PETALING JAYA (10 July 2019): Over 300 business owners came together this morning to elevate business networking to yet another level. Hosted by the BNI Miracle chapter, a new chapter under BNI Malaysia, the Big Business Opportunity Day event was aimed at connecting the existing 86 BNI Miracle members to hundreds of other entrepreneurs and SMEs that were seeking collaborative business opportunities.
The BNI Miracle Chapter, the latest addition to the existing 82 chapters in Malaysia and based in Petaling Jaya, is also recognised as a “Diamond Chapter”, a feat only nine other BNI chapters have achieved in the world. To secure this historic global recognition as the largest launched chapter in Southeast Asia, BNI Miracle chapter needs to have a minimum of 102 members upon its official launch date on July 24, 2019 or 138 members by the same date to break the world record.
As of the noon of 10 July, the Miracle Chapter has 86 professionals on its membership roll, putting it firmly on track to be the largest in Southeast Asia very soon.
“What makes this feat truly amazing is that chapter members are coming together to achieve this ambitious target, to collaboratively grow their business as a unified force,” said Marcus Hwang, BNI Malaysia’s National Director, who added that the global BNI community currently stands at 9,125 chapters. A chapter with 102 members is expected to translate into 5,151 possible connections amongst members.
Targeted at Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), which form the backbone of the Malaysian economy, BNI has been operating in Malaysia for the last 19 years, and has gained more than 3,400 members. Impact wise, BNI Malaysia has helped more than 5,000 companies to grow their business and in the last 12 months ending in May 2019, recorded over RM 850 million worth of transactions.
“Our leadership team is guided by the Givers Gain® philosophy, and we are very passionate about creating an outstanding culture that promotes collaboration and cooperation,” said Hwang, who argued that BNI’s ability to tap into high quality connections without having to invest in huge budgets sets it apart from other forms of business networking.
BNI has a policy of one member per classification in a chapter which provides the benefit of exclusivity. For example, you will not find two conveyancing lawyers in the same chapter.
BNI also practices the principle of Power Teams where various professionals can cluster around a specific industry. For example, in the Construction Power Team members can assist each other by providing relevant referrals, such as a property valuer referring an architect, interior designer, landscape architect, quantity surveyor, and so on within the chapter.
“We are the only networking organisation where members help each other grow their businesses through referrals and without giving commission upon closing,” said Marcus Teoh, who co-founded the BNI Miracle chapter with Adi Afendi.
Teoh is an author and a Facebook marketing guru, while Adi has made a name for himself in the emceeing industry.
According to Teoh, the BNI Miracle chapter was formed with the vision that will make it stand out in Southeast Asia. “We are here to break the world record for the largest chapter, which is currently held by chapters in India, China and Hong Kong. We want to put Malaysia on the map as a regional hub for SMEs to connect internationally and locally,” said Teoh.
Based on the idea that Giver’s Gain®, members of the BNI Miracle chapter are able to tap into the personal networks of other members to generate business opportunities. The chapter also provides a support system for business owners with members coming together to share experiences and a helping hand if needed, added Adi.
Format wise, BNI chapters follow a standard format around the world, with a 20-point-agenda during their nearly weekly meetings that revolve around finding business referrals for one another, with each referral tracked for outcomes.
“More likely than not, the BNI Miracle chapter will be upholding higher monitoring standards compared to other chapters. We will diligently evaluate every member's contribution towards the growth of business and the chapter, as our vision is not just about growing members’ business within Malaysia, but also taking them internationally,” added Hwang.
Happy Faces… BNI Miracle Chapter members groupshot with Avryl Au (sitting in the middle), Executive Director of KL West and KL South Regions, Klang Valley Malaysia and National Director for BNI Thailand, BNI Macau and Hong Kong, China together with the co-founder of Miracle Chapter Marcus Teoh(right) and Adi Afendi (left).
