The president of the Parnell Chapter in Auckland, Pam Martin (Extra Mile Training – targeted computer training for business and individuals) is just one BNI member who has been flat out with work this month.
Pam made the point recently that ‘gloomy talk’ can only spring from people who have nothing else to do but to fill out surveys – the rest of us are roaring along, especially here at BNI New Zealand.
We recently had a fantastic nationwide round of Big Breakfast functions which were very well received.

At the breakfast we took the opportunity to give away copies of ‘Givers Gain – the BNI Story’ by Dr Ivan Misner, with Jeff Morris.
The book will now be distributed to members free of charge at MSP sessions and I am sure anybody who reads it will not only enjoy a great read, but ‘Givers Gain’ is also something of a text book on making BNI work for you.
The Auckland Big Breakfast also marked the start of a new tradition for BNI New Zealand when we handed out our first ever national award, the ‘Givers Gain’ award which recognises the chapter which, anywhere in New Zealand, most demonstrates the spirit of Givers Gain.
Hibiscus Coast received the inaugural Givers Gain for the fantastic hospice fundraiser late last year – please read all about it in this newsletter.
Also at this year’s Big Breakfast – you can see why I said this year is roaring along – we announced the BNI Young Entrepreneur scholarship. This scholarship is the opportunity for any chapter of BNI to sponsor a young business person into their chapter for a year, with the membership fees covered by BNI New Zealand – please read all about it in this newsletter.
As this year now gathers full steam I wish you a prosperous and successful year of doing business in BNI.
Best wishes
Graham Southwell

Members are reminded to watch out for BNI's email invitations to a number of upcoming events in March and April, including:
* Leadership Team Dinners;
* New Leadership Team training sessions; and
* Membership Success Programmes.

If every single person in your BNI chapter put aside their concerns with receiving referrals and concentrated exclusively on ‘giving’, what would the result be?

A whole lot of receiving, that’s what.

This was one of the valuable BNI orientated messages delivered at the recent round of BNI NZ Big Breakfasts.

Australian motivational speaker, BNI member and author of a number of books, Clive Murphy, pointed out that we don’t invest enough time in the important things.
Each day, the average person spends 0 hours investing in their spouse, 30 minutes to 2 hours with their children and 0 hours working on their health. But a good 8 to 14 hours goes into financial security.
“But if you lose your spouse, you lose everything – your kids, your money, your health and your life as you know it. We need to get our priorities straight,” Clive said.
He said the same priorities apply to BNI. The average person spends a lot of time in BNI, but no time in preparing to make it as effective as possible.
More than 175 BNI members attended the Auckland Big Breakfast and 75 attended the Christchurch Big Breakfast.
Approximately 75 members attended the Wellington Big Breakfast, but the Wellington region was also the one that made the most use of BNI’s new online payment feature.
(Pictured: Clive Murphy engages his audience.)

A special Black Tie Dinner which raised more than $10,000 for the Hibiscus Coast Hospice’s new building project has earned the Hibiscus Coast BNI Chapter the national ‘Givers Gain’ Award – BNI NZ’s top award.

Organised by the Hibiscus Coast Chapter of BNI, funds from the $99 a ticket dinner were donated to the building of new hospice facilities in Red Beach – including a nursing headquarters, training facilities, administration and a six bed residential unit.
Hibiscus Coast Chapter President and local businessman, Mike Butt, said it was an ideal opportunity for various business owners in the chapter to showcase their skills.
“Members such as a party hire company, an events organiser, a caterer, an auctioneer, a photographer, a marketing consultant and even a landscaper were able to apply their skills and resources to making it happen. As a chapter, we just rolled up our sleeves and got stuck in.”
Mike said the dinner was held not only to ‘establish’ the BNI Hibiscus Coast Chapter’s presence in the area, but as a group of business people they also wanted to give something back to the community they draw business from.
“We wanted to challenge ourselves and see what we could do.”
(Pictured: Graham Southwell presents the 'Givers Gain' Award to Hibiscus Coast Assistant Director Brian Noble.

