Business Associations: Cost or Benefit?
Aug 26, 2019
Several years ago I worked for a business association in Mexico, and something that I doubtless learned was that all the benefits you get depend completely on you and on your participation in it, remember that it is useless if you buy a book but never read it, or if you sign up for a class and do not put into practice what you learn, the more you get involved in the activities that the association organizes, the more you will gain from it.
Often we stop doing something that interests us or that we like because of the cost it could entail, however, we don’t always see that the benefits could be greater. Today I’d like to invite you to analyze all the advantages you could obtain if you actively participated in these business associations, and you will see that what you get out of it will be at least 3 times the cost you put in.
I’ve had the opportunity to belong to several associations in Mexico as well as in the United States and I would like to share with you the main reasons why it is worth being part of them, because the cost that I paid to become a member of each one, I got back in spades.
Learning.
Continuous learning is one of the main advantages of belonging to an association, and it is something that is a successful outcome for every member in it.
Generally, we all have something to contribute to an association composed by other members whose interests and concerns are similar.
Sharing triumphs and mistakes will always be of great help to all who belong to it, this leads to the emergence of new challenges, proposals, problems, and solutions.
Within these business associations you learn not only each time you attend a course or a talk, but also when you share your experience with other people who are going through the same circumstances.
It’s probably happened to you that when you share some problem with someone you see it from a different perspective, and not only that, the other person could have gone through the same thing already, talk to you about their experience, leading you to find different solutions. Think about how much this is worth to you, you’ll have at your fingertips specialized consultants on the subject, without having to pay extra for them, I can assure you that your membership fee already paid for itself.
Continuous and constant training is without a doubt one of the secrets for success, we invite you to read our blog “Sharpening the saw makes a difference” and “Your development: Cost or Investment”
Networking
The term networking refers to gatherings between business people or other representatives of companies, usually through certain promoted events, in which they interact with each other, exchange opinions, and even receive new proposals or a closer association among businesses.
At some networking events you can not only meet people with whom you share ideas and knowledge, but also build collaborative relationships, possible vendors, partners, and even possible clients.
While networking, some ideas, projects or jobs come up that can unfold much better with collaboration, and this is key to members of these groups, since it indisputably increases their possibilities of jobs, from their own projects to those of others that require knowledge in different areas (human resources, finance, marketing, etc.), you can present joint projects or other types of bids or projects for another member or an outside company that is looking within the association for the expertise they need.
Promotion
A business association also has a lot of authority and credibility when it comes to promoting an initiative or timely actions, basically because there isn’t a direct commercial interest behind it, and that is noted when it’s time to promote for example, collaborative projects, management proposals, or joint initiatives.
Associations also tend to be of great help to its members in the promotion of their own products or services, most associations have a membership directory, magazines or newsletters and offer various possibilities to promote the products of services of your business.
Membership directories of these associations are an excellent way of letting the member businesses know what industry or sectors you work in or what types of projects you perform.
There are many more advantages of belonging to an association, but crunch the numbers, only with these three you recouped the cost of your investment at least 3-fold.
Don’t wait any longer, if you are hesitating joining a business association because of the cost of the investment, you know already that it is worth trying it, join and actively participate, I can assure you that you will not be sorry.
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