I have been a member of a BNI (Business Networking International) chapter for four years now and can tell you, from personal experience, it has been the most beneficial business networking association that I have ever found.

I mention this because I had previously belonged to a fine chapter in Apopka but found out late last year that an effort was being launched to start a new BNI chapter in the Mount Dora/Eustis area. So, as a Mount Dora businessman, I transferred my membership there to add support to this effort.

Why is BNI effective?

• They only accept one company per classification. If the chapter has a plumber who is a member, no other plumber may join. This adds to the value of chapter membership.
• The overall principle which guides the group is “Giver’s Gain.” Each member is focused on how they can help the other members increase their sales and customer base. The benefit is clear. If you are looking at how you can help the other members of your chapter, you need to recognize that all the other members are all looking at how they can help you. Giver’s Gain. The more you refer people to your other members, the more you’ll see that being reciprocated.
• Because membership is prized, all applicants go through a vetting process to make sure the chapter is comprised of professionals who have credibility in their industry.
• It is not a social club. While we all know how to have fun, we also recognize that the reason we have joined BNI is to grow our businesses. There is no faster way to grow a business than to develop business relationships with other businessmen and women. BNI affords a great opportunity to do just that.
• The proof is in the pudding. BNI boasts over 230,000 members in over 8300 chapters worldwide. In the last 12 months, those members passed over 14.3 billion dollars in referrals that resulted in closed sales.

I mention this because we are still in the early stages of forming our chapter. Many highly sought-after seats remain open. Remember, we can only take one company per business classification so the earlier people jump onboard, the higher the likelihood of there being a spot for them

We are having a visitor day 2 weeks from now. It is scheduled for Thursday, March 8th at 7:30am. If you are local to the area, I highly encourage you to come out and sit in on a meeting. Meet the other members and decide for yourself if it is something that would benefit your company. If you are not local, I encourage you to do a search to find a BNI chapter close to your area.

Call or email me for more information. I would be happy to provide you with the details so you can attend the next meeting as a guest.

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio of Mount Dora specialize in the preservation of family memories. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit http://www.homevideostudio.com/mtd