BNI® is 33 years old Today!

BNI is 33 years old TODAY! The official kick-off of the first BNI group was January 8th, 1985.

33 years ago, I put together about 20 people in a small coffee shop in Arcadia, California for the very first meeting of BNI® (Business Network International). Furthermore, the original organization, “The Network”, was run from a small bedroom which was converted into an office inside my house in La Verne, California. I recognized back then that I had struck a chord within the business community. We don’t teach networking in colleges and universities anywhere in the world, and business people are hungry for referrals. They simply had no viable way to generate them regularly back in 1985.

In some ways, it seems like yesterday.

BNI is 33 years old Today!

Please watch my special 33rd birthday message video by clicking here.

In light of BNI’s 33rd anniversary, I share the story of BNI’s surprisingly accidental beginnings. Furthermore, I open up about my astonishment at just how successful BNI has become. A must-watch video for BNI members worldwide!

What are you going to do today, that your future self will thank you for?

Please answer this question in the comments below.

9 thoughts on “BNI® is 33 years old Today!”

I’ll grow myself as a speaker & leader in the wellness industry to benefit the community.

Today I am committed to changing the way in which companies protect their businesses with arbitration, through my Central Arbitration company

Excellent message

Wow, 33 years ago I was just leaving High School and today I am lucky enough to be a BNI Executive Director which makes me the custodian of all the history and success of BNI in my region. Thanks Dr Misner for helping me to help members of my community.

Today I have a plaster cast on my left leg following a fall on Black Ice fracruring my Tibia.
I will be at BNI friday in my 12th year as a member.

I invited Tim from ‘Soul to Heal’ through Face Book.
He said it was his 4th invite.
Quote:
Your the 4th offer of BNI. Two in Darlo and One in sedgfield. I’m thinking about it currently cheers.

I replied:

On a ‘Givers Gain’ basis, your business is rather like mine. Everyone is a potential client; you just need a ‘Centre of Influence’ to extol your virtues and BNI can certainly be that, if you follow the helpful rules. When People understand You and Your Business; Your only task is to reveal the Benefit, for them to Request the Service. Be my guest at BNI Prince Bishop. It costs you £10, a few Business Cards and a little of your time. Best wishes, Graeme!

P.S. Happy Birthday BNI xxx

Happy birthday BNI!

Genoa, Italy

Thank You for this challenge. With your talk Monday and after your Live feed “Ask the founder” I took the challenge. As a Chef with two Culinary Degrees, I get quite a few requests for special dietary needs and am confident in most but in order to get more “arrows in my quill”, as I say. I’ve been putting off taking two more Certification Programs on Professional Plant Based Cooking and Culinary Rx. I signed up for them Wednesday and began the first of them on-line and already have three tests under my belt. With both of these new Certificate’s I will have a complete new area of business to target to and personally eating a more Plant Based diet is much healthier for the Chef Also.
I would like to also say the as future self of today, I thank my 2003 self for finding BNI and what its has done both for my business’s and my personal growth.
Thank You