If you add up all of the other networking groups in the world, it would not add up to the business that BNI generates. Our organization creates leaders. ... We refuse to let our businesses fail.

With more than $29 million in shared business this year, some of the most successful BNI chapters, or business networking groups, in Nevada are located in Henderson, according to Leslie Taylor, executive director of the organization's Las Vegas area.

"The Henderson and Green Valley clubs are working harder on their businesses than other areas," she said. "Networking is really all about people helping one another and believing in the philosophy that Givers Gain (the trademarked motto of the organization)."

Established in 1985 by Dr. Ivan Misner, a management consultant, BNI is the largest business networking organization in the world with more than 110,000 members. More than 6000 BNI chapters exist in 40 countries around the globe. Last year, members of BNI passed more than 5.6 million referrals worldwide that generated more than $2.3 billion for its members.

BNI has been in Southern Nevada since 1989, and Henderson has five chapters: the Referral Express meets at 7 a.m. every Tuesday at 11021 S. Eastern Ave.; Profiteers gets together every Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. at Republican Kitchen 9470 S. Eastern Ave.; Business Builders meets at the Wildhorse Golf Course Clubhouse at 2100 W. Warm Springs Road every Tuesday at noon; Integrity Business Pros also gather at the Wildhorse Golf Course Clubhouse, but on Wednesdays at 7 a.m.; and the I Refer chapter joins up at the Cottages of Green Valley, 2260 Robindale Road every Thursday at 7 a.m. All meetings last approximately an hour and a half.

Steve Goldstein, area director of BNI Las Vegas and a member of the Referral Express club in Henderson, said that many of the organization's members would be out of business if it weren't for the referrals they share with each other in these challenging economic times.

"It's about helping others grow their business, and referrals are a part of a marketing system," he remarked. "We have a system, and we believe in education. Our members are encouraged to read about networking. Most people go to a networking meeting to sell something, and that is not what networking is really all about."

To become a member of a BNI chapter, a business must be licensed and go through an application process.

Taylor said that becoming a member of BNI allows Henderson businesses to tap into an international mind trust.

"People run great businesses by creating teams, and BNI brings the global community local," she stated. "We help our members in any way we can."

The enormous worldwide membership that BNI enjoys and its leadership development are also benefits for businesses, according to Goldstein.

"If you add up all of the other networking groups in the world, it would not add up to the business that BNI generates," he said. "Our organization creates leaders. Many of our members are also members of the Henderson Chamber of Commerce. We refuse to let our businesses fail."

For more information about BNI or to locate a chapter, visit the website at bni.com.

Wayne Wallace Photography

Henderson business networkers receive their awards at the BNI Givers Gain Awards ceremony held in November. Givers Gain, BNI’s trademarked motto, is based on the philosophy that, in the act of giving, those who are the givers gain more than those they are giving to.