Do you run a business and want it to grow?

Yes. In Chapters, sole traders work alongside companies employing dozens of people — the referral mechanism is the same for everyone; only the scale of the referrals changes. Photography, electrical installations, accountancy and general contracting are four completely different sales models, yet they work the same way in a Chapter. The condition is something other than size: you run a business or are responsible for its sales. And when the business grows, the organisation grows with it: for companies at a higher stage of development the same community runs BNI+, and for even larger ones Corporate Connections. You start where you are today.

Then we will point you to another Chapter nearby where the seat for your industry is free. Larger cities have several or even a dozen or more Chapters, so a seat is usually found — checking takes a single enquiry. Exclusivity works both ways, after all: since there is only one business from your industry in the Chapter, all the referrals in your speciality come to you. The more precisely you describe what you specialise in, the easier it is to find a free seat — and the more accurately the Chapter will refer you. We will match the Chapter to your industry, your calendar and your growth plans.

We grow with you. BNI is the entry point for a business owner, and for companies at a higher stage of development the same organisation runs BNI+; for even larger companies there is Corporate Connections. Many Members started in a Chapter — and because they were active, used the training and travelled to events, their businesses grew. The training system grows along with the business. You do not have to plan anything in advance — the path is ready when you need it.

We check which Chapter has a free seat in your speciality and pass your enquiry to the President of that Chapter. Every Chapter is led by a President, who is responsible for inviting Visitors — they will reply with a proposed date for a meeting in your area. We will let the Chapter know about your visit, so they will be expecting you, and a Director will look after you at the meeting. You come as a Visitor, with no obligations.

Most Chapters meet in the morning, before working hours — usually between 7:00 and 9:00. Every Chapter meets weekly, in a fixed place and at a fixed time; the fixed time is a deliberate choice, because the system works when people can rely on one another. You can check the day and time of a particular Chapter in the Chapter Finder. There are also Chapters that meet entirely online — you join from anywhere, at the same time as the rest of the Chapter.

You do not have to. Visitors are given the chance to introduce themselves briefly, but you can pass on it and simply listen. If you do take it, it takes well under a minute — a short note on what you do, not a speech. There is no need to prepare: bring business cards or anything else that carries your contact details, and simply come. The Chapter will guide you through the meeting, and a Director will look after you on the spot.

The same as every Member’s: you give referrals and you receive them. In practice, that means four things that come round every week — sixty seconds about your business, referrals prepared during the week, following up on those from the previous meeting, and attendance or a Substitute. In time you may take on a role in your Chapter’s Leadership Team — the Chapter is run by a Leadership Team elected from among the Members, working alongside the Membership Committee, Visitor Hosts and the Education, Events, Growth and Mentor Coordinators. Separate training prepares you for a Leadership Team role: how to run meetings, how to look after the quality of referrals and how to grow the Chapter.

The Directors help with this — people who look after BNI Chapters professionally. Together with you, they build a strategy for presenting your business: how to talk about your speciality so that Members know whom to refer you to and how. The presentation itself has a fixed structure — your name, your industry, a description of the business, some detail and your name again at the end — so you do not start from a blank page. You practise it every week for sixty seconds, and an effective presentation is also one of the training topics — talking about your business so that those around you can refer it properly is something that can be learnt. This skill works for your business beyond BNI too.

The Chapter Meeting is 90 minutes a week, at a fixed time. On top of that come One-to-One meetings: Members meet in pairs to really get to know each other’s businesses — without this a referral stays vague; with it, it hits the mark. The rest happens along the way, because during the week you listen out for needs that a business belonging to someone in the Chapter could meet. Realistically, you should count on around three hours a week. You add training at your own pace: the BNI University platform is available at any time, so you use it whenever you have time.

Yes. Attendance is one of a Member’s basic commitments, but if you cannot come in a given week, you send a Substitute — that is a normal part of the system, not an exception. The Substitute passes on your referrals and your presentation, so your business is present at the meeting even when you are not.

They come once the Chapter understands your business — after a dozen or so meetings it knows it well enough to recognise your client in its own conversations. That is why One-to-One meetings matter: it is there that Members learn exactly whom you help and how to spot the right moment. The Chapter does not leave this unchecked — every week it comes back to earlier referrals and checks whether they turned into a conversation and an order. That is the difference between BNI and casual networking. BNI provides the structure, not a guarantee; the work is done by you.

Yes. The Member is a specific person representing a company, not the company itself. That way, the Chapter refers a person it knows — and whoever passes on a referral vouches for them with their own name. This is where one of the conditions of admission comes from: the Committee looks not only at the industry, but also at whether the Chapter can vouch for you. The only exception to attending in person is a Substitute for a single meeting.

If the seat for your speciality is free, you submit a Membership Application. You will receive the form after the Chapter Meeting — you can also ask for it earlier and come with it already filled in. Together with the application you pay the application fee and the membership fee; the Committee considers your application and lets you know the date of your official admission, and welcoming new Members is a regular item on the weekly agenda. Once admitted, you receive training for new Members to get you started: a complete set of skills that puts the system to work for you from the very first meeting.

The Membership Committee of the Chapter in question — a team of Members who look after its make-up. It checks the exclusivity of the speciality and whether the application fits the Chapter. High standards of business conduct and accountability count here: the Committee looks not only at the industry, but also at whether the Chapter can vouch for you with its own name. A cooperative attitude and a readiness to keep learning matter too — referrals go to those who give them themselves. Thanks to this selection, a referral from the Chapter has real value, including when the Chapter is referring you.

Membership consists of an application fee and a membership fee. You pay both together with your application, that is, after your visit to the Chapter — first you see what a meeting looks like, and only then do you decide. You will learn the current amounts in the Chapter before submitting your application: no one will hide them from you or surprise you after the fact. Invoicing is then handled by the National Office. You make your decision knowing the full terms.