Our Sponsor
Meet Dr. Misner at Get Connected 2010 - a must attend impact event that returns great ROI on your investment.
You will learn how to: network like a pro, increase business referrals and profits through networking, build and strengthen business relationships. Meet entrepreneurs from around the world and celebrate business networking as the most effective way to grow your business.
Get Connected 2010 is an investment in learning that pays big dividends.
Join us January 29-31, 2010, at the Miami Beach Resort and Spa in Miami, Florida.
Register now: www.GetConnected2010.com.
View past sponsors
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
“The Last Millionaire” and BNI
Primetime proof that networking works.
|
|
|
So is the premise of the BBC television show called "The Last Millionaire."
Twelve of the UK's most successful entrepreneurs competed this year on the series. Each of the contestants lead extravagant lives, living in castles and mansions, driving luxury cars, and dining at the finest restaurants.
On the show their lives of luxury are left behind, as they compete in the world's toughest markets to build a business from scratch.
Stripped of all their home comforts (they live in hostels), they have to make more money than their rivals. The last contestant is named "The Last Millionaire."
So, where does BNI come into this mix? Let me explain.
The show was down to the last two contenders: Natalie and Lucy. They were taken from the UK and dropped off in the middle of Hong Kong, where they were then given the equivalent of a few hundred US dollars and were told to create a product and sell it in five days. They could recruit student helpers from a list that they were both given; otherwise they were on their own.
Natalie started calling the student contacts for help. Lucy, however, went to an Internet café, and googled "business networking."
Take three guesses what company came up #1 on the search. You probably can guess - yes, that's right, "BNI."
What the show didn't highlight is that Lucy's company had been a member of BNI, and she had a great experience with the organization. So, Lucy called the president of one of the BNI chapters in Hong Kong and asked if she could visit their next meeting.
The BBC narrative states: "Lucy's discovered a business networking meeting taking place in two days' time. It's a high flying group of Hong Kong executives and company owners..."
Cut away to Lucy visiting the Hong Kong Attraction chapter of BNI. The president is shown up front talking about how the meeting runs (and there's a big BNI banner in the background - nice!).
Queue announcer: "Lucy is in her element networking with Hong Kong's top entrepreneurs!"
Cut away to scenes of Lucy networking with BNI members and getting referrals for contacts that will design, produce, and sell her product. These referrals lead her to the largest merchandising agent in Asia and one of the top manufacturers in Hong Kong.
When the contest was over a few days later, she earned 16 times her start-up capital and made more than four times the amount of money that Natalie made!
Admit it: You're thinking the same thing I am, right? BNI rocks!
What a great testament to the Hong Kong members and the BNI program. I recently visited the Hong Kong region and met many outstanding members (some of whom were highlighted in this episode). I was not at all surprised to see the caliber of contacts that they offered Lucy.
But let's consider the bigger picture in this great story for BNI.
In a time when many businesses are struggling, it's a testament to the BNI way of networking that someone can be dropped into a foreign city and, with a little help from BNI members, win an entrepreneurial contest to build a business in less than a week.
It is a great example of the brand we have built (showing up #1 on the Internet search) and an even better example of the power of the BNI program (based on the great contacts Lucy received).
Today more than ever, business people need BNI. When times are difficult, referrals are king. We as business people can not only survive, we can thrive during difficult economic times if we strive to build our business based on personal contacts, relationships, and the support of our fellow members.
I am proud of the BNI members in Hong Kong. They showed how networking can truly work. It is a testament to their commitment, their skills, and to the effective application of BNI.
Sitting here thinking about the episode I watched I can imagine one more scene:
Fade away to Lucy, sitting on her verandah, overlooking her beautiful pool as she sips her morning mimosa with her butler once again at her beck and call. Smiling slyly to herself, she thinks, "Now I know why it's not called net-sit or net-eat, but net-WORK."
Called the “father of modern networking” by CNN, Dr. Ivan Misner is a New York Times bestselling author. He is the Founder and Chairman of BNI (www.bni.com), the world’s largest business networking organization. His latest #1 bestseller, The 29% Solution can be viewed at www.29PercentSolution.com. Dr. Misner is also the Senior Partner for the Referral Institute, an international referral training company (www.referralinstitute.com). He can be reached at misner@bni.com.
Visit www.iLearningGlobal.tv/Networking for downloadable content by Dr. Misner.
More From the Founder articles
37 Responses to ““The Last Millionaire” and BNI”
Leave a Reply
Subscribe
Search SuccessNet Online
 |
shop bni products
© 2009 BNI® Published by CZ Marketing
March 4th, 2009 at 11:52 am
Don’t you just love it when a plan comes together!
