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Celebrating 36 Years of BNIstring(27) "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

Restart the World

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.

35th Anniversary

BNI® is Celebrating its 35th Anniversary This Weekstring(51) "BNI® is Celebrating its 35th Anniversary This Week"

BNI’s 35th anniversary is this week! The official kick-off of the first BNI group was January 8th, 1985.

35 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 that 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.

It is BNI’s 35th Anniversary this week!

In light of BNI’s 35th 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. Please watch my special 35th anniversary message video by clicking here.

A must-watch video for BNI members worldwide! Please encourage all your BNI members to watch this video by playing the video during your BNI meeting this week as the “Purpose and Overview of BNI” and by posting this video’s YouTube URL on your BNI National, Regional, and chapter Social media pages too. 

It has been an incredible 35 years.  I am humbled by what BNI has become.  Its impact on the world of business and on individual lives continues to spread. I feel so proud of how the Givers Gain® philosophy has expanded around the world and I can never get enough of hearing about people’s experiences in the organization.

I look forward to many more years as part of BNI and hope to see most of you along the ride.

BNI is 33 years old TODAY!

BNI® is 33 years old Today!string(28) "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.