Coaching, Clarity, and Scaling: Designing Your Business Blueprint
Coaching, Clarity, and Scaling: Designing Your Business Blueprint
Building a thriving business isn’t just about hard work—it’s about working on the right things. Many entrepreneurs learn this lesson the hard way, including Simon Gibbs, our guest on the latest episode of The Amanda Kaufman Show. Simon’s journey from being an overworked electrician to a successful business architect and coach offers valuable insights for anyone looking to scale their business sustainably.
In this blog, we’ll break down Simon’s key takeaways from the episode, diving into what it means to design a business blueprint that works for you, not against you. Whether you’re a coach or an entrepreneur, these lessons will help you avoid burnout, prioritize effectively, and create a scalable structure that aligns with your goals.
The Journey: From Electrician to Business Architect
Simon Gibbs started his career as an electrician. While he excelled at his craft, he struggled to build a sustainable business. “I spent 10 years as a very good electrician and a very crappy businessman,” Simon said during the episode. Despite his hard work, he realized that his lack of business knowledge was holding him back.
This turning point led Simon to invest in coaching and masterminds, which allowed him to compress a decade of hard-earned lessons into just a few years. Through intentional learning and mentorship, he transformed his struggling business into a scalable model. Now, Simon shares these lessons as a business architect, helping others avoid the pitfalls he encountered.
Why Coaching Matters More Than Ever
One of Simon’s most compelling insights is the value of coaching. He explains, “Business requires its own apprenticeship, but there’s no formalized program for it—that’s what coaches are for.”
Coaching provides:
Accountability: A coach ensures you follow through on your goals.
Perspective: They can spot gaps in your strategy you might miss.
Speed: Coaching accelerates your learning curve, helping you avoid costly mistakes.
Simon contrasts coaching with mentorship, noting that while mentors provide high-level insights periodically, coaches work with you consistently to implement those lessons and hold you accountable.
The Cost of Misalignment: Avoiding Burnout
Hard work alone doesn’t guarantee success. Simon shares a powerful analogy: being “five degrees off course” might not seem like a big deal initially, but over time, the gap widens until the entire business collapses.
This idea ties closely to the concept of burnout. Amanda Kaufman, host of the show, highlighted how many coaches and entrepreneurs get overwhelmed when trying to build an audience and convert leads. Burnout often arises from misaligned efforts—working hard in the wrong direction.
The Blueprint for Scaling Successfully
So, how can you structure your business to avoid these pitfalls? Simon recommends starting with clarity. “Do you want to have a weekend business that sells handmade soap at markets, or are you building a business worth millions?” he asks. Your vision will determine your strategy.
Key steps to designing your business blueprint include:
Define Your End Goal: Know whether you want a lifestyle business or a scalable enterprise.
Map the Journey: Understand the steps to get from where you are to where you want to be.
Build for Independence: A scalable business must eventually operate without you.
Simon emphasizes the importance of delegation and letting go of tasks. While handing over responsibility can be daunting, it’s essential for growth. “You have to be okay with mistakes,” he says, “because not making a decision is worse than making the wrong one.”
The Role of Risk and Failure
One of the standout moments of the episode was Simon’s discussion on failure. He warns against letting fear of public perception or past mistakes paralyze you. “When you had nothing to lose, you took risks. Now, with success, you’re hesitant—but you actually have more context to make better decisions now,” Simon explains.
The takeaway? Failure is part of growth. The key is to make calculated, informed risks rather than avoiding action altogether.
How Coaching Helps You Prioritize
Amanda also shared her “reporter method,” a framework that helps business owners prioritize their efforts:
What’s Important? Define the essential elements of your business.
How Do I Do It? Seek guidance but avoid over-consuming information.
When Will I Act? Set timelines to avoid procrastination.
Who Can Help Me? Connect with the right coaches, mentors, and peers.
This framework aligns closely with Simon’s philosophy: coaching helps you identify when to act, while mentorship and masterminds provide broader strategic insights.
Final Thoughts: Learning What Not to Do
Both Simon and Amanda emphasize that knowing what not to do is as valuable as knowing what to do. Experimentation is part of the journey, but as you grow, honing in on your strengths and aligning your actions with your goals becomes critical.
If you’re ready to design a business blueprint that scales without burning you out, consider investing in coaching or joining a mastermind. As Simon says, “Information isn’t the problem—it’s the wisdom to apply it.”
