Saturday, November 14, 2026
Many NZ owners held back hiring, pricing and spending until the 7 November election. Now it has passed, here is what the latest ANZ, NZIER and MYOB surveys say, and a 30-day plan to restart the decisions that matter.
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.
Thursday, November 12, 2026
4 in 5 US small business owners say their marketing is only "somewhat" effective, at best. A one-sentence positioning exercise, borrowed from brand strategist Marty Neumeier, shows SME owners why.
Thursday, November 12, 2026
You keep hearing "we went with the cheaper option." It feels like a price problem. It's actually a sameness problem — and a one-sentence fix, borrowed from first-principles thinking, can solve it before your next quote.
Thursday, November 12, 2026
Strategic Coach publishes a price and an eligibility bar. Here is what the Signature Program offers, who it suits, who should look elsewhere, and six questions to ask before you choose.
Thursday, November 12, 2026
Profit First fixes where your cash goes. A coach finds which problem to fix first. A plain guide to what Profit First is, what is free, who it suits, and how to choose.
Wednesday, November 11, 2026
Most plans stall because nobody's job is to chase them. Pillar 4 of the Simple-Growth System gives AI four implementation jobs so your 90-day plan gets done, with a five-day setup.
Wednesday, November 11, 2026
Many established owners do not have a lead problem. They have a follow-up problem. Here is how to hand your first follow-up job to AI in a week, legally, and what to keep human.
Wednesday, November 11, 2026
Most small-business owners use AI, but few have changed how the business runs. Surveys by Goldman Sachs, Babson and the Federal Reserve show the gap, and the One Workflow Rule closes it.
Wednesday, November 11, 2026
Spark and the Icehouse run free AI workshops, the AI Advisory Pilot co-funds up to $15,000, and paid programmes start at $5,995 + GST a person. Here is who each suits, and five questions to choose your first step.
Wednesday, November 11, 2026
11,100 NZ businesses employ 20 to 49 people. If decisions still queue at your door, here is what breaks at this size, which fix to make first, and a 90-day plan to build a management layer.
Wednesday, November 11, 2026
68% of US owners delayed or avoided a major business decision in the past year, with financial stress the stated cause. A four-move exercise turns the risk list into a plan.
Wednesday, November 11, 2026
43% of US owners have hidden business stress from a partner or family member. Carrying it alone doesn't protect them — it just means you're carrying it alone.
Wednesday, November 11, 2026
You've got a team now, and somehow every decision still lands on your desk. Here's the real reason delegation doesn't stick, and the one habit that forces it to.
Wednesday, November 11, 2026
Costs keep rising and your prices haven't moved in a year, because you're scared everyone will walk. Here's why the fear is about value, not price, and what to fix first.
Wednesday, November 11, 2026
Every slow week ends the same way: a discount, a last-minute post, anything for today's sale. Here's why that cycle keeps repeating, and the simple split that finally breaks it.
Wednesday, November 11, 2026
You take on almost any customer who'll pay, so your marketing, pricing and team get pulled in three directions at once. A simple market-sizing exercise shows SME owners the one slice worth aiming at this year.