Trade group membership can bring benefits

There is, or should be, value to be gained by joining an industry trade group, although simply paying dues and showing up at the monthly luncheon won't bring much benefit.

"You get out of your membership what you put in," says Michael Menn, a design and build architect who has just finished his term as president of the Home Builders Association of Chicago.

Menn is principal of Northbrook headquartered Michael Menn Ltd. His industry association experience has been undeniably positive - both for what he has gained from the remolding sector that drives much of his business but also for what he has been able to give back to the home building industry.

For many business owners, the opportunity to give back to their chosen profession is important.

There's a time trade-off, of course. Whether that trade-off is right for you is a personal judgment. In that context, however, and with acknowledgment that for discussion purposes "industry trade group" includes local, state and national trade associations as well as chambers of commerce, Menn's experience is worth tracking.

Likely the most important result is that Menn's membership in the Chicago homebuilders group - it's actually a three tier, local-state-national membership - "has made me a better business person," he says.

Additional resources help.

"If I have an issue about building codes, I can go to the NAHB (National Association of Home Builders, based in Washington, D.C.) code division for input," Menn explains. "If I want help writing a paragraph in a contract that assures we get paid, I can go to the NAHB.

"I have resources available to me that I otherwise wouldn't have."

That type of professional support can be extremely useful. Menn has three additional reasons for trade group participation, however:

• Advocacy, often centered on raising an industry's visibility but equally often focused on government affairs. Menn, for example, talks about the state's attempt "to pass a 6.5 percent service tax that would have affected every aspect of my business. We were successful in helping to defeat that proposal."

• Education. There are "zillions" of routes that lead to a variety of knowledge and, additionally, professional designations that in Menn's case point to his expertise as a Certified Green Professional (CGP); a Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) and a Certified Graduate Remodeler (CGR).

Professional designations matter more in some industries than others, but if they help raise your stature in your business' sector, then a trade association route to certifications can be important.

• Networking. "Too many of us don't understand what networking can do for a business," Menn says. "It's important to cultivate friends, host events, talk to people."

There are potential referrals, of course, but there also are occasions when Menn, for example, will "hand off a job" to a colleague - secure in the know ledge that his client will be well treated because Menn knows the skills and quality of the individuals receiving his handoff.

• © 2017 Kendall Communications Inc. Follow Jim Kendall on LinkedIn and Twitter. Write him at Jim@kendallcom.com. Read Jim's Business Owners' Blog at www.kendallcom.com.