It's 9pm. The laptop's still open. You told your partner you'd be five more minutes, forty minutes ago. You're not behind because you're bad at this — you're behind because every decision in this business currently gets made by exactly one person, and that person hasn't had anyone to talk it through with in weeks. That's not a character flaw. It's a structural problem, and it has a structural fix.

Last updated 6 November 2026. Markets: New Zealand and United States.

47% of NZ business owners surveyed reported losing time with friends and family in the past 12 months (Xero, Money Matters report, New Zealand, July 2023), and separately, 43% of US small business owners said they had hidden business-related stress from their family or partner (Xero Emotional Tax Return, US, as reported by CPA Practice Advisor, February 2026). Put those two together and you get a very ordinary, very hidden pattern: owners quietly carrying a weight they've decided not to show anyone, including the people closest to them.

Not motivation. Three specific, practical things:

"Talking with Kevin the first time was so valuable and we were learning so much. Within an hour Kevin had us thinking about our business and our goals in a totally different way. In fact we were supposed to be catching a flight but we decided it was more important that we continued the meeting with Kevin."

— Angus & Cameron, Flatpack Co

Kevin has founded or co-founded nine companies. He still hired an Icehouse coach to accelerate his own growth, because knowing how to build a business and having someone to pressure-test your thinking are two different things. "I've been the client too" isn't a sales line — it's the reason he built Simple-Growth the way he did: as the guide who has sat in the client's chair, not just studied it from a stage.

This isn't for the owner who wants cheerleading. It's for the owner who wants someone to actually push back, because that's the version of support that changes something.

Is it normal to feel alone running a business?

The two surveys above suggest it is common: many owners lose time with the people they love, and many hide the stress from them. Feeling alone with the decisions is not evidence you are failing.

Who should I tell first?

One person outside the business: a partner, a mentor or a coach. Give them the real number, not the rounded-up one.

How is a coach different from a friend?

A good coach names the one thing that matters this week, asks the question you have been avoiding and follows up on what you said you would do. A friend usually cheers; a coach pushes back.

What if I want to talk it through with Kevin?

Register your interest below. Kevin works personally with a select group of SME owners. You can also browse the free ideas in the Simple-Growth growth tips library.

This won't make the business easier overnight. It could mean you stop carrying all of it alone — and for most owners, that's the moment it starts feeling possible again.

Kevin works personally with a select group of SME owners to build the clarity and accountability that make carrying this alone unnecessary.