Follow Simon Gibbs
📌 Find Simon on:
Facebook: Simon Gibbs Facebook
Instagram: Simon Gibbs Instagram
YouTube: Simon Gibbs YouTube
LinkedIn: Simon Gibbs LinkedIn
📕 Want our free Thrive & Scale Expert Blueprint? Grab your copy here: https://thecoachesplaza.com/the-thrive-and-scale-blueprint
🎙️ Podcast: Dive deep into success strategies with The Amanda Kaufman Show Listen here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-amanda-kaufman-show/id1450993176
📺 YouTube: Watch our latest episodes and coaching tips on our channel Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/@theamandakaufmanshow
📝 Blog: Read our latest blog posts for more expert advice and insights Check it out: https://thecoachesplaza.com/blog
📸 Instagram: Follow Amanda for daily motivation and behind-the-scenes content Follow here: https://www.instagram.com/theamandakaufman
💼 LinkedIn: Connect and follow here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandackaufman/
👥 Facebook: Join The Coaches That Don't Suck Free Facebook Group Join here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thecoachsplaza
Full Transcript
Simon Gibbs (00:00)
So I spent 10 years as a very good electrician and a very crappy businessman. And so I worked really, really hard and I ran the entire thing into the ground.
Amanda Kaufman (00:06)
my gosh.
Simon Gibbs (00:11)
because I assumed working hard are equated to success. And I was working hard, but I wasn't working on the right things. And it wasn't until that broke that I recognized that I was trying to be an electrician running a business, not a businessman running a business. And I put it down to the fact that business requires its own apprenticeship, but there is no formalized apprenticeship for doing and running a business. And that's what coaches are for.
Amanda Kaufman (01:00)
Well, hello and welcome back to the Amanda Kaufman show. Today I'm joined by Simon Gibbs, who has a ton of experience in the, I wrote this down, in the electrical business. So I'm gonna ask you lots of questions about the electrical business so that I know exactly what that means because I have a chemical engineering degree and although I never worked a day in my life as an engineer, I can't help but nerd out when I hear that somebody's in a cool space like that.
But he moved into solar and is now helping other business owners through coaching. I would imagine with the solar business, right?
Simon Gibbs (01:36)
Actually broad spectrum, so...
Amanda Kaufman (01:38)
Broad spectrum. my gosh. Okay. We're going to go there with, we're going to keep going with the coaches that don't suck segment. And I'm really excited, Simon, because I could just tell right away after meeting you in a, in another program, this is, this is a guy that's got his stuff together. This, this guy does not suck. So welcome to the show Simon. Why don't you take 30 seconds and introduce yourself? Let us know what you're working on these days.
Simon Gibbs (01:42)
Hahaha
Sure, well, thanks for having me to begin with and I will do my best to uphold the not sucking part of the show, lovely, I love it. So yeah, look, I started in business about 15 years ago in Australia. I'm obviously Australian based, I'm currently in the US. I'm in the US for nine weeks or so. Yeah, part of the bigger plan on that side of the business, so we create.
Amanda Kaufman (02:12)
Perfect, thank you.
Simon Gibbs (02:30)
pre-built off-grid solar systems. So standalone power that doesn't need power lines, so solar panels and batteries. We pre-build them in a workshop to cut down on all the problems that occur in the traditional industry and then we send them to site 99 % complete. So it just speeds up and takes all the headaches out. So we're planning to launch that into the US next year. So that's part of my visit here. So that's kind of the quick background.
Amanda Kaufman (02:46)
that's really cool.
Simon Gibbs (02:58)
And then on the coaching side, basically after 15 years and having met a lot of people who struggle with things that I finally figured out how to get through, it was like, I actually have some context now to be able to take that, come back and help the people who are coming up behind me to say, hey look, if you don't do a bunch of this stuff I did, you can take my 10 years and compress it into one. And so, being able to share that with other people and help them get there faster, so.
Amanda Kaufman (03:21)
I love that perspective.
Simon Gibbs (03:27)
That's really the.
Amanda Kaufman (03:27)
That's very cool. That's very cool. So it sounds like in the solar business, it almost sounds like prefabricated kind of solar setups. Yeah, almost. Yes. So spoken like a true not an engineer. So.
Simon Gibbs (03:38)
Almost yes.
Amanda Kaufman (03:44)
So what is it about coaching do you think that makes such a big difference in people's lives? Like, you you mentioned that there's things that you might not have done in the last 10 years that you specifically are coaching people about. Can you give me like an example of something that you specifically love to help people kind of avoid or get more alignment on?
