From the Founder
Networking Trends
And why they point to a healthy future for the small business owner.
Dr. Ivan Misner

In the early 1980s, John Naisbitt wrote in Megatrends about the emerging importance of the networking process in society. In the late 1980s, Tom Peters wrote in Thriving on Chaos that this "process can be systematized."

These two statements weren't made all that long ago. Networking (or relationship marketing) is a fairly new kid on the block. From the mid 80s to the 90s, systems and structures began to emerge—not the least of which was the development of BNI—that shifted many business owners from a single-minded focus of direct selling to a broader scope, which included relationship marketing and networking. | Read this article


Breaking News
International Networking Week
Celebrate with BNI to increase awareness of networking.

International Networking Week™ is a new initiative of BNI International, and is touted by Founder Ivan Misner as the single most important new event for BNI this year. This program will feature a number of different worldwide networking events. | Read this article


Art of Networking
Ecademy: The New Era of Networking
The ins-and-outs of this valuable—and BNI endorsed—online networking tool.
By Hélder Falcão, National Director - BNI Portugal and Brazil

At last November's International Conference in Long Beach, CA, the breakout session "How to Grow your BNI Region Behind the Desk" was officially introduced to directors. Since then, dozens of directors have joined Ecademy—the premier online networking hub.

Networking has manifested itself in many forms. Most recently, email and instant messaging have become familiar tools to contact other businesses worldwide. | Read this article


To The Next Level
The Value of a Visitor
How to grow your chapter through visitors.
by Mikael Espenkrona, National Director of Training, BNI Sweden

Every member knows that having many visitors at meetings generates more energy and tempo. It is this type of meeting that sells BNI to visitors. When this happens, you have a larger pool of referrers to tap into.

So, how do you attract visitors to your meetings so that, in turn, your BNI chapter grows—and your business grows?

Every sales process has two steps: | Read this article

BNI in the News
NETWORKING University Interviews "The Father of Modern Networking"

NETWORKING University presents "Givers Gain," a conversation with Ivan Misner, published in Networking Times.

This is a great article about how the notion of business networking has changed over the last twenty-five years, the history of BNI, and how network marketers can benefit from the BNI philosophy of Givers Gain.

View the article