Biznik Blog

Today, it seems like there is almost as many different styles of business networking as there are styles of employment. For the last six years, I’ve been a member of BNI (Business Networking International), the largest business networking organization in the world. On Tuesday I said goodbye to BNI, welcoming the members of my group to join me in Biznik as I left. Nine of the 23 in my chapter have already done so.

So, why did I leave? For the past year, I have managed rather well to coexist in each group. I know the majority of the people in my BNI chapter well. I got more than enough work from them to cover the membership fees, and as my sphere of contacts grew in Biznik, I had more introductions to make and more business to pass than ever before. But as I spent more time in Biznik-land, the hierarchy, rigidity and structure of BNI became less and less appealing.

Some people need structure. They crave a predictable work day, their clients and/or family may require it, and they prefer to separate their personal life from their work life. BNI meets the needs of people like this very well. But it has a more difficult time appealing to those of us who live and work outside it. On the whole, indie professionals do not like to be told what to do, how to do it, or when to do it. Does that sound like you?

From the comments posted to Chris’ 5 Signs You Might Be a Biznik blog, and some of the recent discussions on Biz Talk, it sounds like a lot of you.

Here’s some ways that Biznik is different from BNI:

- BNI is very structured. They require attendance at the weekly 7am meetings that follow a strict 90-minute agenda that’s been replicated in every BNI chapter in the world. Biznik, on the other hand, is loosely structured – any member can host an event, using the online tools. And Dan and I have been hosting the casually social Happy Hours a couple times a month.

- BNI is exclusive and uses the phrase, “locking out your competition.” They are based on a chapter model and limit membership in each chapter to only one person from each profession. Biznik is event-based, and believes in collaboration over competition. We believe that there is enough work for everyone and if you open yourself up to this idea you might find yourself being able to specialize in what you love most, while referring the less fitting jobs to your “competitors.” Win-win.

- BNI is hierarchal. Members are governed by a chapter’s leadership team and membership committee, which are overseen by assistant directors, with the regional director at the top. Our approach is to make Biznik a largely horizontal structure, in which members decide what events to host for themselves. Currently, Dan and I are moderating those events to ensure a high degree of relevancy and interest for our members. But we plan to let that responsibility flow to to the community as it matures. We view our role as “benevolent dictators” whose role is to listen and provide tools and resources that the you, the members, want. Not just what we think you should want.

- BNI, in my opinion, dedicates way too much energy to passing business referrals in the way that they have decided is the best way, and virtually no energy on helping members build their businesses through collaboration, and sharing experience and resources with one another in an organic way. But then BNI is not trying to be organic. I’ve never gotten the impression that they’re interested in evolving. It is based on a tried and tested formula that’s been working for them for 21 years. Biznik, on the other hand, is evolving daily.

In leaving BNI, I’m leaving a small group of 20-odd people who I saw weekly for the last 280+ weeks. By not dividing Biznik into chapters (even by cities), Biznik is one big glob of indie professionals, a glob that’s growing every day – and not only that, no one’s required to be at any events, so unless you make dates with each other, you’ll see each other when you see each other. Easy, but some of us want a tad more structure and intimacy.

Enter the Biz Pod – the latest development in the evolution of Biznik (and something we’re working to launch on the website by the end of the month). A Biz Pod is a small group of Bizniks who can assemble around any common interest: from sharing the same type of clients, to sharing the same profession; from a common geographic location, to an interest in goal setting and holding each other accountable. Once we finish developing the tools, anyone will be able to create a pod and choose to open the pod to new membership or make it private. Each pod will have a profile page similar to the member profiles, displaying the members of that pod and coming with a pod meeting/events calendar, a pod discussion tool, and way to send announcements to it’s members.

I’m a member of the “beta” Biz Pod – a group of ten women here in Seattle. After the goal setting, brainstorming and swapping of resources, the referrals come naturally. We meet monthly in each other’s homes and fufill the need for an intimate group that the well-attended happy hours and educational events don’t meet.

Leaving BNI only amplifies my drive to make Biznik into something amazing. Are you still a member of a mainstream business networking group and cross-pollinating inside Biznik? What’s your experience been like?

This entry was posted on Friday, July 14th, 2006 at 11:56 am and is filed under News. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.