New networking group looks for more members

Media Release
27 February 2009

SMEs band together in tough times

New networking group looks for more members

It isn’t quite the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker – but Auckland’s newest dedicated ‘word-of-mouth’ Business Network International (BNI) chapter is looking for motivated business owners, including a wine distributor, a property valuer and a real estate agent, to join their ranks.

BNI City Business Secretary Treasurer, Melissa Clark, said the chapter recently celebrated its launch and was keen to recruit new members to benefit from the structured referral networking that the chapter provides.

“We’re a group of business people who have started working together to provide opportunities for each other’s businesses. For example, a property valuer can find business for an accountant by passing him or her a warmed up referral and vice versa.

“We’ve become a large group of friends and there’s a lot of personal development because we share expertise – not to mention the business that gets passed,” said Melissa who, having previously been involved in another BNI chapter in Christchurch, is a property lawyer with Martelli McKegg Wells and Cormack Solicitors in central Auckland.

Melissa said the BNI meeting is not a ‘slick let’s trade business cards’ networking get-together.

BNI is an organisation that creates communities of small to medium business people – between 20 and 40 business owners (per chapter) meet in various suburbs, towns and cities once a week throughout New Zealand to follow the organisation’s ‘structured referral’ programme.

“Only one trade, business or profession in any one category can join a BNI chapter because we work together as a team to develop word-of-mouth business referrals for each other. It’s about relationships, not competition.”

BNI as a national organisation has won the New Zealand Vero Excellence in Business Support Award twice in the ‘one-on-many’ category and has 103 chapters and 2,300 members countrywide.

The organisation celebrates ten years in New Zealand this year. Now established in more than 36 countries, BNI was first founded more than 25 years ago by the bestselling US author of ‘Master’s of Networking’, Dr Ivan Misner.

The BNI City Business Chapter meets every Thursday at 7am at the Portside Bar & Brasserie, 132 Halsey Street, Viaduct, in Auckland.

ENDS

© Scoop Media