Simon Gibbs (04:07)
For sure. I think the biggest thing, so this is talking from my experience, if you are five degrees negative in your journey and you work harder and harder, you continue to deviate away from even the break even point. So if you're only a little bit to the wrong side and you continue out there, the whole thing falls over, even though you only started that far off. And so where it...
Amanda Kaufman (04:19)
Mm-hmm.
Good.
I love that.
Simon Gibbs (04:36)
Sorry, go for it.
Amanda Kaufman (04:38)
I was just you you got me really excited because today I was just doing a live stream where we were talking about the avoidance of burnout, which is a really big problem that a lot of coaches have is there, especially as they're transitioning into building an audience and converting that audience and everything. It can be quite overwhelming. But you were making me think about Darren Hardy's book, The Compound Effect. I don't know if you had a chance to read that one.
Simon Gibbs (04:41)
Hahaha
Not that one, no.
Amanda Kaufman (05:03)
Yeah, but it's exactly what you just described. It's like you might be a little off in the beginning, but if you keep compounding in the negative direction, then you end up far off of the path. And a lot of the good stuff that happens, you know, building business and otherwise in life, it also requires a compound effect, but we have to be intentional about making sure that we're compounding in the correct direction. So good. Yeah. So,
How do you help people identify or stop the slide? Like once they've identified that they're off like that, what are some of the techniques that you use to help them get back on track?
Simon Gibbs (05:41)
So the main thing that I focus on, and I've sort of coined the term a business architect. And so my aim is to be the architect of your business so that we can actually lay a foundation and a framework and a roadmap to get you from here to there. So I spent 10 years as a very good electrician and a very crappy businessman. And so I worked really, really hard and I ran the entire thing into the ground.
Amanda Kaufman (05:48)
I love that.
my gosh.
Simon Gibbs (06:09)
because I assumed working hard are equated to success. And I was working hard, but I wasn't working on the right things. And it wasn't until that broke that I recognized that I was trying to be an electrician running a business, not a businessman running a business. And I put it down to the fact that business requires its own apprenticeship, but there is no formalized apprenticeship for doing and running a business. And that's what coaches are for.
And so I went and got coached. I went and joined Masterminds and I spent quite a lot of money going to professionals and learning. And in the next two years, I tripled my knowledge base that I accumulated over the last 10 because it filled in all the blanks. I wasn't short on the hard work, but I was short on the how-to. And so it's really trying to walk people through that and build that foundation.
Amanda Kaufman (06:47)
Mm-hmm.
Y-yes.
You know, I've been working on this framework that is really kind of modeled off after the reporter method. So you know, as coaches, we like to ask those open-ended questions of who, what, where, when, how, those kinds of questions. But I was thinking about those questions kind of relative to the journey, right? Like when you're a business owner, and I see this a lot with coaches, they become an amazing, outstanding, incredible coach.
Right. But they're not necessarily developing the business skills or aptitudes that are necessary to create a business around that valuable skill set. So the framework that I'm working have been working on is like a lot of memberships are really all about showing you what is important.
You know, and then as you move into, I know what's important, then the next thing is, well, how do I do it? And the thing that a lot of people really get stuck in is like this over consumption on how and they over index on how, how, how, how, how, how, how, and especially in business, because there's just so many ways to do the same darn thing.
You know, and they all require their own their own sequence. And to me, like coaching specifically helps us with when, right? Like, when are we really going to pull this trigger on this thing? And like, how much time are we really dedicating towards the thing? And the accountability really, really helps. And then, you know, a mastermind, for example, allows us to connect with who and also connect with who are we becoming. So I don't know what you think about that framework, but has that been kind of generally your experience as well as like there's kind of this this motion that we go
through as we learn.
Simon Gibbs (08:47)
Definitely and it it evolves and I think there is time and place for a lot of different elements and so one of the big ones that I've seen is there is a big difference between coaches and mentors and I think terminology can be a little interesting depending on how you understand those words and the way I had it explained that really made sense to me is a mentor is somebody you look up to you'll listen to their information you'll dissect it and you'll try and apply it yourself
Amanda Kaufman (08:54)
Hmm.
Mmm.
Mm-hmm.
Simon Gibbs (09:16)
A coach is somebody who is going to show you how to implement it. They're going to hold you accountable and they are far more a one-on-one type of thing and you should be interacting with a coach once a week. A mentor you may interact with once every three months, once every six months. And so they're the sorts of things where you may go to an event, hear the person on stage and get a whole lot out of what they've said and then you've got three months to go and deal with that. A coach is going to be there every week going, did you do what we talked about last week?
