BNI - Referral Based Organization
 

I was wondering if any of you are members of a BNI group in your town, or have even heard of the organization?

For those of you who have not, BNI is short for Business Networking International. They are groups of 30-45 members of business professionals that are good for one thing, making more money through referrals. The groups are limited to 1 person per profession, thus eliminating competetion within the group. Event Planners, Caterers, Photographers and Florists.. or a combination of all three are usually in the groups and can be vital in gaining referrals from events that they book outside of the group. You can usually count on increasing your business by an average of 20% by participating. Overall it's a GREAT way to stimulate business and even more outstanding for newcomers in the industry. A real estate agent joined our group about 8 months ago and hadn't sold a house since she started. In 8 months she has sold 6 houses and has surpassed $1 million in sales.

If anyone is intersted in the group, go to http://www.bni.com/ and see if there is a chapter located in your hometown.

By the way, I'm not trying to solicit for the group. I am a member, but it is for my full time business of screenprinting and embroidery. I was actually trying to get feedback of any videographers that are members to see what kind of success they have.