Well not really at the lower cost a member cant vote Im talking full blown membership at 75 as compared to 250.

Holy Cow! I just realized that $250 will buy 22 cheese pizzas at Jets Pizza.

Good deal!

I hate myself for posting on this subject again but here's some food for thought.
I KNEW BETTER THAN TO POST ON THIS SUBJECT.

Just goes to show that the NRA was charging way too much to begin with.

I am not sure why everyone is so worried about dollars. The Gov is printing over $500 million a day. Go pick some up! WHOOT

http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0774850.html

Well $250 might be to big an elephant for some people (including myself) to go somewhere else to have someone else show me how they catch a raccoon... On that note; why not lower the membership, get more members and create more working money for the group. If prices were lower, I might also end up giving $250 over time, as it is now I won't give any. Take my money or don't, the choice is not only mine.

The price is the price, no negotiations.

Tried to RE - Join 2-3 years ago. I couldn't get it done on the website I called and left emails it took them 4 months to return my phone call and never got a response back on my email. Out of curiosity I just now checked the website its down again. With the kind of money they are charging you would think they would have a competent office staff that could stay up on the website and emails. I am starting to think they got the same web company that Obama did for his socialist heath care site. $250 isn't that much money if you’re going to get something for it but when I guy can’t even get on the website where the forums and "find a trapper" areas are I find it hard to hand over the money.

Website is fine.

Is this an old site ?? http://nwcoa.com/

Its what Google brings up as the current site and on my end still not working .

http://nwcoa.com/ Slide the cursor over the map to select operators in each of the three NWCOA Regions
http://www.nwcoa.info./ Contains the FORUM. You must be a registered member to read it.

NV man, I have to agree $250 to learn to catch a coon would be a little steep. That is not what NWCOA is about, sure it has a basic operators training course (BOTC)where catching a coon may be discussed but that is not a primary NWCOA mission. The thing about NWCOA is if you don't like it you can join and vote to change what ever you would like, you can run for office on a platform of a $25 membership and if enough members agree with your platform you could be elected and follow direction of membership to what ever outcome they want. But you got to pay to play a non-member complaining about membership cost or any other issue pertaining to NWCOA is a nonissue for me as I have paying members contacting me wanting things like a full time lobbyist representing us on issues, going before state regulators promoting wildlife control as an industry and much more.


Adam, I checked web site also...all regions showing members and other portals working. As far as past management company it turned out to be a bad fit. New management company was hired and they are outstanding. Sorry for your bad experience with past management company.

What does a trade association do... here is a link. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-trade-association.htm

Also joining NWCOA or any other group and just expecting results to me is like buying a yellow page ad and letting calls go to voice mail. We see posts here and on other sites asking how to separate yourself from other operators to potential customers, membership in NWCOA and/or certified training from NWCOA to being a CWCP all offer that. Some totally random numbers for effect - 50% of your calls looking for cheapest, membership wont matter. 25% want a professional but cost is still an issue, membership and training may help land this type. The other 25% who are "picky" membership and certified training they will see as a sign of professionalism and membership and your ability to provide proof of training will separate you from the crowd. Those 25% are your core customers, they see value in what you do and are willing to pay with no griping about cost, want repairs to prevent future entry. $125 or $250 to land that type of customer is a no brainer as just one of that type of customer should cover your membership cost for the year and any others choosing you due to membership/training throughout the year are just the gravy.

My $250 a year is by far the lowest advertising cost I incur throughout the year. Do we expect a customer to know what NWCOA is...NOPE. But we sure tell them starting at initial phone contact. We give them reasons to choose us and NWCOA membership/certified training/standards are part of that. We hear all the time "your not the cheapest but we decided to go with you" or with the "picky" customers "when can you come out". The NWCOA blogging platform on .info results in jobs from the area I target in blog. Some blogs have had over 20,000 hits from real people and I have no idea of how many web crawlers have picked up web address and other links due to these blogs. But the common thread is we work our membership. I am not paying any amount on anything pertaining to business and just sitting back and waiting for results.

NWCOA membership is not for everyone. If you are doing less than 40 thousand a year in total sales there could be better things to spend you money on but I have been privileged to work with those who were doing 30 or 40 and next thing you know they are pulling in 100 or 150 thousand (or more) a year due to training or looking at the industry from a different light. Did NWCOA do that for them...no they did it on their own but their membership allowed them access to those who believe that there is no set limit to what one can make in this industry, add on sales techniques/products that insure a revenue stream, tips and tricks to make or save money and a lot more.

