Tristan Wright · The Business Sherpa · $1M–$10M

Build a business that serves your life — not one that consumes it.

Real strategy coaching. Not accountability theatre.
Mapped to your stage. 1:1 with Tristan Wright — the Business Sherpa, Melbourne-based, coaching service businesses across AU, NZ and Singapore since 2017. Whether you're an agency, a trades business or a professional services firm — the pattern is the same.

Apply for coaching → See client results

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Coaching since
2017 · nine years
Active clients
21 · 1:1
Longest relationship
8 years and counting
Cities
AU · NZ · SGP
0
Active 1:1 clients
0
Coaching since
0
Longest active client
0
Multi-year (4+ yrs)
Clients include
If you recognise yourself here

You built a business. Now it owns you.

Six things I hear, almost word for word, in the first call with every founder who reaches out. If three or more land — we should talk.

  • 01Revenue is up but cash flow is choking you. Last month was the best in 12 — you still couldn't pay yourself properly.
  • 02If you took a 4-week holiday, the wheels would come off. You haven't taken one in years anyway.
  • 03One client is 30%+ of your revenue. It keeps you up at night. You've never quite found the moment to fix it.
  • 04You've got good people but you're still the single point of failure. Every approval, every exception, every escalation ends up back at you.
  • 05You can tell me revenue. You struggle to tell me profit. The two numbers are further apart than you think.
  • 06Friday afternoon you close the laptop and decide next week will be different. By Tuesday you're firefighting again. You've been making that decision for three years.
Pull quote — pending client interview "[Direct first-person quote from a multi-year client about the moment they recognised this list as their own life — to be sourced from an interview with Josh / Shaan / Carlo / Ed before launch. Should land in 18–28 words.]"
[Client name] · [Business] · [Years coaching]
12 months from now

The same business. A different life.

Today

You, right now.

  • 50–60 hour weeks. In the business, not on it.
  • Cash flow lurches month to month.
  • You're the bottleneck on every decision.
  • One client 30%+ of revenue. You know.
  • Strategy lives in your head, nowhere else.
  • "I'll deal with that next quarter" — six quarters running.
12 months in

You, with the cockpit running itself.

  • Month 3: A 90-day cash buffer in a separate account. Tax provisioned weekly. Founder draw automated.
  • Month 4: Sales and delivery split. You're no longer the bottleneck on quotes or scope.
  • Month 6: One layer of management owns the day-to-day. You're on the business 4 days a week.
  • Month 9: Largest client under 20% of revenue. Pipeline diversified. (We call this the Park Rule — no single client over 20%, because when your biggest client is also your biggest risk, you're running a dependency, not a business.)
  • Month 12: Strategy documented, reviewed quarterly, executed weekly. The business runs the operating rhythm — not you.
  • The endpoint: The business is more valuable, more sellable, and serves your life — not the other way around.
Want this in 12 months?

Eight minutes to apply. 48 hours to a reply. Free either way — fit or not.

Start the application →
Why I do this

I've made the mistakes you're making.

My first business was a cycling apparel company. I was 28, ambitious, and convinced if I worked hard enough, the rest would sort itself.

The Aussie dollar tanked. My import costs ballooned. I was carrying $200,000 in debt. My marriage ended in the same year. I was running a business that was eating me alive and I didn't know how to stop it.

I rebuilt it. Then I sold it. Then I started coaching — because the lessons I'd been forced to learn the hard way were the same lessons every other service-business owner was about to learn.

Eight years later, I'm still doing this work because nobody else was offering what I needed back then: someone who'd been to the bottom and built it back. Not a framework salesman. Not a hype merchant. A coach who'd actually felt the pressure.

Tristan Wright
Founder · Evolve to Grow · Coaching globally over Google Meet
Read full story →

Prefer to hear Tristan in his own words first? Watch the channel on YouTube or listen to The Growth Equation.

The Business Evolution Framework

Five layers. One reason it actually works.

Every coach has a framework. Most are recycled. The BEF is built from 8 years of working with real service-business owners through real cycles. Every layer earns its place.