Instead of this World running on Assumption, Mis-Understanding and Greed how about everyone looking after their own interests by helping others to succeed; at least while we live on one planet and breath one air! (It might have to happen, then perhaps it will!!)
As for the “BNI” song, it’s great message will never be heard by enough relevant people, however those who DO hear it cannot fail to be encouraged. Yes we will overcome, one day!
March 4th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Absolutely fabulous! I always tell my BNI networking group, “We are exponentially stronger together than by ourselves!”
March 4th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
That’s a fantastic validation of BNI and creativity in networking story, Dr. Misner. Shirley and I have been in BNI groups for ten years – I’m in one now in Kalamazoo, MI “Leading Edge” which I helped start six years ago and three of us still remain of the original group.
When Shirley and I were in Malaysia/Singapore teh end of ‘03 and beginning of ‘04 seeking business partners for our own networks BNI was one of the first stops we made. They loved meeting BNI members from the USA.
Thanks for what you started, Dr. Misner. Imagine what BNI will do this year for people. It’s going to be another huge Givers Gain year in our area – I believe we are up to five groups around Kalamazoo.
The best of continued success to you.
Mike Michelozzi
March 4th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
Its definitely a testimony time and again that Networking works.In fact Networking is a neccessity for any form of business since time immemorial.
Networking platform through BNI is very important for any Small&Medium Enterprises to thrive and succeed.
It is even more crucial in the difficult economic times to ensure a flow of referrals.
Cheers
March 4th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
What a great story! Asia has never had the draw for me that Europe has but now I want to go have adventures in Hong Kong.
I visited a Berlin BNI chapter in 2007 while on a trip there. I wasn’t looking for business but just wanted to see how their meeting might be. They were fabulous hosts and so generous with their time. They offered to take me around to some tourist places but I thought, hmmm BBI, why not take me to a worksite. I had a very interesting few hours with the owner of a graffitti removal company. Learned the most interesting facts about the industry (did you know graffitti guns can usually only shoot 18 feet high?) and saw beautiful residential areas of the city.
I highly recommend going to other chapters even if you are on vacation. And if you ever want to meet a really fun chapter in Vancouver, come see us at the Big Tsunami.
Happy BNI Trails,
Elinor Warkentin
March 4th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
Thanks to Sam Schwartz, I was lucky enough to see the show. It was a huge testimonial to BNI and the Hong Kong members. They should be very proud of the BNI system in Hong Kong.
March 5th, 2009 at 1:47 am
Very cool story. Immense possibilites can indeed happen when leveraging on BNI platform! Thank you for showing it here. I will share this story in my email to my core group. – BNI Singapore (Platinum Core Group)
March 5th, 2009 at 3:23 am
Gosh. How exciting!!! Living in a remote place like Hawaii, I can testify to the power of BNI, and how it’s helped me to grow my business despite numerous challenges. So naturally, I am thrilled to hear how successful BNI is worldwide. And I am truly blessed to be in the number one chapter in the state (East Hawaii BNI). We are MUCH greater than our individual efforts, and even the sum of all our parts when we learn to work together! Great story!
March 5th, 2009 at 7:49 am
BNI MONDEGO, COIMBRA, PORTUGAL
I’m glad to be a part of this great networking, strong and reliable organization that is the BNI.In Coimbra, we are a small comunity of 50 000 people and could manage to have a very strong group that as allready passed 200 references in less than a year. Congrats BNI!!!
March 5th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
Wow! Sounds like my story 5 years ago! I moved to SC from Oregon and did not know very many people. New to the world of Radio Advertising, one of my clients, Dan Creps invited me to a BNI meeting and BNI has made all the difference. Last year ovre 30% of my business came from BNI! I had as good a year in 2008 as in 2007 which was a record breaking year in spite of the new economic challenges! Praise God. Thank you BNI and Dr. Misner for making a difference.
March 5th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
Thank you, Ivan. When someone has the desire and develops the plan to succeed–amazing things can happen. It’s out of empowering referral relationships that millions are made. BNI–rock on!
March 5th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
BNI BRISBANE SOUTH REGION, AUSTRALIA
What a fantastic story to share. I too have visited BNI chapters when I travel and have always been treated like a long lost friend.
I have noticed a stronger sense of loyality within the BNI ‘family’over the past few months with members being a lot more determined to support their fellow members.
I too love the ‘BNI Song’ and believe it shows the true spirit of BNI. We are committed to helping others grow their business and at the same time have fun along the way.
March 5th, 2009 at 5:37 pm
And kudos to you Dr Misner! Coming up #1 on the Internet search is the result of all the work you do behind the scenes in support of BNI and its members, and for that we are all so appreciative. Thank you for always pressing forward to build the BNI brand, and for impressing upon us the importance of businesses keeping “top of mind” with their customers.
