[colin thomas]

i got a letter the other day inviting me to go to one of these breakfast/meet other business people/ meetings, i tossed the letter, i think it was from one of the american organisations claiming to be the best in the world. the thing is are they good? was i premature in binning it. to be honest i have plenty of work but do these things lead to better/higher priced work?

colin

[darren_metcalfe]

Who was it Colin?

[colin thomas]

i'm pretty sure it was BMI

colin

[darren_metcalfe]

Hiya,

I have been to a few BMI meetings and got a bit of work out of them. They are quite intense but most run a couple of free meetings so you can go along and see what you think without commiting.

Worth trying to see how you find it.  There are loads of different companies doing them now so they may not be as good as they once were, not sure as I have not been to one for ages. 

Darren

[colin thomas]

i think you have made up my mind darren, you haven't been for ages. as is said, i am usually as busy as i want to be it was just the thought of perhaps a higher job ticket but the thought of meeting a bunch of strangers for breakfast and selling yourself at that time of day puts me off.
thanks for helping,

colin

[Barry Livingstone]

its the BNI. and it wil cost you around £500.00 plus getting up for breaky at 7am every week. if you miss a few weeks they chuck you out...plus you have to llok for work for the other companies too..

Its a two way thing it can work but enough you habe to think about it long term........try them and you local chamber of commerce lunches....

[John Kelly]

Pretty intense having to go every week or send a deputy. As said if you miss a few you get kicked out with no refund. These type of things really benefit the professions where they can pass clients to one another.
Better off joining the local chamber of commerce or better still the federation of small businesses. Lots of benefits for your membership fee and local informal meetings, barbecues etc where you can turn up if you want to or not. Also no pressure to supply business for other members.

[Paul Redden Countryfresh]

Went to one recently.....  is this the freemasons? Guy reckoned fees were a grand a year. wasn't too keen on the 6.30 am start time though.

[Karl Wildey]

went to one once.

too early for me, too much selling yourself, breakfast was nice, but too small for my liking.

Breakfast club depends on the person you are, go to one and see if you like it, it may work for you it depnds on the person. You may make loads of money, than again you could be like me.

[stevegunn]

Save your money,too many rules,too early and certainly too much money.

There are a lot of politics involved too

[colin thomas]

aren't forums great!! thanks guys,

colin   

[Andy Foster]

I guess it depend on what you want from  meetings like this.

I am just about to start my 4th year as a member of BNI and last year I got in excess of £40k worth of work from it... so for a few early mornings and £1k investment (including the cost of the breakfasts)... pretty good methinks...
Just my twopennorth.

Andy

[murky]

Yep,

I was in my local one for a year or so.

Really enjoyed it, not a prob for me getting up at 6 or so, go to bed earlier!

Got to meet really good local plumber, printer, letting agent etc who not only gave me work but a substantial discount on any work I wanted doing.

Well worth it IMO.

Murky

[Os]

I Belong to a Breakfast club and have done for 2 years. Has given me some work, particulalry one excellent client. But I would say other than that its a bit marginal. I have had a lot of other fringe benefits though, as far as meeting a number of very professional people that I wouldnt have know about otherwise indifferent trades. I probably wont renew this year, but think it was worth it for a while. But its not BNI and I know that BNI is very expensive. However for £1k for a £40k return, that cant be bad.

[elliott cleaning]

40 grand in a year from just the BNI is impressive Andy.
Can I ask you what your total turnover for that year was?

[Andy Foster]

Total turnover was around £70k.

[elliott cleaning]

More than 50% of turnover from the breaky club   Boy, I'd stick on in there & get up early once a week for that percentage

[COLIN BRIGHT]

i'd like to join your BNI andy!

used to be a member but did not do great
joined a similar one called BRX
a complete waste of time, people only turned up when they felt like it,went to a different one today as a quest, but its just the same old same old
if you do get into a good chapter then its a great way of getting business
my chapters were PANTS

[2cleanright]

BNI now my biggest customer - getting on for 50 % of turnover.
They are strict about attendance cos if you aint there, how can people give work to you?
Yes, costs about £1k all in per year, but I get loads more referrals from custys cos they know I am well connected.
Finding work for other members is easy - show custys the business card folder and tell them to take any cards they think are useful. How easy is that. I regularly have 3 or 4 jobs for other members each week, and guess what ? I get more than that back!
11 jobs this week alone - more than double my years membership, and I've got 51 more weeks to make a profit out of it. Anyone ever hap YP pay for itself twice over in a week?

The whole BNI thing is based on Givers Gain - if I give business to you, you will want to give business back to me. Go about it with What are you going to give me this week? attitude and you will get nothing from it. Go with an open mind and a How can I help you? attitude, and it will work.

The best thing is I am the only CC in my chapter (only one of each profession allowed per group), and one of only 3 in my area, so I get referrals from a pool of about 300 businesses.

As for the early mornings, I used to be a newsagent, so 5.30 alarm aint early at all!
It isn't for everyone, but go and see it in action. You will either get it, or you wont, but like most things in life, don't knock it till you've tried it

[Mike Osbourne]

2clean

That's really interesting what you say. The main thing that put me off was the idea I had to stand up and tell everyone what leads I had got for them. Which reminds me of school or an horrendous job I once had.

I already give out other trades cards and recommend certain shops that display my leaflets.

Surely though all these places are saturated with CC?