The Zero-Defect CEO

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Vilas, president and owner of a virtual school called Coach University, has an obvious stake in seeing coaching as more than just a resting spot for wayward big shots. And he's far from the only one. The practice of coaching may hinge on one person's offering a nonjudgmental and agenda-free zone to another, but the industry that has sprung up around coaching contains no shortage of folks who seem clear-eyed about their own intentions: to make a bundle of dough.

You can, too, if you call now--or so the standard pitch to potential coaches seems to go, inviting comparison between coaching and the lucrative science of envelope stuffing. Coaches like Jeff Raim, who carry the heavy burden of being role models as if it were a foot of freshly packed snow, waste no time hemming and hawing about the boundaries they draw around their work: Raim's workweek begins Monday morning and wraps up shortly thereafter, on Tuesday. The 42-year-old, who lives in a ski resort in Angel Fire, N. Mex., charges his roughly 35 clients $400 apiece every month for regularly scheduled half-hour phone appointments. He takes away "a great income" of about $170,000 a year. During his workdays, he jams in one measly midday break for skiing. He's back, shackled to his desk, four hours later.

Aside from coaching, Raim also serves as president of the International Coaching Federation (ICF), a group that claims 1,400 members, who pay no dues and elect no officers. Started in 1995--the same year as its nonprofit rival, the Professional & Personal Coaches Association, to which 400 members pay $115 a year--the ICF, until recently, seems to have operated on the Netscape-browser principle: people who joined were introduced to Coach U., which charges $2,495 for two years of conference-call coursework. According to Raim, the ICF declared its independence from Coach U. last fall, hoping to be "taken seriously." Dues are also being levied.

Given the snug setup, it's perhaps no shock that both highly virtual organizations (read: low overhead) were founded by the same man, Thomas J. Leonard, a former financial planner who claims to have launched the modern coaching movement. The 41-year-old embodies the phenomenon's worst contradictions. He quickly points out that the average Coach U. graduate earns at least $60,000 annually after three years. Leonard says he's "still getting used to" having sold Coach U. to Vilas last year for a clean $2 million. "I can live really well on that for several lifetimes," he adds. Vilas says that Leonard "may eventually get a sum approaching that," suggesting that Leonard retains a piece of the action. Not that Vilas is hurting: 923 students are enrolled at Coach U., which Vilas operates out of his second bedroom. He expects revenues of at least $2.5 million this year.

But enough about money. Coaching is about helping people slam shut the gap between what they've got now and what they want for themselves. "It's the surprise of two people talking," says Leonard, "the synergy of two minds working together."

That's the theory, anyway. "Tom," says Vilas, "can't stand working with people."

Joshua Hyatt is a senior editor at Inc.

Resources

Thinking of taking up a career in coaching? Pick up the phone--a skill you should practice anyway, since 95% of coaching begins that way--and order up a box of business cards. If anyone actually hires and pays you, then consider yourself a member in good standing of the newfangled breed. Typical monthly pay for a half-hour weekly conversation, as well as availability by E-mail or phone on an as-needed basis, runs from $150 to $500. ("Corporate clients," says Thomas J. Leonard, who launched the current coaching phenomenon, "won't do it if you don't charge them enough.") Some coaches require a six-month commitment, but that's about as long-term a contract as exists. Warning: you could quickly find yourself unceremoniously dumped back into the bland role of being a garden-variety consultant. Stay current on buzzwords, just in case.

As a bulwark against the inevitable onslaught of competition, you may want to become a brand-name coach by earning certification. The nonprofit Coach's Training Institute (CTI) offers two levels of training at its San Rafael, Calif., headquarters, as well as in a select group of cities. Initial training costs $325 per session in the Bay Area, $395 elsewhere. Advanced training is $425 in the Bay Area, $495 at remote spots. The rest of the program--which enables you to claim standing as a certified professional personal coach--is conducted primarily by phone and involves logging 100 hours of coaching time and having a supervisor listen in and offer feedback on coaching calls. CTI can be reached by phone (415-451-6000), by E-mail, or by mail (1879 Second St., San Rafael, CA 94901).

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