BNI Olympus Chapter

well Deb's, I bet you never thought you'd see this...

Great 10 minute presentation from Sarah Mottershead (Crystal Eternity Bridalwear) this morning, especially as she’s usually quite nervous about public speaking.

we really got to see her stunning Crystal Bouquets, buttonholes and other wedding accessories in context thanks to our stand in Bride (Debbie Gill, House of Colour) and Groom (Chapter Director, Russ Treasure, Lambogenie.co.uk)

Well done Sarah…

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Address               2 Church Road, Leyland, Lancashire PR25 3EJ

Five years ago a group of local business people started meeting near Preston to share contacts and pass business. The group meets every Tuesday morning at the recently refurbished Farington Lodge Hotel where an average seat is worth around £26,000 to its members. Mike Gelder, one of the long standing members explains “I receive over 50% of my business through members of the group! It’s allowed me to significantly expand my client base with very little marketing spend.”

The group is planning a visitors day on the 27th November where members of the local business community are invited to attend. The group is run by BNI, an international organisation with over 15,000 members in the UK. Meetings are every Tuesday and start at 7am, so members are doing business before the competition is even out of bed!

Several milestones are expected to be reached this month with the passing of the 3,500th business referral and the arrival of the 500th visitor who will be celebrating in style, with the champagne in the picture. Anyone interested in attending the open day should contact Carmen Parkinson, BNI Assistant Director on 07818 620163.

When unavoidable absence from the BNI breakfast table means having to find a substitute, then it’s important to ensure your replacement is not going to let you down.

Happily, Russell Treasure - a member of the Olympus Chapter in Leyland near Preston - had no such doubts when he had to miss a recent meeting, after arranging for his substitute to be collected from home in a beautiful orange Lamborghini Gallardo sports car, and then be chauffeur driven to work afterwards!

In fact it was all in a day’s work for Russell, whose business ‘Lambogenie.com’ hires out prestige sports cars for celebrity events and special occasions.

He said: “I’d asked a business colleague, Martin Cooke from Ribble Insurances Ltd, to act as my substitute and of course he would have been very willing to oblige, even without the VIP treatment. But I thought that since he was making the effort to get up very early on my behalf, the least I could do was provide one of my eye catching cars and have him chauffeur driven to and from the chapter meeting. I gather his arrival caused a minor stir among the other Olympus members.”

Our photo shows Martin being greeted by Chapter Director Gary Baldwin outside Olympus’s venue, Farington Lodge Hotel in Leyland.

Photo:www.inspiredimagesltd.com Contact Martin on 07737 393485 www.ribbleinsurance.com and Russell on 01254 854414 www.lambogenie.com

We’re all behind the Chorley Guardians Campaign to raise awareness of Chorley FC’s ’save the magpies appeal’, this is what appeared in the paper recently

…The latest donor is Leyland-based BNI Olympus Chapter, which has chipped in with £100. BNI Olympus Chapter is a referral networking organisation with one representative from each business sector.They decided to step in after Jackie Williams, of Chorley-based Primary Graphics Limited, heard about the plight of the Magpies. She decided to use her presentation time at her weekly referral network meeting at Farington Lodge, Leyland, to rally support from her fellow members. She said: “Being a supporter of local causes and recognising that every town needs to have its own football team for the sake of future generations, I had little trouble convincing them to dig deep and help save the club…

The Olympus Chapter Vistor Day held on the 5th of December 2006 was a resounding success and opportunity to network with a fascinating cross-section of local businesses - with 22 visiting companies including some of Preston’s biggest names from accountants, signwriters, hire shop, car rental and even a model agency… hosted by Regional Director Mike Holman and our own Chapter Director Martin Toole.

this is what BNI’s powerful ‘word-of-mouth marketing referral programme’ is all about, please contact us for the date of the next Visitor Day.

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One way to really liven up a morning meeting is by setting off fireworks!

and that’s what happened recently when the Olympus chapter passed it’s 2500th referral, it was kept a secret by the leadership team until the actual referral was passed, and then celebrated in style… at least it woke everyone up, talk about a meeting stimulus.

as featured on BNI’s SuccessNet August 2005

Leyland’s Olympus Chapter may not be Lancashire’s biggest BNI group or even the loudest. But they are definitely the proudest, having been named the county’s “Chapter of the Year” at the recent regional awards night. They were rewarded for their quality of referrals and consistently high standards. Jackie Williams who serves on the Membership Committee said: “I think we apply BNI’s rules more strictly than some chapters. Prospective new members are interviewed at length by the membership committee to ensure we attract quality, not quantity. We won’t tolerate absenteeism nor allow fudged contributions. We run a very tight ship which is probably one reason we won the award.” “Bringing in the right new people adds vibrancy and introduces us to new contacts. Visitors are always impressed by the ‘buzz’ we generate at our meetings, and by the serious amount of business they see changing hands. Receiving this award proves that small can be beautiful!”

MIKE GELDER – REDLEG.NET LIMITED

After 10 years with IBM in London, Mike decided to setup an IT services company in his home town of Preston helping businesses get the best out of their computer systems. When a second client mentioned BNI in July 2004 he met with the Olympus chapter near Leyland and joined straight away. He has been very actively involved in running that group for the past three years and seen the benefits.

“Most of our new customers come through BNI now and it contributes a significant percentage of revenue. I couldn’t imagine running a business without those regular word-of-mouth introductions”

www.redleg.net – info@redleg.net