JUNE 2014 SPOTLIGHT - How to Grow Your Business

How To grow your business There’s many different methods of growing your business through networking, and lots of ideas and varying methods of utilizing those all important business contacts.

Different networking clubs have different offers and one of the most enriching and supportive clubs whether you employ one or more than a hundred employees, has to be BNI, the world's largest and most successful business referral network. BNI has many groups that meet throughout the

World, in the UK alone its members passed over £339 million, and the Tennyson chapter in Lincoln has passed £1.5 million in the last 12 months amongst its remembers In the last 12 months alone. BNI allow only one business category per group, members

learn about each others business and look out for business opportunities for each other. Each business that joins BNI is committed to meeting up once a week, committed to the training that BNI gives each member and committed to getting business opportunities for each of their fellow members.

CAN YOU BENEFIT FROM BNI? Here are some BNI Tennyson Chapter members, business people like you, doing business the BNI way every Day.

Christine Taylor, Travel Counsellors.

Christine joined BNI over 3 years ago and has never looked back. The single overriding reason for Christine was the way that BNI, like any other business, sets goals & measures its performance. The meetings are structured and run for the benefit of the members.

Christine is part of Travel Counsellors, the multi award winning and largest home based travel agency in the world. Travel Counsellors are the only travel company to win the prestigious QUEENS AWARD and they have a 98% customer satisfaction via 'Net Promoter' (a system used by company’s such as Apple, Nike, Lego etc to monitor a company’s performance).

improve her work/ life balance, and having travelled extensively in her past, it was an obvious choice to apply her passion for travel into a full time profession, one which allowed all of Christine’s skills in customer care to be put to good use. This translates to her talent for tirelessly researching to find the perfect holiday to give the best possible holiday and booking experience for her clients, many of whom love the personal service and attention to detail that comes as part of her job.

Christine describes her first years membership with BNI as PHENONENAL, and it continues to grow year on year! Its not just members in the room, its who they know, after all everyone goes away somewhere and every booking has 100% financial protection with Travel Counsellors unique trust.

Christine joined the travel company for several reasons, one of which was to Tel Christine Taylor 01522 716470 Mobile: 07766 753 809 Christine.taylor@travelcounsellors.com

Ian Green - AGI Landscapes LLP Ian has been in landscape and garden design for over 15 years. Formerly in the RAF, Ian studied horticulture and design at De Montfort University before turning his hobby into his profession when he left. Ian joined BNI Tennyson around 8 months ago and shares similar reasons for joining as Christine, he was impressed with the opportunity to make valuable business contacts and was serious about growing his business. BNI has given Ian a structured and relaxed system of meeting with like minded friendly business people all looking to benefit from their memberships.

As Ian points out, an Englishman’s home is the garden, it’s the area that’s on show 365 days of the year, and is in effect “the biggest room in the

house” Part of his ethos is that once he has started on a garden, he remains until its finished – no job hopping from AGI, and a job is done properly the first time so it lasts and is a true reflection of the owners dreams.

Projects can range from small patios to full mature garden makeovers, however the most popular service he offers is on new builds, where the builder leaves a few slabs and if you are lucky a bit of turf, these can transformed to reflect the personality of the home owners and can be full of character. Ian specialises in garden design and landscaping, unlike other businesses that perhaps add this into the rest of the things they do, therefore providing you with a dream garden which not only looks beautiful but is also practical and built to last.

Call Ian Green 01522 691010 or 0115 971 8107 to discuss your dream garden. www.agilandscapes.com

Richard Jones – Energy My Way Under the Directorship of Richard Jones, a Chartered Building Surveyor with more than 20 years experience advising homeowners, corporate and public sector clients, EnergyMyWay gives advice on the most appropriate renewable technologies for every property, whether its your home or a business. EnergyMyWay is one of the few companies that provide unbiased advice on all the available products and so can advise on the best solution whether its a biomass boiler, heat pump or Solar PV. Richard joined BNI Tennyson Chapter a year ago, having visited several other networking groups that didn’t quite fit with his business needs. The single most impressive thing was the amount of business being passed between members at the weekly meeting, and that the members were practical & down to earth.