Congratulations Niki Gunning
Niki Gunning has been appointed regional BNI director for the Manawatu, Wairarapa and Horowhenua regions, with responsibility for six business chapters.
“The role will give me the opportunity to pursue my passion for educating and growing small businesses – being a business owner myself I have benefited from the close support and relationships I have formed in my own Palmerston North BNI chapter.
“Proper networking is not about slick people in business suits trading business cards – it’s about following a system that helps you to grow close relationships with other business people,” Niki said.
Congratulations Fred Lewis
Fred Lewis has been appointed regional director for the Hawkes Bay region, with responsibility for four business chapters.
“I was initially attracted to BNI by the calibre of business people involved in the Hawkes Bay Chapter and also the structured professionalism of the breakfast meetings.
“My membership to BNI has greatly benefited my business – each business owner acts as a sales person for his or her fellow members. For example, my chapter members have helped me build my business through passing referrals on to me, and visa versa.
“My vision is to grow and strengthen the chapters – Wine Country Chapter, Hawkes Bay Chapter, Hastings Chapter and Deco City Chapter – in this region,” he said.

BNI chapters around New Zealand can now award one scholarship each to a young entrepreneur (under 25 years of age) who might not be able to afford the annual BNI fees, but who would be an asset to the chapter.
Announcing the BNI Young Entrepreneur Scholarship, BNI NZ National Director Graham Southwell said the organisation will give one 12 month membership free to one young entrepreneur per chapter.
“Each young entrepreneur must first go through the normal chapter application process. Once the chapter has accepted the person as being suitable for their chapter, we would ask the young entrepreneur to provide a letter – with their application form – explaining why and how they will benefit from the scholarship.
“The real value of this is not only 12 months free membership. Just imagine the benefits that a young entrepreneur will gain via referrals for their own business and the combined expertise and mentorship of all the other business owners in the chapter.
“A BNI chapter can be a great resource for young entrepreneurs,” says Graham.
Qualifying criteria:
* The young entrepreneur must be a business owner or self employed and under the age of 25 years;
* The young entrepreneur must satisfy the selection criteria of his or her own chapter and be approved by its membership committee; and
* The young entrepreneur must write a short letter, attached to their application form, explaining why and how they will benefit from the scholarship.
BNI reserves the right to grant or deny any scholarship applications.

To assist our BNI chapters to run as smoothly as possible, BNI has built up a series of recommended policies which have been developed over more than two decades of networking, they’re tried and tested, optimal solutions in most given circumstances.
In each BNI newsletter we will fill you in on those policies we’re most frequently asked about:
1. What happens to my membership dues when I take a leave of absence?
“The leave of absence" is at your chapter leadership team’s discretion and is valid for up to 8 weeks. If you are granted a leave of absence, it does not mean that your dues are suspended. The membership time you have paid for will continue to expire while you are away.
2. How does a certificate of credit work?As a paid up member you can apply for a Certificate of Credit if you are planning an extended period of leave.  The Certificate is valid for up to two years and can be redeemed at any chapter where there is a vacancy.  A Certificate of Credit protects your unused dues but causes you to be dropped from your chapter and does not guarantee that your category will still be open when you return. This means that if the category you occupied at your chapter has been filled while you were away, you can look to apply to another chapter.
However, the usual chapter application and acceptance policy applies.

BNI NZ congratulates Brian Falkner whose children’s novel, Super Freak, has been short-listed in the 2006 New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.
Children’s author, website developer and Albany Chapter member, Brian is on a roll this year. As the architect and developer of BNI’s hugely successful website, Brian was retained last year by BNI International’s Dr Ivan Misner to take the locally developed website global.

BNI is the purposeful and systematic generation of referrals – so it makes sense to have a system THIS YEAR…
In our January newsletter you read how, cccording to Lance Mead writing in Dr Ivan B. Misner’s bestselling ‘Masters of Networking’, there are Nine Keys to Mastery.
Here are the final five:
5. Accept the teachings of a mentor – emulating someone you admire is a great strategy for success.
6. Become a great storyteller – people like a good yarn, and most of all they like to tell them, particularly when recommending you to another person. So tell YOUR story.
7. Have a database of resources to help other people – cultivate a reputation as somebody who knows people and who can get things done.
8. Keep an open mind – the most important thing you can know is that you don’t know it all. Learn something new everyday.
9. Make relationships a part of your life – people refer people they trust, but they only begin to trust you when they get to know you well.