Membership in NWCOA is a business decision plain and simple. Just because you provide wildlife control does not mean you should just get to be a member or that NWCOA should do "something" for you. That would be welfare. If you see wildlife control as an extension of fur trapping or a consumptive use issue NWCOA is probably not for you. If wildlife control provides your sole source of income (or you hope it does one day), wildlife control provides a substantial bump to your income (and hope it provides more)you see offering solutions to stop wildlife entry issues/damage as your core business, want to protect wildlife control as an industry, are building something for your family to carry on after you are gone and/or believe wildlife control is a real job/industry, believe that like any other industry wildlife control must continue to evolve and move forward to stay relevant or just want to make more money NWCOA membership is for you.

I realize you have to be a member to use the forum I was a member a number of years ago.
It may be on my side but I still can not get the website to come up. ----

This is an important point! I started back in 1990, immediately after Illinois started their commercial wildlife control program through IDNR. I worked full-time as a motorcycle/ATV technician since the late 70's, and my wildlife control business was simply a part-time venture that allowed me to make "a little" extra money.

I had no clue what a real wildlife control business was. I had been a fur trapper since grade school, and looked at it more from an ADC view instead of a serious business. After plugging along for 10 years, I joined NWCOA. I had no idea why, except it just sounded like the right thing to do.

This was during the period the members only message board was extremely ACTIVE. It was an eye-opening experience for me. Once I seen how many guys were doing this full-time, and understood HOW and WHY they were able to, I changed my entire mindset and turned it into a real business. I was able to quit my job (which I loved, BTW) and have been full-time at this for about a decade now.

Before becoming involved in the message board and "hanging out" with many successful WCO's, there is NO WAY I could have ever imagined a person could make a living doing wildlife control. I was stuck in fur trapper mode of charging ONLY per animal. Didn't dream of actually "solving" a problem, just trapping critters. It's two completely different worlds, unless you are into predator control or providing services for strictly non-urban areas.

I've been to several conferences and training events, and still pick up new ideas every time. I compare this "membership" thing somewhat to the motorcycle world. There are excellent riding schools that ANYONE can learn helpful riding tips, regardless of how long they have been riding. But only a few seasoned riders attend. Many have the attitude they know everything they need to know, and no one is going to teach them anything. They are the self-proclaimed "experienced" guys with closed minds. The kind that think a front brake is "dangerous".

I'm not a commissioned sales person for NWCOA..... but IMO if your future could be owning your own WCO business, the membership level at 125 bucks just might make it happen. You must turn off the firewall in your brain and view this in the proper light. Trust me, it was difficult for me to "delete" the info I had stored in my head for years regarding the relationship between trapping animals for money. It's NOT what the majority of WCO's do.

If you're one of the guys who will NEVER use your front brake (fearing it might work), don't join. Otherwise.... if you're ready to be a part of a trade group that is completely focused on the industry survival through sensible standards and ethics, jump in. If you're "worried" about what someone else thinks about your decision.... you aren't ready yet.

Had the same problem when I was a member. That was about the time when they raised the rates. That was when I left.

I just checked out of curiosity, everything was functional. Is it possible your computer is taking you to a cached older copy of the site? I know this can be an issue, when we've launched new websites ourselves for our company you don't see the new one till you take the old file out by emptying the cache...

Just a thought.....

(just sent in my NWCOA renewal yesterday for the year)

Justin

What Ron & Charles said x2 (and if Ron isn't a commissioned salesman for NWCOA, he oughta at least be on the payroll!!)
T'other day I did a bid for a dentist who told me he chose me bacause I had professional certification from a national organization! Pretty cool, eh?

Folks,

Maybe I'm missing something. I've just checked out the NWCOA website and I can not find any successes of the NWCOA. Can anyone point me in the right direction? What are some of the success stories accomplished by NWCOA? Does the non-profit group maintain a record of this to show potential future members?

NV Man,

What type of things are you wanting to see? Legal battles they have engaged in on behalf of membership?

Other?

The website being public, I personally would rather they weren't talking about those types of things for the general public to see.
Most industry issues are something the general public wouldn't understand in my opinion as they relate to defending techniques,
tools, etc... against policy changes that would hinder our ability to do the work we do.

However, as a prospective member perhaps the best thing you could do is contact NWCOA at the phone number directly and have
a conversation to get the answers you desire.

Many questions are asked here that ultimately can be answered quickly via the NWCOA contact options (email, phone). The management
team is excellent and very responsive.

Just a thought....

Justin