It’s not often you're tucking into an early breakfast and all around you there are business people on their feet singing, with passion, enthusiasm and, surprisingly, in many cases - in tune. And not just singing but singing in the voice and style of Elvis.

That was me this morning and, though it felt like it, I wasn’t dreaming.

I was at BNI Fortune in Mill Hill which, if it isn’t the most vibrant, enthusiastic, passionate network group around there must be one helluva group out there.

It’s certainly the most successful, for in the past 12 months, BNI Fortune has generated over £3m worth of business for its 55+ members.

Bit of a rewind here. If you’re not au fait with BNI here’s a short summary.

BNI is a referral network group – in fact it’s the world’s most successful referral network group and its main purpose is to generate business for its members.

How does it work?

Every member in a chapter (group), in their day to day work and life, actively looks and listens for opportunities to refer work to their fellow members. So it’s like having 20 to 30 people helping you find business.

Except BNI Fortune is one of the biggest groups, so each member has 55 of them doing this for them. On top of that though, they are hugely enthusiastic and committed  - that was obvious this morning – and the results show in the amount of business they’ve generated for each other.

I was there with two hats on. I’d been invited by Judi Guy, from North London Hospice, and I was also substituting for Mitchell Walters, from NoLettingGo Barnet.

I’d no idea there would be a themed Elvis event and was quite staggered how enthusiastically and committed everyone was to it. On their feet singing their hearts out and it wasn’t even half past seven.

Now BNI is a bit like Marmite. People either really like it and get lots and lots from it or they hate it, not wanting to conform to its rules and requirements.

It’s not for every business but it’s been shown to work very well for most and I think the key factor is the person not the business.

So if you’re in business and want more business, maybe you’re just the person for whom BNI can work. And if it does, it could make a big difference, not just to your business, but to you too with all the personal development training you’d get.  

And if you want to see a group that works really well, having a look at BNI Fortune maybe a very good way to spend 2 hours on a Tuesday morning.

And don’t worry, you don’t have to sing.

For more information and for how to visit see the BNI Fortune website.