Friday, November 13, 2026
Three self-paced programs, three different jobs: faster sales, finishing what you plan, or deciding where the business is going. Prices, guarantees and a four-question chooser.
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.
Sunday, October 18, 2026
The median landing page converts at 6.6 percent, and most SME websites never get close. Here is what the top quartile actually does differently, and why fixing it beats spending more on ads.
Sunday, October 18, 2026
Most growth plans start with last year's number plus a guess. Here is the three-number market-sizing check that separates a real plan from a wish list.
Saturday, October 17, 2026
Nearly 8 in 10 small business owners say long-term planning feels harder than ever. The usual fix, a better template, isn't the one that works — here's the exercise that fixes it before you build the plan.
Saturday, October 17, 2026
NZ retail lifted productivity 9.1% without adding hours, while national output per employee fell. Here's how to grow revenue before you grow headcount.
Saturday, October 17, 2026
Most owners expect a coach to fix things in week one. Here's what actually happens in the first 90 days, and why that structure is the real breakthrough.
Friday, October 16, 2026
A 2026 Bain survey found fewer than half of CEOs believe their company can execute fast enough, even with full teams and budgets behind them. Here is the weekly rhythm that turns a good plan into tracked progress for an owner running the show solo.
Friday, October 16, 2026
A bank survey found 98% of small business owners do not know their company's value. Most shrug because they are not selling. That is the mistake: the work that lifts value is the same work that lifts growth right now.
Friday, October 16, 2026
Global surveys put client satisfaction with coaching at 95 percent good or excellent. The unhappy minority almost always skipped the same three checks before they signed. Here is what to check before you do.
Friday, October 16, 2026
67% of founders work more than 50 hours a week, and most of those hours go to re-explaining tasks or double-checking work that did not need it. The fix is matching your leadership style to each task's readiness level.
Friday, October 16, 2026
Seventy-seven percent of B2B buyers call their last purchase complex, with six to ten people in the room. Most SME sales reps still pitch like there is only one decision maker, then blame price when the deal goes quiet.
Friday, October 16, 2026
Eighty-four percent of consumers say they plan to buy from a small business in the next two months. Most of that goodwill never converts, and it is not because customers do not care. It is because there is no specific offer ready to meet them.
Friday, October 16, 2026
Most SME owners are hitting their numbers, so why is confidence falling? The real reason isn't the economy. It's what's missing from next year's plan, and the three-question test that fixes it before you finalise a dollar of it.
Thursday, October 15, 2026
Owners testing something new are far more likely to expect faster growth. Here is how to find the adjacent customer segment sitting right next to yours.
Thursday, October 15, 2026
Thought a business coach was out of budget? For many eligible NZ businesses, the Regional Business Partner Network can cover a large share of the cost.
Thursday, October 15, 2026
Some SME leaders are already getting a half-day a week back from AI. Here is the simple filter that decides what to automate, augment or leave alone.