Let's Get Clear on PMAs

This is such a popular topic. So, I want to make sure we are all getting this right. I've seen too any people (especially teachers) share the wrong information. Allow me to enlighten you.

PMA stands for Private Membership Association. It’s an organization for any business owner to operate freely because of our American right to assemble privately.

What if you didn’t need to fight the system to live freely?

What if being a “freedom fighter” was actually a scam?

We aren’t supposed to fight what’s already ours. That’s called stupidity. We aren’t stupid.

We are meant to live free and behave as such. And be smart.

So, where do we start?

If you are a creator/business owner, and you believe in your freedom to not be a t** collector, this is going to be the most important piece of information you’ve come across because I don’t know anyone else who’s saying this.

Let’s say you have decided to exercise your rights and you want to open up a shop. Brick and mortar. Perhaps it’s a cafe or ice cream parlor?

If you were to operate as a Private Membership Association (PMA) then you must be aware of the limitations.

There is no such thing as “operating outside of public regulations and government oversight” when it comes to food-safety laws. If you created the world’s best ice cream recipe and you swear up and down it’s safe but you do not wish to “enter the public domain” by being licensed or registered, you would still not qualify to be set up as a PMA. This applies to all food.

OK so now here’s the bold line that I don’t see anyone else saying:

BE A CREATOR.

I mean it.

If you just want to own a business and sell sell sell… you’re not even in the right headspace. You’re bound to get in trouble. Just exit this freedom search and just go back to living like a slave. Honestly, you will be safer for it.

A creator does/has these things:

• Has a mission. Who are you serving and for what purpose? What does your personal success look like? (hint: it has to do with serving others)

• Attracts a community (private association). This is not the same thing as selling to consumers. If I have a passion for pens. I crafted my own pen carved out of tree branches from my back yard. I crafted the ink personally. It’s all from my own sources. The community wouldn’t be: “Everyone who writes with a pen.” We aren’t selling wholesale to restaurants, office supply stores, or public schools. It’s deeper than that.

• Niche public. Who’s your public? Who are you specifically serving? You’re not allowing just anyone who wants a pen to join. This association is specifically for those who are scholars. This is for those who have earned the association. Requirements can look like:

  • PhD, ThD, JD, MD, MFA or

  • Published monograph with an academic press, tenure-track or emeritus appointment, funded independent research

  • Active scholarship within the last five years — publication, teaching, archival work, translation

  • Completed dissertation on file (so the credential is verifiable, not asserted)

• Association-specific gates would look like:

  • Sponsorship by an existing member in good standing, or two references from within the discipline

  • A written statement of use: what they’re working on and how the instrument enters that work

  • Assent to the governing instrument and the code of conduct as a condition of admission, not a checkbox after payment.

   

• Continuing conditions would look like:

  • Non-resale covenant

  • Annual attestation of continued standing

  • Participation minimum: one contribution a year to the members’ correspondence, commonplace archive, or whatever the association’s shared body of work is.

What protects this PMA in the private as opposed to saying it’s private yet behaving as nothing more than a fancy retailer is the intention of the association. The members convene around longhand scholarly practice and the instrument provisioned to them was just part of it rather than the reason to be an owner of this special pen.

A valid PMA that owns your intellectual property (IP) and assembles privately. This means that people who choose to become a member of your private association have been qualified. They’re given membership ID card. Their purpose is to be part of the association under certain conditions that they agree to. They benefit from the IP, where the public doesn’t.

Governance is what holds everything together. Without proper bylaws and membership agreements for all the different roles in your organization, you will be subjected to the state’s rules.

I am here to teach you how to create your own PMA with proper governance and guidance as a genuine creator.

If you are ready to create your own PMA, registration for the PMA and Ministry masterclass is going on right now. Meet with me every Thursday until August 6th 2026.

https://www.breedivine.com/offers/ooDyt2N9/checkout

When class is over, the contribution to the masterclass doubles.

Please consider subscribing to my Substack where I'll be releasing PMA/Ministry content as well as my memoir!!! whoa! 

Join here:

https://substack.com/@breedivine