Upcoming Resources for Members
We are working on these resources now and these will be rolled out over the next six months.

Revenue Products Available
Much of the coach training content is completely free to members when accessed online.  But we are now making this same content -- and specialty content -- available in tape, CD and DVD formats.  Members always receive significant discounts for products and services.

Diversification is essential for the long-term sustainability of CoachVille.  We currently offer 81 pay services and products to members and the public.  There are 80+ more in process.  Within five years, we see potential for 500 or perhaps even 1,000 discrete items, a large portion of which are audio tapes, CDs and DVDs of our online content.  




Staff/Partner Additions and Transitions

Operational Improvements
During the 100 days ending September 12, 2001, we...
1.  Added two new servers to speed website response times.
2.  Instituted a "Double Coverage" revenue policy for financial sustainability.
3.  Outsourced compilation projects for faster turnaround time.
4.  Streamlined the Coaching Scoop format for queue ability.


Why the rapid growth of CoachVille?
Coaches are curious about why CoachVille has grown so quickly.  Here is our best guess...
1. The price point is fairly irresistible.  Our low cost structure, online automation/technology and the volunteer support model makes this possible.
2. The lifetime (vs annual renewal membership) is a compelling model.  Given high delivery cost structures, few virtual networks, schools or associate can afford to adopt this model.
3. The 80% of folks who are coaching in some format simply who will not join a traditional coaching school or a traditional association, will join CoachVille given it's a fresh model that's entirely value driven.
4. CoachVille's rate of evolution and product development is very high.  This is appealing because it keeps CoachVille fresh and exciting.
5. The CoachVille affiliate program brings in 48% of new members.  That's incredible/good and keeps CoachVille momentum sustainable.
5. CoachVille is a worldwide phenomena. We're on our way to members in 100 countries and then a presence in those countries.


What we want members to know/understand
1. As quickly as we are creating new products/services/benefits for members, we have come to see that CoachVille is a 10 year roll out.  There's just a ton of cool stuff to develop.
2. Even though we're coming out with lots of fee oriented products and services, we continue to honor our promise to provide, for free to members, the online versions of coach training modules and the tools you need to coach.  The new products/services/trainings we offer are either shippable versions of the online resources or they are specialty trainings like the TeleClass Leader training or personal development courses like AbsenceOf.com.  These are not core coach training courses.  These are add ons.
3. CoachVille really WILL have 100,000 members within seven to twenty years.  Perhaps sooner.  That's a mind blower.  But merely a byproduct of the increasing popularity of coaching.
4. With your direct assistance, we are, together, evolving the coaching profession.
5. There will be some quarters where there will be a lot of new stuff and some quarters where there will be less new stuff.  Some projects take a while to gestate. 


Surprises; things we learned in the first 100 days
During the 100 days ending September 12, 2001...
1.  We were surprised that over 5,000 coaches joined CoachVille.  We had expected about 1,000 to 2,000 new members.
2.  We learned to outsource future shipping vs trying to do it in house.  Everything is now shipped via ifulfill.com.
3.  We were surprised by how many coaches registered for the CV Conference (700 in the first month).
4.  We decided to stop shipping the free coach lapel pin to new members (cost savings: $25,000 year).
5.  We learned to always appreciate your programmers because it's upon them that our work is possible.  Special thanks to Cicada Consulting and WebValence for their expertise and support.
Six. We learned that a healthy percentage of members will pay a nominal fee for the hard copy/cd version of an eproduct.
7. We learned that members will pay a reasonable fee for a lifetime Teaching License and have since set up a site just for these licenses.
8. We were surprised how international CoachVille is becoming.  We currently 75% US and 25% non US members (and that latter percentage is increasing). 
9. We were surprised how long it takes to package our Intellectual Property and to test the 1000's of files and links as we upload stuff for member use.
10. We have learned to put our product development needs out to bid to the professionals at elance.com. 



Comments from CoachVille Members

I live in a fairly small, remote city where as far as I can tell I'm the only coach, and being part of the Coachville community has really made me feel less isolated and weird! The Full Practice e-course lessons have really boosted my confidence in describing what I do, and I've used them to strengthen the content on the web site I'm developing. I also just used the tip about creating perception of value successfully in enrolling a client. Thanks for the outstanding service you're providing. 
...Debbie Keahey, Prince George, BC, Canada, dkeahey@look.ca 

Over the past few years, my business had been approximately 80% consultancy, 20% coaching and facilitation. Since discovering Coachville, and in particular receiving the first 4 weeks of the Full Practice course, I am now actively working on changing the balance over to 80% coaching. In this way I will be creating a portable and sustainable business that will enable me to fulfill a life goal of moving myself from the over-populated and frenetic south of England to the more life-enhancing sun and scenary of France! 
...Dr Clare Howard, Reading, UK, clare.howard@e-coaches.co.uk 

Two months ago I decided I wanted to learn about coaching. A coach I called for a free coaching session referred me to CoachVille. CoachVille gave me a jumpstart at coaching. With all these resources at hand and so many membership benefits, I have had plenty of food for thought and encouragement to go down this path in my life. Two months into this adventure, I find myself adding value and enabling people all around me and I am enjoying it more daily...
...Philip H Horvath, USA, philip@dolphinmind.com 

Coachville is THE best value for money in coach training today. As a new coach participating in 2 (free) ecourses (Full Practice 100 and Certified Cyber)... i know longer fear 'playing' as a coach. Both these courses have taught me critical, cutting edge cyber and coaching skills that help me grow my business while being the best i can for my clients.
...Robert Culpepper, Spain, RJC@usa.net 

