In February of 2001 I took my first bold step on the path of entrepreneurship. It was definitely a “where fools fear to tread process”, as I was armed with enthusiasm, perseverance and love for the industry of my choice but with little else. In fact I had no resources, no equipment and no formal training in starting and operating my own business.
I learned by trial and error and received support from areas that I did not know existed before hand. Luckily I did not know what was in store for me or perhaps I would never have started in the first place.
After a few lucky breaks and lot of perseverance I got a few clients, some, which proved to be extremely loyal and are still clients of mine today. But the first few years of your business are far from being easy. I am sure that any entrepreneur who would read this would be taken back to those “gut wrenching” first few months and in some cases years of starting up. The days when you were one of the few, if not the only person who thought that you could make it.
Near the end of 2002, I evaluated my progress and although slow it was a steady one. I celebrated a repeat ten thousand unit pen order from one of my clients and was preparing to bravely face my up coming second year of business.
I must admit that my health seemed to be plaguing me somewhat and I casually put it down to stress and perhaps a recurring back and shoulder problem that I had. I also had a strange tiredness and decided to make a commitment to rest and exercise more.
A few days before my annual shut down period over December, I decided to see a doctor to check up on my symptoms. That was the day that my entire life changed. It was the day that I found out that I was to become a mother.
Shock cannot describe my feelings. It was the wrong time. The wrong space and the wrong person. The father upon hearing about the pregnancy dropped me like a hot potato. I was left without accommodation, my office equipment disappeared with the disappearance of the father and the outlook seemed dismal to say the least.
Having been a personnel agent before, I knew that finding employment in the ‘delicate condition’ I was in would be like searching for the “Holy Grail”. Therefore my only option was to continue with my business and build it up to a level where I could support myself and my baby without the absent father’s assistance. Love and support I had a great deal of. I was merciless on myself, working hours that a normal person, let alone a pregnant person would not manage.
When the time of my baby’s arrival loomed largely (like my belly) over the horizon, I began to panic. How was I to manage a business and have a baby at the same time? How would I be able to pick up the phone and prospect while I had an infant crying in the background? How could I manage my business and care for my baby. There was not enough time; too few resources and I did not feel that I would have the physical and emotional energy.
A friend of mine invited me to a BNI breakfast. I was immediately impressed by the concept and decided to join. Unfortunately it was not to be at that time, as my core business appeared to clash with a service of one of the existing members. My friend who introduced me had a similar experience.
Thankfully BNI allows for people like us to start up a new chapter, which is exactly what we did. From the time period of August 2002 to January 2003 I got ten new customers. As every businessperson knows that not every lead becomes a deal. So, suffice to say that I received far more leads than the ten deals that I got.
To fully appreciate the power of networking I would encourage every BNI member to track the process of some of their leads.
I received a lead from an Audio Visual Company for a Professional Events Planner. The deal from the Event Planner was an R 72 000.00 deal. The Events Planner in turn gave me a lead for a Computer Firm who placed an order with me for R 16 929.00. A few months later I received a call out of the blue from a company that I had never heard of. The contact person knew someone at the computer firm who handed out my details. That was an R 4 651.00 deal. Altogether the single lead that I received from the Audio Visual Company multiplied into R 93 580.00 turnover.
The interesting thing about this exercise is that all three of these companies are not associated with BNI at all.
Sadly the company who initially gave me the lead is no longer a member of BNI. I would have been interested to see what their progress would have been if they had persevered as I had.
One skill that I definitely have is perseverance and in my case, perseverance combined with the opportunities that BNI presents have paid enormous dividends.
For any person who is considering joining BNI, I would encourage them to not only join, but to dedicate a full portion of their passion to their fellow members’ businesses, for it is only by promoting, encouraging and supporting these people that you will begin to see the true potential of BNI produce results that you can take to the bank.
KIM KEEL
President (April 2003)
BNI (Sandton)
Continued success for Kim.
Kim Keel, president of The Elite Chapter in Sandton has won the Business Women's Association of South Africa's regional Start-up Category award for a business that has been operating for less than three years.
Kim's corporate gift company, Belle Regalo saw an increase of over 200 percent in her business this year.
Kim says: "A large portion of the increase was as a result of my association with BNI. Belonging to The Elite Chapter has paid massive dividends for me."
The Elite Chapter has close on 25 members and is growing every month
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