“BNI delivered more practical referrals than any other group I had visited” Richard likes the ethos of BNI and the commitment it has to helping businesses to grow, and has found it to be a huge part in the growth of his business.

Like other members, Richard is passionate about his services, and caring for the environment. This, coupled with the Government incentives, meant that moving into Renewable Energy was a logical move for him to combine his qualifications as a Chartered Building Surveyor with these technologies. Recent projects include a new Biomass boiler at Burton Hathow Preparatory School, in Lincolnshire and installing ground mounted solar panels at The Garden House, Saxby.

So if you would like to l Lower your bills by generating your own energy at home or work l Earn money from Feed-in Tariff and Renewable Heat Incentive l Reduce carbon emissions and limit your carbon tax liabilities

Call Richard Jones on 01522 370286 or email lincs@energymyway.co.uk http://www.energymyway.co.uk/region/lincolnshire-and-nottinghamshire/

Use Locally - Issue 13 June 2014

Roma Williams – Aromatherapy & Massage Roma, has been running clinics, for 18 years, in Lincoln, Louth & Grimsby for many years, and its testament to her massage skills, (amongst others) that mean some clinics appointments are only available via a waiting list.

Roma isn’t the usual sort of aromatherapist that you might think of. This isn’t the clinic you come to for a spot of light pampering and a girly day at the spa! The treatments here are designed for deep tissue, muscle reviving issues, the long term and deep seated problems that come from stress, illness and various medical problems such as migraine, IBS, Fibromyalgia and even Infertility.

Roma joined BNI Tennyson approx 7 months ago and quickly recouped her membership cost.

The decision to join wasn’t taken lightly - as a

therapist charging £20 on average for a treatment, I needed a lot of treatments to make my membership worthwhile! However she has found the support and reliability of the members to be invaluable in more ways than just increasing her business. One of the things she likes about BNI is the wealth of opportunities that being involved with other members brings, especially as a single practitioner; it can be a bit daunting sometimes when searching for various things.

One of Roma’s clients is an award winning body builder, who has regular massages to break down the lactic acid and build an asymmetrical and accurate muscular system.

Other issues Roma has been successful in dealing with are infertility. To date 14 couples have gone on to have babies following a successful course the unique Swiss Reflex method, many of whom had been told the only option left to them was surgery.

Roma is often referred by GPs and is also recognised by HSA.

Roma Williams Aromatherapy 07790 982883 romafeywilliams@aol.com

What links all these people above? Pride, Passion and BNI, each of the people above have come together into a proven networking formula to drive their businesses forward. It could be working for you too! We meet weekly on Friday mornings, from 7am till 8.30am at the Old Palace Hotel, Lincoln.

Contact Amanda on 07939 508636 for further information.

BNI Members meet weekly with the prime intention of passing each other opportunities for new business through 'word of mouth referrals'. This is the most cost-effective form of gaining new business possible. Being a member of Business Network Int'l (BNI) is like having sales people working for you every 10

day who market your product or services.

BNI's sole purpose is to provide a positive, supportive and structured environment for the growth and development of the businesses of its members through the exchange of quality business referrals. In the Tennyson BNI (Lincoln) Chapter of BNI, members are already referring hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of business, amounting to 1.5million pounds worth of business in the last year alone!

BNI Members commit to a strict code of ethics and a high standard of quality is both expected and monitored through the BNI system.

BNI is a 29 year old business and professional organisation that allows only one person

from each trade or profession to join a chapter. With over 6,271 active chapters, and 160,000 members, it is the most successful business referral organisation in the world.

Belonging to BNI is like having dozens of sales people working for you because all the other members carry copies of your card with them.

When they meet someone new that could use your products or services they hand out your card and personally recommend your services.

BNI makes doing business easier through strong relationships, trust and teamwork. If that sounds like something that would help your business grow do get in touch with one of your local groups.

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