I joined CV a month ago in July 2001.. The portal comes in very handy as I was starting my coaching business back then. All I needed was to learn what coaching is all about and CV through the Coaching Models, Full Prax 100 , Certified Cyber and others have greatly launched my career as a caoch.I look forward to receiving the Full Prax lesson everyday and I would read and reread it and most importantly put it into practice . The information contents are rich and there are yet another 80 odd lessons from Full Prax 100 to come our way. My congratulation to Mr. Thomas, the founder of CV , who has been working very hard with full commitment to make CV a worthwhile coaching portal. Through this portal I wish to get into contact with other CV members perhaps for collaboration for business growth in every part of the world.
...Chin Ming Chung, Ipoh, Malaysia, samjj@pd.jaring.my 

Since joining Coachville, I've received a steady stream of practical, real-world applicable information, tools and ideas designed to enhance my skills and build my business. Moreover, my clients and prospects are very impressed with the quality of descriptive and graphic materials they get in their packets from me. This is the most bang for 79 bucks I've ever received and it's just begun!
...Andrea Feinberg, USA, andrea@coachinginsight.net 

I love that I can be part of a dynamic, supportive, virtual community. With a few strokes of the keyboard I can access people and resources in a variety of formats to support my coaching practice in ways that none of my previous coach training has ever done. When I am talking about coaching and what it is and someone wants a better explanation or wants to know more, I can, with confidence, send them along to Coachville. I would not risk friendships or professional alliances by sending them to Coachville if I did not totally believe in and support the total Coachville concept. I also love the creative aspects of myself that this community helps to foster via the R&D team.
...Nellie More, Illinois, USA, nellie@lifehoods.com 

The biggest benefit is being on your R&D team. It forces me to think about things. Things I should but probably would not think about if not for my involvement. I also value the CoachVille community. I also value the range of content I can pick and choose from as my client's needs dictate. It is great resource for me and my clients. Your experience with your mission statement was very important to me. It caused me to really think about my behavior.
Heck, I have even changed my name... to frankville.
...Frank Walker, Seattle, USA, frankwalker@nabc-coach.com 

Loads of useful information on coaching both life and corporate. Advertising is useful if you are looking for a specific product. Personally my e-zine "The Coaching Manager" benefited enormously from the exposure in Corporate Coaching Scoop. The Chat room is also useful as I have made a couple of contacts.
...Allan Mackintosh, Troon, Scotland, allan@performance-am.com 



Mission/Vision
If you're curious about the background/context of CoachVille, then you'll probably enjoy the following.

What is CoachVille?
What we provide
--CoachVille provides coach training for all levels of coaches.
--CoachVille operates as the largest association/network of coaches worldwide.
--CoachVille creates and distributes client coaching programs, assessments and other tools.
--CoachVille hosts and fosters a range of specialty communities.
--CoachVille operates as the largest global think tank of coaches.


What is Coaching?
In our view...
--Coaching is a supportive relationship with a primary focus on clients achieving their goals, solving problems and making the most of  themselves and their opportunities.


Vision
What we see as possible
Our vision is that everyone is a coach.  


Mission
What we are focused on doing
Our primary mission is to improve the quality of coaching worldwide.


Purpose
Why we do what we do
CoachVille does what it does because it's fun.  
(Yes, that is our purpose...)


Measures of Success
How we measure our success as an enterprise
1. Our members speak in glowing terms about CoachVille.
2. The rapid pace at which we are creating quality e-products.
3. The absence of operational delay or technical problems.


Values-In-Action
What matters most to us, as an organization
Style:  We don't do bland.
Perfection:  We enjoy the challenge of this level of play.
Effectiveness:  Our coaching/marketing tools WORK for our members.
Speed:  We eliminate delay at every opportunity, by over-responding.
Freshness: We're big on R&D and experimentation.  No recycling here.
Community: We help members connect and contribute to each other.


Prevalent Themes
How our members experience CoachVille
--As a place where they can be intellectually challenged.
--As a place where they naturally become more creative.
--As a place where they accelerate their personal evolution.
--As a place where they can contribute.
--As a place where big ideas can be freely tossed around.
--As a place where they can access what's new in coaching.
--As a place that they can call their professional home.
--As a place where they add to their skill sets.
--As a virtual community, available on demand, 24/7/365.


Business
What business are we in?
Primarily, CoachVille is in the R&D business.
Secondarily, we are in these businesses:
--Coach Training business
--Professional Association/Network business
--Conference business
--Member resources business
--Personal/professional development business
--Online community business


Short-term Foci
Specific, measurable outcomes by December 2002
--10,000 members
--500 hours of e-training available to our members
--Effective, interactive e-training systems in place
--1,000 Certified Coaches designated


Medium-term Foci
Specific, measurable outcomes by 2007
--100,000 members
--1,000 hours of e-training available to our members
--Coaching simulator operational (like pilots use)
--10,000 Certified Coaches designated


Long-term Foci
Specific, measurable outcomes by 2020
--1,000,000 members
--100,000 Certified Coaches designated


Organizational & Delivery Structure
How our work gets done
--CoachVille is an entirely virtual organization (no traditional offices)
--A staff of 8 manages the enterprise, including related companies.
--We outsource to 10 service providers/vendors.
--The 750-person volunteer R&D team creates/polishes content.
--The 50-person volunteer CSA (customer service agent) Team services the member tech/info needs.
--Our products/services are delivered mostly online or via conference call.
--Our 500 active affiliates generate 50% of our revenues.


Legal Structure
How CoachVille is structured
Our legal form of business is a sole proprietorship.
We have an informal board of advisors.
We have a crisis/succession plan in place.
The legal home of CoachVille is Sun City Center, FL, USA.
We have no physical/traditional office; we are fully networked.


Thanks for being a member of CoachVille.

...Thomas