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Welcome to the Cork City Chapter of BNI

Welcome to the BNI Cork City Chapter

BNI is a business professional organisation that allows only one person from each trade or profession to join a chapter. It is the most successful organisation of its type in the world – with over 5,000 chapters and tens of thousands of members worldwide.

The BNI Cork City Chapter meet every Friday at 6.45am in Nemo Rangers GAA Clubhouse on South Douglas Road, Cork.

Currently within the BNI Cork City Chapter we have over 30 business categories represented. These include a:

  • Financial Advisor, with specific focus on children with special needs
  • Architect
  • Recruitment Agency
  • Venue Finder
  • Printer
  • Promotional Products
  • Shop fitter
  • Marketing Consultancy
  • Insurance Broker
  • Landscape Designer
  • Dentist
  • Nutritionist
  • Commercial Contract Cleaners
  • Structural/Civil Engineer
  • Quantity Surveyor
  • Speech and Language Therapist
  • Business Coach
  • Travel agent
  • Solicitor
  • Tiling Contractor
  • Accountant
  • Carpenter
  • Electrician
  • Shipping/Logistics
  • IT Hardware and Software
  • Domestic Cleaning Services
  • Sign Company
  • Green Energy Company
Attendance at the meetings is by invite only so if you would like to attend and meet and network with successful business owners and broaden your business prospects please email info@bnicorkcity.com.

Posted in General Discussion.


What is BNI & how does it work?

Most business people would be delighted to generate even more business for themselves and this is especially true in these recessionary times. Hundreds of business people in the Cork area are members of BNI, a networking and referral generating organisation, because they would like to grow and develop their businesses.

BNI, which is the most successful organisation of its type in the world, is organised into ‘chapters’ where groups of business people help each other find prospective clients for their products or services. It is based on the principle of “Givers Gain” – if you help my business, I’m more likely to help yours. One such chapter, BNI Cork City, meets on a weekly basis where over 30 business people educate their colleagues on how to identify prospective customers for them.

The BNI Cork City chapter is comprised of business people from all walks of life. One of the unique features of BNI is that each chapter has just one representative for a particular industry, profession or trade so as to avoid direct competition amongst the members.

The Cork City chapter is the longest-running of the dozen or so chapters in the Cork area and some of its members have been enjoying the benefits of membership for over eleven years.

The Cork City chapter of BNI meets every Friday morning at Nemo Rangers GAA Clubhouse on South Douglas Road, Cork.  Attendance is by invitation only so if you would like to visit, please contact info@bnicorkcity.com.

Posted in BNI Cork City, General Discussion.


Cork City Chapter wins Founder’s Award!

BNI Cork City Chapter Group photo

Recently, to recognise its ongoing success, the Cork City chapter received a special award from the founder of the BNI organisation, Dr. Ivan Misner. The so-called Founder’s Award is given to a tiny fraction of the thousands of chapters worldwide who demonstrate consistent success in generating new business for its members.

The Cork City chapter director, the person responsible for chairing the weekly meetings, Niall Hawthorne was both thrilled and surprised when Charlie Lawson, head of BNI UK & Ireland, visited the chapter meeting in June to present the Founder’s Award. Niall commented afterwards “Hand on heart, I had no idea that Charlie was there to present us with the Founder Award, and it was a genuine shock when he did.”

Niall admits that being director of such a successful chapter carries its own pressure, “From the day I agreed to become Chapter Director for my six-month stint, I always felt that I was simply trying to continue the incredible work carried out by my predecessors, and to try to lead the chapter to the heights previously achieved, and where possible to lead the chapter to even greater things.”

Like all true success, this was not an overnight process. Niall was quick to acknowledge this, “As part of previous leadership teams, I was aware of the amount of work and effort that my colleagues had put into the Cork City Chapter and this award was recognition of their efforts, and of the effort, integrity and honesty of every member of the Cork City Chapter, past and present.”

All of the leadership roles within a BNI chapter are rotated every six months. Niall’s term as chapter director ends in September. Niall realises “to be the Chapter Director when the award was presented was a personal piece of good fortune. To be a member of the Cork City Chapter when the award was presented was an honour.”

Posted in Awards.