vision for their own life. Here is a simple 3-step fix, plus the research behind it.
Saturday, October 31, 2026
US owners lose 33 working days a year to financial worry, mostly from not knowing their numbers. Here's the 2-number Monday check that closes the gap.
Saturday, October 31, 2026
46% of NZ small business owners aren't paying themselves. Here's why that has to change, and the three moves that build it into a real habit, not a hope.
Saturday, October 31, 2026
US owners lose 22 hours a month to financial admin and 56% get blindsided by a tax surprise. Here's the E-Myth fix that gets the books off your desk for good.
Saturday, October 31, 2026
41% of US owners say the cash-flow gap between money in and bills out is their top stressor. Here's why better follow-up won't fix it, and the three moves that stop the chase before it starts.
Saturday, October 31, 2026
63% of US small businesses say word of mouth is key to new customers. Here's how to build that into a system that still works when you're not personally chasing it.
Saturday, October 31, 2026
68% of US owners have delayed a major decision purely from fear of getting it wrong. Here's the 15-minute premortem test that gets you unstuck before you spend another dollar on it.