Each week at BNI4Success, we'll talk about referral networking networks. We'll discuss networking tips, strategies and action steps that are designed to help entrepreneurs and businesses work together to create quality referral business and explore new opportunities.

Welcome to this month's BNI Decoded. It's been a fabulous first week of September for us so far. Before we get into to our topic today, which is “Does Size Matter?” I want to talk a little bit about the format of BNI Decoded.

It is kind of a conversational thing. Whichever Director is staring in this, which today it's me, I'm Cys Bronner, I'm the Executive Director for BNI Greater Los Angeles Regions. Whichever Director we have will talk to us a little bit about a topic and then we kind of get the room going on it. This session is designed to be 30 minutes to 45 minutes. We have a hard stop at 45.

We tend to get a little excited and go over, and today I really want to commit to having it be a shorter run because that's part of running a successful meeting, isn't it? Starting and stopping on time.

Out here in LA on this fabulous Thursday, I had an opportunity to present this same topic with one of my favorite chapters and I have to admit I came back and I then Google the same topic afterwards and I found out that in BNI New Zealand - which is more than four steps away from LA, right? - we had another Director who was working with the chapter, Nikki Gunning, and she had almost the same things to say. It was so incredible to see this.

So, you know, we are different in our personalities and our professions, but business issues and what we're tackling are kind of the same worldwide, aren't they?

And you know, she had a chapter that was very strong at the end of last year. And you know, this chapter I was working with was very, very strong too. And the conversation that that we had really brings home how size matters.

We started our new year with this chapter going our first chapter back in person - all of our chapters here in Los Angeles have been slow to restart and some of them are just becoming hybrid. Some of them are still online and this is the only one that's fully in person and we lost in a huge swoop 19 members. But what really struck me about these people today is these are these members that are left are a very excellent dedicated Corp. They're not just dedicated in the fact of, “oh, I love BNI, and I love my people and I want to have breakfast with them”, but they're dedicated in their respect of having a meeting of excellence, and to me - and I think you might agree - that's pretty darn important, right?

So, in talking to these people and working with them, it becomes really inspirational. You know, when you have everybody who wants to be there, and everyone participating wants a fun and professional meeting it really kind of reinvigorates you, when the visitors come, you know the conversion rate begins to be high, even though there's small group, right? And I love it.

And so, I want you, everybody who's listening to this on the podcast, or who's ever here today wants you to take this into consideration when I ask you If size matters?

I think our first step really is to dream big. Because results go with goals, don't they?

Way back in the beginning of my time in BNI, I as a member, shall I share that with you?

I joined BNI in 1997. You know what? I don't even have kids that are. Well, I do have kids that were around, actually. 1997 was some time ago and we had a chapter that was also kind of ebbing and flowing in its numbers and it went from 26, it went down to 17, it went back up and there was a conversation of where we could end early.

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