Saturday, November 14, 2026
The New Zealand Government is paying for AI tools that find a small business's biggest constraint and write an action plan. Here is what they do, what they cannot do, and how to choose between an AI check, a mentor and a coach.
Ask any business coach if they're the right fit for you, and almost all of them will say yes. That's the problem. A coach with an empty calendar and a mortgage to pay has every incentive to say yes to anyone who can afford them, which tells you nothing about whether they're actually right for your business.
The real test of a good coach isn't whether they'll take you on. It's whether they'd ever say no. A coach who has never turned down a prospective client, or never ended an engagement that wasn't working, isn't selective, they're just busy.
Before you sign with anyone, ask the question almost nobody asks: what kind of client do you turn away?
The coaching industry has a structural incentive problem: most coaches are paid to have clients, not to have the right clients. That pushes many toward a one-size-fits-all pitch, the same framework, the same promises, applied to a retail founder, a professional services partner, and a manufacturing owner alike. Meta-analyses in coaching psychology consistently point to the working relationship between coach and client, not the specific framework used, as one of the strongest predictors of whether coaching actually changes outcomes. A framework applied to the wrong fit rarely works, no matter how good the framework is.
Named plainly: the enemy is the coach who sells fit instead of assessing it.
1. Ask what they'd say no to. A coach who can describe, specifically, the kind of business or owner they're not right for is telling you they've actually thought about fit.
2. Ask for the uncomfortable question. Request a call where they push back on something in your business, before you've paid them a dollar. You'll learn more from their pushback than their pitch.
3. Check the operator test. Have they actually built or run something, or only studied and taught it? Both have value; know which one you're hiring.
4. Ask how they end a mismatch. A coach with a clear, respectful process for ending an engagement that isn't working is more trustworthy than one who's never had to.
5. Watch what they measure. A coach focused on your calendar time with them, rather than your business results without them, has the incentives backwards.
“One of the highlight presentations during OMP. Really enjoyed your wisdom and insight, thanks Kevin!”
— Liz Wotherspoon, Director, The Icehouse
Most owners are so relieved to find someone who says the right things in a sales call that they skip the vetting entirely, especially after a bad experience with a coach who talked mindset and delivered nothing practical. The obstacle isn't a lack of good coaches; it's that the burden of screening for fit has been left entirely on the business owner, who's rarely done it before and doesn't know what to ask.
Kevin works personally with a select group of SME owners specifically because fit determines results, and turns away engagements where it isn't there, which is exactly the standard this question is designed to test for.
Kevin works personally with a select group of SME owners, here's how to find out if that's the right fit for you.
...and you become the owner who chooses a coach on fit, not on a good sales call.
Monday, November 02, 2026
The Census Bureau says 17% to 20% of US businesses use AI. The Chamber says 58% of small businesses do. Here is why they differ and where an owner should point AI first.
Sunday, November 01, 2026
An executive coach develops you as a leader. A business coach works on the business. A fair, source-linked guide for US owners, with best-for and not-ideal-if for every option.
Sunday, November 01, 2026
Not every stuck business has a mindset problem, and not every one has a strategy problem. Here is how NZ owners can tell which kind of coach they need now, and why the best ones do both.
Sunday, November 01, 2026
A franchise network or an independent coach? Here is who each suits, what is publicly known about cost and guarantees, and the questions to ask before you sign. Checked 1 November 2026.
Sunday, November 01, 2026
New 2026 research shows SME owners earning most of their revenue from repeat customers are nearly four times more likely to be profitable than those chasing new customers alone. Here is the simple shift that changes the number that matters.
Sunday, November 01, 2026
Management Capability Development funding can cover up to half of one-to-one business training for eligible NZ businesses. Here is who qualifies, what it covers, what it does not, and the order to do things in.
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.