March 5th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
For someone who is already familiar with BNI, like Lucy, it’s easy to know that you can find a chapter almost anywhere, visit a meeting knowing you will be welcome and comfortable, and have the confidence that chapter members will go out of their way to help you make the best contacts.
March 5th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
LOVE IT! I propose “Givers Gain®,” new Reality TV show featuring the BNI action in SoCal. Already drafting the proposal… call me [;^)!
March 5th, 2009 at 7:10 pm
wow thats fantastic, how very true, for me I was NOT at all wanting to join any networking groups as I felt they did not do any justice asking me to sell someone else’s product. It was only due to strong persuasion from my friend that I came to BNI launch and was flabber ghasted to know BNI trains and helps us build our own Business. Today being in BNI for over 2.5 years, my confidence is over whelming, my business saw a jump of over 300% and I saw myself as an successful CEO.
March 5th, 2009 at 10:07 pm
What an opportunity for each of us to share this incredible success story with those we know who are not familiar with BNI! Let’s encourage AD’s and educational co-ordinators to talk up this article in the meetings and challenge the members to share it with potential visitors/members. This would tie in nicely with “Hey, did you know that Mar 9-13 is International Referral Week? Do you know what a BNI referral is or how BNI works? Let me explain….” !
March 5th, 2009 at 10:21 pm
I am not at all surprised, I am fairly new to BNI (less than a year)and I already have experienced business I did not believe is possible in such a short time, not to mention the great people I have met, many of them became my friends.
March 5th, 2009 at 11:05 pm
Wow!
What a wonderful testimony for BNI. I am going to send the link to everyone in our chapter.
About a week ago we had a visitor at our chapter meeeting who had been in BNI on the other coast. He had relocated to our city and came to our meeting to pick up some referrals for goods and services he needed in a strange city. Like Lucy, he knew where to tap into the powerhouse of networking.
It just keeps getting better.
Thanks for sharing this Dr. Misner
March 5th, 2009 at 11:45 pm
I can relate to Lucy’s success, Three years ago my hotel business was going down. One day I received a phone call from a man named Al Seaton, he invited me to a BNI meeting. I had nothing to loose so I went and rest is history. Today with all the negative news we hear around us, I had the best December 2008 and Janurary 2009 ever and I expect 2009 to be a GREAT year. I have been in business for 28 years at the same hotel. BNI WORKS AND IT IS THE BEST TOOL FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS TO UTILIIZE FOR THEIR SUCCESS.
Thanks Ivan.
March 6th, 2009 at 2:34 am
I am glad to be in BNI offering recruitment services. 60% of business that i have generated this year comes from BNI. Most business people beleive the BNI philosophy works, those that do not join BNIdo so on the basis of lack of commitment but they still beleive in it.
It is great to be in the First chapter in East Africa!
March 6th, 2009 at 6:26 am
One of the reasons that I joined BNI was because working in recruitment I knew that my approach is completely different to other agencies , operating as an extension to a companies HR department, but it is difficult to get your voice heard. To get that message through all I can say is thank heavens for BNI. JustClerical has gained major contracts because of the efforts of my fellow members. They have also helped me find associates to help move my business forward in different areas including accountancy, HR, marketing, scientific and IT recruitment. I intend to expand my business out of the East Midlands in the coming years and know that my first port of call will be BNI chapters in the areas that I want to develop. As we now have a scientific and IT arm some of our potential clients are in Europe, which I now know is only a call away. I can’t thank BNI enough for the help so far and I know that through it we will survive this current economic climate. Lucy made the right choice of networking group.
March 6th, 2009 at 7:00 am
Lucy’s storry – very encouraging, from nothingness to giant in business. Lesson – Start small – join BNI – grow by leaps and bounds. What are you waiting for – Time is now Go! Go ! Commitment in BNI bears results. Time frame -Patience. I personally believe BNI is the way for me and my Cleaning Business not only in Kenya but any place else fate might send me. Mavuno Chapter – Kenya
Rita Njeru – Director – Foresight Innovations Ltd.
foresight_innovations@yahoo.com
March 6th, 2009 at 8:09 am
What an AWESOME story!
This is a great example though of how relationships are so vital to business success. It also illustrates how members, directors and amabassadors need to think about BNI on a daily basis –not just when we’re heading to a meeting. Finally, BNI should not be kept as a secret; make it known to those of us in our lives, including those we work with. Someone at Lucy’s company obviously did that as she was made aware of how members of BNI had helped her company in the past.
(I just can’t help but wonder if Lucy or someone in her company read my article in SuccessNet called “The Reality of Networking” which shows how networking is not about meeting people for a short period of time and doing the minimal requirements and expecting huge, positive results –unlike what they show on most “reality tv” programs).
