What Is an Association Management Business?

An association management business is a type of business structure in which the business accepts association members. The association members receive certain benefits for joining and the business can provide a number of services on behalf of the members. There are many different businesses that are set up with an association management structure.

Association Management Business

An association management business utilizes a board of executives in order to make decisions. The business is required to obtain an association license from the state in which it resides. This involves completing a simple form and paying a fee to the state. Once the association is set up, they can begin taking on new members. 

Fees

When an association takes on new members, they charge a membership fee. The new member pays the fee upon joining and generally agrees to pay a fee in order to renew their membership periodically. This fee is typically an annual or monthly fee.

Services

Members are willing to pay the fee for membership because they know that they will receive certain benefits and services that others do not receive. The association management business provides the members with information about the benefits that they will provide. For example, an association of apartment managers might have a monthly meeting so that the members can get together and discuss management strategies with each other. The association might pay to find a host site for the meeting and pay to have it catered. These benefits will be provided to the members of the association because they paid their membership fees. 

Purpose

Each association generally has a specific purpose. When the association is formed, the creators of the association will outline the things that they want to accomplish. In order to meet the association objectives, they need members to join. Working together with the members, the association can meet the goals and objectives that it was created for.

Power in Numbers

One of the big benefits of setting up an association is that it provides you with power in numbers. Instead of taking on a large project alone, you can get several members together all working towards a common goal. This method of business management has worked successfully for many different industries and projects. 

When you have many people working together on something, it usually gets accomplish much faster. Also, having access to many people and members, the business will also have access to many good ideas. The members will often meet together with the executive board of the business in order to determine how to meet a specific company objective. The association will generally have many different types of members and all of them will bring something unique to the business model.