Grau & Associates

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of a regional center that is a member of a trade association. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Grau & Associates?

We hired them to manage our association.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provide general association management services. This involves everything from member management and retention to handling new members. Since we’re also a trade association, they’re involved with our relations with government, lobbying, and related tasks. 

What is the team composition?

I work just with Aaron (President).  

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since approximately 2018. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

The quality of their work has been excellent. 

How did Grau & Associates perform from a project management standpoint?

Their responsiveness is great. We have no complaints about how they manage the project. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Working with Aaron is the best part of our engagement. The team quickly learned about the subject matter and they are a very professional organization. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t have anything for them to improve. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you work with Grau & Associates, you’ll be happy and they’re extremely professional. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of a surveying services firm in the energy industry. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Grau & Associates?

After a few colleagues approached me about starting an association for professional pipeline surveyors, I decided I was on board to create an organization. However, we needed help setting it up.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Nothing like the association that we wanted to create existed beforehand. So, we made Aaron (President) the executive director of the association, which allowed him to take the lead in officially setting up our 501(c). He is managing and coordinating our website development and online course curriculum.

I’m the subject matter expert within the industry, so I’m developing the content for the curriculum and passing it off to him. He creates the online coursework from there using some third-party applications. We’ve worked very collaboratively together as time permits. 

What is the team composition?

We worked primarily with Aaron from their team. 

How did you come to work with Grau & Associates?

I met them in Septemeber 2016, and I quickly saw that they were experts in setting up associations like this. It didn’t seem like we could select someone better or more qualified to work with. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $50,000 on their work so far. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2016, and I’m still collaborating with him. In fact, I intend on using his services to set up another association when the time is right.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

He doesn’t mind rolling up his sleeves and collaborating to solve issues. While he’s executive director, he’s also a self-starter and a hard worker. Aaron always comes to the table prepared to have an open dialogue about our progress. His work is exemplary, even after coming into the project without the technical knowledge of the industry.  

How did Grau & Associates perform from a project management standpoint?

From an efficiency standpoint, our collaboration is working very well, and we’re making great progress on the curriculum. He’s spectacular in balancing his work on the curriculum, administrative setup, and website development. The system is rather complex, but he’s able to manage all tasks from development to outreach. He wears many different hats, and we’ve never had trouble with communication. His ability to listen and execute is great.

What did you find most impressive about them?

He can listen to our conversations and comprehend our issues. All of his questions are spot-on, which is a testament to his intellect and ability to learn about new industries.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. We haven’t come across any issue that we couldn’t solve together. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give him the opportunity to prove himself. You’ll be glad you gave him a shot because his expertise is unmatched.