Amanda Kaufman (09:31)
I love that.
Simon Gibbs (09:45)
How have you gone with that? Do you need help with that? And it's that, and this is why coaching I think is such a great field for anybody that has something to offer other people who are coming up behind them, because you can't get to a mass scale with you doing everything, but you can help a select few. And I like to think of more in a stacking layers on a cake. And so when you start, you may be one layer deep. It's you to a few clients.
Amanda Kaufman (10:11)
Mm-hmm.
Simon Gibbs (10:15)
And then you're going to, if you want to grow that business, you then have to go to you, training facilitators who train clients. And then you need to, you you continue to tier that up as it gets wider on the base. And I think where it can get lost is when people want to go too wide and just get a whole bunch of clients in and they don't have the depth to be able to actually teach on that individual level. Now some people can take information, dissect it, learn it, apply it, and they're good.
90 % of people are going to need handholding, especially if they're under the 5 million mark. They don't see what you see. And so if you give them information, they don't know what to do with it. I say to people all the time, the internet gives everybody access to unlimited information. So why isn't everybody already successful? The information is not the problem. It's the wisdom to apply the information.
Amanda Kaufman (10:46)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Exactly. mean, I think about my own journey as well. And I'm like, gosh, so many times it's been what I didn't do, you know, or what I chose to defer on. really, it's like this prioritization of the information and then finding that way that.
works effectively for the outcome that you want to create, but also is in high alignment with yourself. Like, you know, we all have strengths, we all have preferences, we also have priorities just in general as we're building this business that we need to honor. And not every strategy that you hear about or learn about is going to be the best fit for your business. So yeah, like learning what not to do has been
are arguably as or more valuable than what to do. Yeah.
Simon Gibbs (11:59)
Yeah. And I think every business goes through that. When you start in business, we all do the throw mud at the wall and see what sticks. We try everything. Yeah.
Amanda Kaufman (12:08)
Even if we're told not to, I think I read the E-Myth within like 10 minutes of basically deciding I wanted to be an entrepreneur and I still did it.
Simon Gibbs (12:16)
Yep, and it's true because what happens is that we're not confident yet. So we're not willing to back ourselves on the one thing because we haven't developed the conviction in ourselves that that's gonna work. So we're like, maybe, but I wanna try that just in case, and I wanna try that. What
Amanda Kaufman (12:21)
Mmm.
Yeah, it's a lot of hedging your bets and like trying to stay safe, right?
Simon Gibbs (12:37)
Yep, yeah. And so what it is, really what that is is product testing. It is market fit. It is trying to, now if you could have some advice around that to say, pick two and here's how we're gonna strategize to actually market fit them. See if you have an audience, see if you have clients that are interested. And how to do that without going scatter gun to 30 different ideas, you can speed up that process.
Amanda Kaufman (13:02)
Mm-hmm.
Simon Gibbs (13:04)
but you don't know that unless you have somebody who's been there before to give you advice. And that again, we come back to coaching.
Amanda Kaufman (13:10)
I think that's true. Yeah, yeah, that's so true. You know, when I started as a coach coming out of my corporate career,
I was even like anti-niche, which looking back, I'm like, gosh, girl, you're such a rebel. You just have to invent something to be rebellious about. But it allowed me to test a lot of different things. And what was static for me, like what actually was the same the whole time is I want to coach. I want to be a part of the conversation, the breakthrough. At the time, I was more of a modality-based coach, which means that it doesn't exactly matter what your goal is. I'm going to apply the same process as you
move through it. And then over time, I realized I was like, but if I specialize in helping to produce a particular result for a particular population, my gosh, look, there's like never a shortage. It's so it's almost feels like counterintuitive or opposite land.
to realize that when you do get that specificity, it can work. Have you ever seen, and I'd love to ask this question. So in your mind, what are three things that help a coach not to suck?
Simon Gibbs (14:22)
Okay, my number one on that is be coached yourself.
Amanda Kaufman (14:27)
yes, I love that.
Simon Gibbs (14:29)
I think anybody who is doing something or teaching something that they don't do themselves is a hypocrite. And so my second one on that would be always be striving to improve yourself. Never think that you as the teacher have arrived. There is always going to be more you can learn and that you can become better. And the other one is to never fear failure. So one of the things that I think so many people get caught into is
Amanda Kaufman (14:34)
Mm.
Mm-hmm.
Love that.
