Celebrating 36 Years of BNI

Today, on January 8th, Business Network International^® celebrates 36 years of helping people “Change the Way the World Does Business”. We are celebrating BNI’s 36th Anniversary today with the theme, “36 Years of Growth”. Please watch the video below to hear my announcement about the several incredible growth milestones BNI^® achieved in 2020.

BNI’s 36th Anniversary Video

“36 Years of Growth”

36 Years of Consecutive Growth

To celebrate our 36th anniversary as a company, I thought I would share our growth chart for the last 36 years. Few companies can say they have had 36 years of back to back growth. It is amazing that BNI was still able to grow during a year with a global pandemic. I love what BNI is doing for members and I love what Graham is doing with this company.

275,000 Global BNI Members

On September 15, 2020, BNI launched the “Restart the World” initiative. The goal is to help local, national, and global businesses worldwide get back on their path to growth. Since its launch, over 40,000 businesses have joined a BNI chapter and contributed to the boosting of our BNI member count to over 275,000 members worldwide

$16.3 Billion of New Business Revenue

During 2020, the craziest year on record, our BNI Members helped their fellow BNI Members globally to remain in business during the pandemic. In 2020, BNI chapter members passed over 11.5 million referrals among the 275,000 BNI Members worldwide. These 11,500,000 referrals resulted in generating globally over $16.3 Billion of business revenue.

Over 10,000 BNI Chapters Worldwide

In mid-1986, I estimated that BNI could have 10,000 chapters someday. I predicted that it would take at least 75 years to hit that 10 K milestone, but I knew it was possible. Well, I am proud to announce that at the end of 2020, BNI officially crossed over 10,000 chapters worldwide. We did it in half the time I thought possible.

Today, now more than ever, you need your network and you need to be networking with them.  You need a team of people who will be there to help you during difficult times.  During 2020, many people became frozen by their fear.  However,  I also saw many people became focused by their fear.  They were focusing on surviving and thriving. That’s what happened to many of our BNI members. The truth is, “BNI is a beacon of hope in a sea of fear”.

BNI is not only a great way to get business – it’s an even better way to do business because we are doing business within our principal core value of Givers Gain^®.  This is more than a phrase to me.  It’s a way of living one’s life.  Givers Gain is a perspective to view and interact with the world.  It is an attitude, not an expectation, and when it’s applied properly, it will change your life and when it changes enough lives, it will change the world.