Full framework →
L5 Core Fulfilment The apex · your business serves your life L4 Inner Core Vision · Values · Identity · Leadership L3 Success Triad Strategy · Marketing · Sales · Fulfilment L2 Supporting Systems People · Processes · Technology L1 Foundation Cash · Legal · Ops · Owner energy Foundation first · build up The Engine · People · Systems · Money
Hover a layer · click through to its deep page. Foundation first, every time.
L5
Core Fulfilment
The apex. Your business serves your life — not the other way around.
Apex outcome
L4
Inner Core
Vision, values, identity, leadership — the non-negotiables.
VisionValuesIdentityLeadership
L3
Success Triad
The engine of growth — where revenue actually compounds.
StrategyMarketingSalesFulfilment
L2
Supporting Systems
What stops you being the bottleneck on every decision.
PeopleProcessesTechnology
L1
Foundation
The layer everything else stands on. Fix this first or the rest cracks.
CashLegalOperationsOwner energy
Five business stages
01Survival 02Success 03Take-Off 04Resource Maturity 05Decline Prevention

Five layers identify what to fix. Five stages identify when. Together they tell you what to work on next.

Real clients · Real numbers · Real years

Five founders. Five businesses. One pattern.

All case studies →
Industries we coach

Built for service businesses across these verticals.

Agencies & creative Specialist trades Builders & construction Manufacturing Civil & plant Commercial property & facilities
Seen enough?

Start the application. Read by Tristan personally. No autoresponder, no drip sequence.

Apply for coaching →
Altitude · cover · 2:3
Coming 2026 · Pre-orders open

Altitude.

The complete BEF playbook in book form. 35 chapters across 9 modules, with self-assessments and field guides for every BEF stage. Eight years of coaching, distilled.

By Tristan Wright35 chapters · 9 modulesHardcover · field-guide formatReleases 2026
Real talk

If a coach is offering the same thing to everyone, it's a scam.

This isn't for everyone. Here's who I won't take on.

  • You want a hype-merchant who tells you you're crushing it. I won't.
  • You haven't done $500K in revenue yet — get to product-market fit first, then come back.
  • You won't take ownership. If everything's the market, your team, or your accountant — coaching can't help you.
  • You want an accountability buddy. This isn't that. It's coaching — which means the conversations you've been avoiding.
  • You're not ready to be told things you don't want to hear. The whole point is the conversations you're avoiding.
  • You won't commit to 6 months minimum. Real change in a service business takes at least two quarters.
Two coaching cadences

Fortnightly or weekly. Same map. Same result.

Same coaching, same BEF roadmap, same 6-month minimum — the cadence is what changes. Profit Share is an optional pricing modifier on either tier, not a separate path.

Pricing model

Standard: flat monthly base. Toggle on to add a percentage of measurable new profit on top of the same monthly base.

• Now booking 5 spots open this quarter — then waitlist.
Commitment
6-month min, month-to-month after
Exit terms
No exit fees, no clawbacks, 1 month notice
Promise
Tristan reads every application personally
Most chosen
1:1 · Fortnightly

Fortnightly Coaching

For founders shipping the work who need a hand on the strategic tiller, not the accountability whip. The default cadence for Survival → Success.

Discussed on the callBased on your stage + scope
Same base+ % new profit
  • Fortnightly 60-min strategy call with Tristan
  • BEF roadmap built to your stage
  • Slack + voice-memo access between calls
  • AI pre-briefs + session notes
  • Quarterly business review & reset
  • Cross-portfolio pattern recognition
  • + Quarterly P&L review built into the engagement
Across the year — 26 sessions · 4 quarterly reviews · always-on access
Apply for Fortnightly → 6-month minimum · month-to-month after
1:1 · Weekly · Intensive

Weekly Coaching

For owners in take-off, post-crisis rebuild, or pre-exit prep. High-touch weekly cadence, between-session access.

Discussed on the callBased on your stage + scope
Same base+ % new profit
  • Weekly 60-min strategy call
  • Everything in Fortnightly tier
  • Direct mobile access — same business day
  • Quarterly review intensive
  • Board observer on key calls if needed
  • Intros from the Engine network
  • + Quarterly P&L review built into the engagement
Across the year — 52 sessions · 4 intensive reviews · same-day mobile
Apply for Weekly 6-month minimum · month-to-month after
Optional modifier
Profit Share on either tier Your same Fortnightly ($2K) or Weekly ($3K) monthly base, plus a percentage of new profit measured against a Day-0 baseline. Same cadence, same access — with skin in the game on the upside. Requires 12+ months of clean Xero data. By application only.
Discuss on the call →
Or — the paid standalone product The Altitude Audit · $1,500 + GST One hour with your real Xero + sales data. Written audit yours to keep. Not part of the coaching funnel.
Book the Altitude Audit →
Common questions

Things people ask before applying.