Simon Gibbs (14:57)
Now that I have some form of public status, I can never afford to fail, I can never afford to make a mistake because everybody's watching me. What that will do, that creates a fear response to any kind of challenge and you will take the path of least resistance, you will make all the safe bets and you will probably stagnate in your growth because you're no longer prepared to take risk. When you had nothing to lose, it's like...
What do I care? I'll just try everything. And then when you start to grow, it's like, now I can't afford to take those same risks. The truth is you can, because you've actually got more context. You'll do better this time. But I think we can fall into that fear of public perception and then shy away from making educated guesses, which is a lot of business is making educated guesses. The good business people just have more context to make better educated.
guesses on what they're going to do. Nothing is an exact science.
Amanda Kaufman (15:54)
yeah. I really love this. know, there's nothing more dangerous than a man who has nothing to lose, right? Like, I don't know who said it, but that's, it's so very true. And I think there's a lot of perception about...
Simon Gibbs (16:02)
Absolutely.
Amanda Kaufman (16:12)
what we have gained so far as being so valuable sometimes that we're sacrificing it. We're sacrificing this future gain that could be so much better if we would just take the risk, if we would just trust ourselves to be the beginner and remain the beginner in that mindset. I love that so, so much. So Simon, what...
What would you say to someone who is, you know, very confident that they can help people, but they're maybe struggling with the balancing of doing it all and they're maybe struggling with, yeah, just kind of getting spread a bit too thin and having a hard time choosing priority? Like, what would you say to that person?
Simon Gibbs (16:57)
I would say take a look at your business model and structure because this is part of what I love helping people with is that foundation and the blueprint and the roadmap to get you from where you are to where you want to be. And the reason that's so important is you should, you've got to make a decision right at the beginning. Do you want to just have a weekend business that sells handmade soap at a market and you just love the process and that's all you ever want to be? That's great.
Amanda Kaufman (17:01)
Mmm.
Simon Gibbs (17:27)
you probably don't need my help. The other side is we want to make a business that's worth multiple millions. And so to have a business that is some form of commercial value, it has to operate without you. And so how do you create a structure that is going to do everything you want it to do, you're going to enjoy being part of it, yet build it in such a way that you could leave and the thing will continue to run without you.
Now that in itself, if you can figure that out, if you can do it on your own, that's wonderful. You're probably gonna need a little bit of help. Once you've nailed that down, what happens is you have a roadmap of to get to, what does that look like at 10 million a year? Well, how many clients am I going to need? How much am I gonna charge? What are my overheads? Wow, I can't service all of them. Okay, who else would you need in your business at that scale? Well, I'm probably going to need someone to this and that.
Cool, now we know who we need to hire, we know where we're trying to head to. And so generally when you're at burnout, it is because you have taken on all the work, you're too scared to let it go because someone might make a mistake, which they probably will. But you don't know what's next, you don't know how to make that hire, you don't know who the hire should be, you don't know that next step, and so you then get paralysed by the I don't know what to do and I'm too scared to make a mistake.
but you're right in that position as if you don't make a decision, you've already failed.
Amanda Kaufman (18:51)
Mm-hmm.
That's so good. That's so, so true. you know, it's amazing that in a short 20 minute episode, we've covered so much ground. But sadly, we're going to have to wrap this one. Maybe we'll have to book some more time because I feel like you have a lot more to share and say. But in the meantime, Simon, what's the best way for people to get to follow you?
Simon Gibbs (19:19)
Okay, Simon L Gibbs on most of the socials. You'll find us on Facebook, Instagram, SimonLGibbs.com and you'll find pretty much everything we've got going on at the moment on there. And yeah, on the website you can reach out, contact me direct and if you're interested in getting help with your business through what I do and building that foundation and roadmap and then the coaching side of things, that's all accessible through the website.
Amanda Kaufman (19:45)
Outstanding. Well, we'll make sure to have all of that in the show notes. And dear listener, do us a favor, make sure that you take a moment to subscribe so you don't miss our next amazing conversation.
Also, leave a five-star review because Simon brought it. He brought some really amazing tidbits here. Go ahead and share your favorites in a review and leave us a five-star review because it helps other business owners be able to find the podcast and recommend it really easily to other people. And finally, go ahead and share this episode. I'm sure you have at least three friends that are looking to build a business into seven figures and beyond, and they would really value the mentorship and support of someone like Simon.
or myself, either way, let them have exposure to this experience and this conversation and then you can be a really great friend. So that's what we have for you today. We'll see you next time on the Amanda Kaufman show.
