Bni
- Thread starter SpankySouthport
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mrmacgypsum
Member
i went to a BNI group in stockport and it appeared to me to be 20 or 30 people getting farty bits of work for each other at their own homes and charging nearly a grand a year for the honour. deffo not for me.
stuart23
Private Member
Been a member for nearly a year and have done well out it. It's not just the referrals that are good but it's the knowledge you get from everyone on how to expand your business and bring in work i find to be useful. When i first went as a guest i got a job for over £1200 so it paid for itself and since then have made a lot of good contacts who give me regular work. Joining does not automatically give you everyones business in the room, you will have to prove yourself and feedback will probably be giving on your first few jobs so others members can trust you and start referring you. Every chapter is different through but with the amount of businesses at the one you attended i would join in a heartbeat, 30-40 businesses would not be wasting there time there if they wasn't making money out it.
SpankySouthport
Private Member
well that's good to hear but, will more than likely give it a go properly
I said in a previous post about one near me, The builder was taken to court by the cafe owner for shabby work, it was front page of the local rag and they were in the same BMI. the thing that puts me off is not just the money they want, the time they want, the price of a breakfast and the fact you cant miss any meetings ( you can send people in your place if you know anyone). your recommending complete strangers and not giving the work to your usual contacts but if it works for you get on with it.
SpankySouthport
Private Member
Funny enough the builder I know is going through a similar thing, he did some work for a member to the tune of £40k, finished and now he is still owed 12k, the client is trying to say they have damaged all sorts in the house, a snag list 2 pages long which was after the first snag list was agreed.. At the end of the day you still have to have you business head on and feeler out the dead wood. I won't properly recommend someone I will just approach it as a contact
JessThePlasterer
Queen Jess Elizabeth I
you're invited
kebab king
Private Member
I was a memmber of our local one for 2 years,i came out because i was getting too much work, and other monkeys kept letting me down with **** work.I go on average twice a year to sub people on holidays and always get a referal.The people in that chapter still give me work anyway, cos theres never been another plasterer join.It deffinatley works guys, especially if you give other refferals.
Arti
Well-Known Member
I would imagine that the chapters accountant would expect your book keeping and he's onto a winner with 20-30 people in the group. or maybe im just being cynical JJ??
kebab king
Private Member
As it happens i use the accountant, but have never payed him, i keep doing plastering for him.No one expects anything, but most people in our chapter was good enough to recomend.
SpankySouthport
Private Member
As I said they can expect what they want until you feel comfortable about referring someone dont .
peterroberts
Active Member
from what i know about this you are not allowed to have more than 1 person in the group that does the same job as you, so therefore the plasterer will get all plastering jobs and so on, if it works not to sure. Would you not be better off just joining the masons, (masonic lodge) .
sounds like the bloke at the top of the ladder is creaming it in though if everyone has to pay the joining fee, and I have never seen an advert for this except for write up in the free paper telling people about the group etc, Spanky you probably get the same free rag as me (the champion)
sounds like the bloke at the top of the ladder is creaming it in though if everyone has to pay the joining fee, and I have never seen an advert for this except for write up in the free paper telling people about the group etc, Spanky you probably get the same free rag as me (the champion)
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NPS
Private Member
and????
SpankySouthport
Private Member
yeah falls through the door right in to the bin lol
AntJones
Member
I went to a BNI meeting yesterday (2nd time) and filled in the forms to join. It seems a good mix of professions and trades but there is no plasterer. I feel quite positive about BNI. First time I went to see what it was all about was two weeks ago and i got three leads. One was no good, the other got me a simple ceiling to overboard and skim (£450) and their interior designer has let me do some random venetian polished walls in her new showroom. I have another rendering lead to call later. You gotta speculate to accumulate and we all need to accumulate don't we. I've always been more a tradesman than a business man but these days you need to be a bit savvy and networking with others can bring reasonable benefits. You scratch my back' i'll scratch yours. You don't have to suddenly blow out all your old contacts either it just a chance to develop new additional ones.
I understand its not for everybody and if you are regularly banging out houses on site everyday you wouldn't need it, but like many on here I work on a job to job basis and can waste a lot of time quoting rubbish enquires from newspaper ads, YP or thomsons and / or pricing against chancers just charging beer money. So good quality referals are premium to me. And if they turn out tho be really crap you can always tell them in front of everybody next week.
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