It’s 6.30am on a Wednesday and around 25 cars are parking in quick succession on de Paule Avenue by the Corinthia Palace Hotel. It is still dark, and BNI members of the De Paule Chapter hurriedly walk towards the hotel and on to the first floor where a light breakfast awaits them.
Visitors have 30 seconds to introduce their business to members
Upstairs, after pouring coffee and tea, they place their business cards in the appropriate box that is passed round during the meeting.
BNI hosts welcome the six visitors and introduce them to all the Chapter members. The meeting starts at 7. A three-minute educational slot delivered by Mandy Mifsud from Domain Group provides inspirational ideas on how members can inject more verve in their businesses.
It is followed by a series of 60-second presentations during which, one by one, all members explain their company’s business and share tips and news.
There’s laughter at 7.15am as Chapter president Nicolette Micallef from ConServ introduces her 60-second presentation by saying that she helps managing directors sleep well at night. She explains her company helps businesses with their health and safety issues.
“We try to enhance the quality of these presentations as they serve to generate business referrals for our member companies,” Frank Salt Real Estate’s Stanley Bonello, the Chapter vice-president, explains. “Visitors are given 30 seconds to introduce their business to members. They received all the members’ business cards and they share theirs.”
An “8+2 minute” presentation by a member follows. The first eight minutes allow the member to give more information about his or her company. Today Alex Aquilina of Eagle K-Wear presents various uniforms his company produces. While handling one of the latest orders for Mater Dei hospital staff wear, Eagle K-Wear required enumerated labelling. The company extended its search as far away as China but none withstood the test of repeated laundering by Portughes Dry Cleaners.
“That’s a test,” Alex had explained to the dry cleaners’ managing director Ian Portughes. “These labels from various other countries faded.”
Then, Ian replied: “We have enumerated labels that have withstood extensive dry cleaning.” Eagle K-Wear had searched the globe for labels when they were available from a company around the corner all the time.
Business referrals followed – on average each week, some 11 referrals are shared among the 23 chapter members. The model is aimed at helping to increase the turnover of member companies.
There are more than 6,200 BNI chapters across the world. Any BNI member who is visiting another city or country can benefit from an open-door policy at all of these chapters. The only condition of these meetings is to belong to a profession or trade that does not have duplication within the same chapter. As ‘seats are locked’ in one chapter, the need arises to establish another.
Malta BNI has just launched its fourth chapter in less than three years: the de Redin (St Julian’s) Chapter which meets every Friday at Radisson Blu.
Invitations to attend a chapter meeting in Attard, Sliema, St Julian’s or Valletta are open to the wider business community. For more information visit www.maltabni.com.