March 6th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
This is why I’m comstantly encouraging all BNIers to read Success Net- this story is incredible! I sgree with Kimberly Webb- educatinal coordinators need to share this story!
“Leadership is the courage to admit mistakes, the vision to welcome change, the enthuthiasm to motivate others, and the confidence to stay out of step when everyone else is marching to the wrong tune”. Thank you Ivan for your leadership!
Shawn McCarthy BNI ED Ventura County, Ca.
March 7th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
GREAT STORY! I am going to use this in my pre-core chapters to get them up and running and see the power of BNI….
Love the BNI song as well.
March 7th, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Yes,indeed.. BNI rocks! We just have to have faith in the BNI System, and thanks to Dr. Ivan Misner, it works wonderfully! We never know the exact potential business we can get from BNI, because it’s referral power is unlimited. Moreover there is more than giving and gaining business from BNI. We are able to gain true relationship between members also, I had tremendous growth personally and professionally also. To sum up, still… BNI ROCKS! A billion thanks to Dr. Ivan Misner!
Jeslyn Chin
Malaysia, Johor
Winners Chapter
March 9th, 2009 at 1:28 am
AMAZING! I can see this becoming a regular occurrence as the network develops and we add the social media tools via BNI Connect.
We just had our National conference on last week and international directors can not get over the quality and size of businesses involved here in India. This will no doubt multiply the kind of opportunities and value we are able to generate for business owners.
March 9th, 2009 at 1:38 am
Superb story. BNI truly is a platform to grow your business. I have attended a BNI meeting in Hongkong and can say they are super networkers! Congrats BNI Hongkong!
March 10th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
I would like to say how surprised I am with such a wonderful story but the fact of the matter is that we do the same thing every week right here in Montgomery,OH. Each week we get together so that we can equip our referral partners to go out into the unknown and make it familiar. We overcome not only communication challenges, we overcome duplication of industry. The real difference is that we are not doing this to win a game show but to help our business associates win at life. The Last Millionaire story is truely a testament to what thousands of chapters in thousands of communities duplicate every day without the benefit of television exposure. Thanks Ivan, for being way ahead of reality TV.
thom monahan
March 13th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
BNI as a system, works. Wherever you are, whatever country, whatever language, all you have to do is follow the recipe that Ivan has developed, and BNI works. I loved this story. I really enjoyed it for several reasons; one of them is I heard Doctor Misner discussing this very story at Get Connected 09 in Florida in February for International Networking Week. The other is that for me personally, I often think that, if I had to start over from scratch with a business, I would be able to succeed, and do so rapidly, because of my membership in BNI and the incredible power and diversity of my network. After 4 years in BNI, I have truly learned the power of net-work. In my role as an Assistant Director, I start chapters in my region. I am always very aware of, and try to get across to, the new members of a new chapter how important learning the system and cultivating referral relationships is. Kudos to Dr. Misner for giving us this wonderful gift of a lifetime of endless referrals! Thanks, Ivan!
March 15th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
Doctor Misner; For years I have listened to every motivational tape and c.d. I could get my hand on. I,ve read all of the books I could find and I have heard Zig Ziglar say many times you can have every thing ypu wantin life, if you,ll just help enough other people get what they want.There is something that makes a difference when you take the focus off of you and place it on someone else. Once I became a part of BNI,I felt that I would have the help and tools to move forward.Thank you for a fantastic system.
March 18th, 2009 at 9:03 am
[...] Original article [...]
March 24th, 2009 at 10:38 am
Great article – it is exactly how BNI has worked for me throughout the world.
Apart from everything else, BNI have just got so many NICE people who just try to assist.
I m forwarding this article on!
March 24th, 2009 at 10:57 am
Thanks for the last Millionaire story, not seen it yet on UK television, it reinforces the BNI Message of Know, Like and Trust, with no hidden agenda. BNI works top down and bottom up as long as the members, Ad’s and Ed’s follow the BNI Philosophy of Givers Gain. It still is unusual in mainstream business , but in the words of the No 1 Responder Graeme, and Joan Baez ( we will overcome! ) because it works.
But why is BNI still unknown to the majority of Business people?
We need to continue to raise the bar, BECAUSE IT WORKS!
David A. Simpson
March 28th, 2009 at 10:48 am
As an Assistant Director for BNI.AND also running the Referral Institute in Manchester & the North West of England I wholly endorse the power of referrals & word of mouth marketing. I never advertise, look through the business directories or indeed wonder where to obtain a service or product-I just call upon my network.100% of my business comes via referrals. It is a very enjoyable & cost effective way of doing business.
April 5th, 2009 at 7:56 am
What fantastic exposure for BNI!
Not just that BNI exists, but that the BNI system really does work.
Thanks for sharing this story. The more success stories we share with members, the more they will have to share with visitors!