Got a different question? Ask it directly on the FAQ page →

How is this different from every other business coach?
Most coaches sell a single framework to everyone. I don't. The BEF — five layers and five stages — is the map, but the prescription is built to your business, your stage, and what's breaking right now. Cross-portfolio insight matters: I'll tell you what comparable businesses did, what worked, what didn't, and why.
What does a typical month actually look like?
Fortnightly tier: two 60-minute sessions per month with structured pre-briefs (you fill a short prep doc; I review your numbers and last session's commitments). Slack/voice memo access between sessions. Quarterly review locks the next 90-day plan. Weekly tier: weekly 60-minute sessions plus direct mobile access for in-flight decisions.
How long do clients typically stay?
My longest active client has been with me 8 years. Several are at 5+ years. Foundation, then Systems, then Triad, then Inner Core — you don't graduate after a quarter. Minimum is 6 months because anything less is theatre.
What if I'm not at $500K yet?
I'll be honest with you on the discovery call. Before $500K, the work is product-market fit and proof-of-revenue, not the BEF. I'll point you to a better-fit coach or program. I don't take clients I can't actually help.
Is everything done over Google Meet?
Yes — every session over Google Meet. We coach globally. Clients in Melbourne, Sydney, Singapore, Perth and NZ. Distance has never been the constraint.
What happens on the discovery call?
30 minutes on Google Meet. I ask more questions than you expect. The point is to confirm we're a fit on both sides — and to decide which coaching tier (Fortnightly, Weekly, or Profit Share). If we're not a fit, I'll tell you on the call and point you somewhere better. No sales close, no urgency tactics. If we are a fit I send the coaching agreement.
How is the $1,500 Altitude Audit different from coaching?
The $1,500 Altitude Audit is a separate paid product — a one-hour audit call on your real Xero + sales data, with a written audit document. It's not part of the coaching sales funnel. Some owners want a paid standalone audit; others apply directly for coaching and skip the Altitude Audit entirely.
What's the guarantee?
I don't do money-back guarantees because I can't guarantee what you'll execute on. What I will guarantee: month-to-month after the first 6 months. If the work isn't moving the needle, you can leave with a month's notice — no exit fees, no clawbacks.
The Podcast

Conversations about the business that owns you.

Long-form interviews with service-business founders. Operators who've been to the edge and back. New episode semi-weekly.

All episodes →
Cameron Watt · cover · 16:9
Latest· 34 min
The Art of Balancing Business and Creativity with Cameron Watt

Founder of Skie Video on burning the boats, scaling to eight staff, the "two-week holiday test", and pivoting back to a leaner model when partnerships shifted.

Play episode
Katherine Tuominen · cover · 16:9
Mar 2026· 31 min
Digital Nomad to Marketing Maven: how Katherine built Catalyst across time zones

Founder of Catalyst Brand Strategy on running an Australian-registered agency with a remote team across the US, Philippines and Europe — the async workflows and tight approvals that make it work.

Play episode
Maria Kathopoulis · cover · 16:9
Feb 2026· 29 min
From political studies to marketing maven: Maria's entrepreneurial journey

Co-founder of UNTMD Media on burning $50k–$150k on agencies before learning to read the numbers herself — cost-per-acquisition, performance pressure, and scaling brands to eight figures.

Play episode
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube
Insights

Field notes from the coaching room.

The three topics I write about most often. One observation a week from inside live coaching engagements, sent before lunch on Tuesdays.

The newsletter →
Cash flow · topic
Foundation· Module D
Cash flow, real margin, and the 90-day buffer.

Founders track revenue and lose to cash. Operating cash is the only number that decides whether you're still in business in 90 days. The buffer rule is the test.

From the newsletterSubscribe →
People · topic
People & founder dependency· Module E
The hire that stops you being the bottleneck.

Founder-dependent businesses don't fix themselves. The leadership hire — not another technician — is what crosses the line into a business that runs without you.

From the newsletterSubscribe →
Strategy · topic
Strategy & positioning· Module F
Revenue concentration is the silent killer.

One client at 30%+ of revenue is the most common failure pattern in $1–5M service businesses. Diversifying without losing the anchor is a sequencing problem, not a sales problem.

From the newsletterSubscribe →

Build the business that serves your life.

Start with the application. Short form, free, read by me personally. If there's a fit we book a 30-minute discovery call — and from there, straight into the coaching tier that fits. The $1,500 Altitude Audit is a separate paid product if you want a data-backed standalone audit instead.

Start the application → Book the Altitude Audit

No sales close · No urgency tactics · No drip sequence

Tuesday field notes

One thing every week that makes you a better operator.

Sent before lunch on Tuesdays. Cash flow, founder dependency, sales process, people. Real engagements, names blurred where needed. No promo emails, ever.

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