BNI - More than Networking….

Last Thursday, I was running late for my BNI Abbey meeting. I’m not a morning person, I find it difficult to get up between 5.30am and 6.00am and I was moaning to myself on the way in…is BNI worth this? And the answer is yes. When I’m at my BNI meeting. I really enjoy it. This week was no exception.

For those of you that don’t know the BNI, it is an international Business Networking & Referrals Organisation. Set up by Dr Ivan Misner in 1985, it has become a global network with chapters in almost every country in the world. It’s interesting because Ivan Misner never set out to create a global organisation, he was simply looking for referrals for his consulting business.

That’s really the premise of BNI - getting and giving referrals. However, I always find that there is more than business networking to a BNI meeting.

Take last Thursday’s meeting for example. 28 business owners around one table are all going through the same ordeal of the recession. They’re all concentrating on surviving and thriving in tough economic times.

BNI Creativity at its Best

But the level of creativity that is coming out of this table alone would inspire anybody.

Derek Balfe of Heritage Insurance posed the question:

“If you were to swap jobs with me, who is the first person that you’d contact?“

The question was obviously posed in a business context but I thought isn’t that a clever way to seek referrals? A few names naturally came to me and that helped me get a referral to Derek and hopefully get him new business.

Stephen Monaghan of Phonelink and Ronan Reynolds of ACS have collaborated to offer a package for employers who have employees with suspected and actual swine flu. Many employers aren’t equipped to network out their telephone or IT system but these guys are now allowing an employers to do that - give access to an employee while they’re at home.

Tom Molloy of Flux Web Design created “The Flux Factor” report - a report that assesses everything about your website - SEO, design, wording, graphics etc. For the month of August, he’s giving free reports. It normally retails at €199.

BNI is more than a 6am start. It’s about collaboration, looking out for one another, learning from each other and having a bit of fun in the process.

Ivan Misner may not have set out to create an organisation that affected millions of business owners but that’s exactly what he has done. I’m sure my 28 colleagues around the table would agree.