A collective of Melton business leaders are forming a Melon Chapter of the Business Network International (BNI) and are seeking expressions of interest from people keen to join up.
BNI is an organisation that provides platforms for developing businesses to network with their community, provide referrals and share ideas.
Ravneet Mundi is a Melton mortgage broker and teacher helping set up the Melton chapter. She said she hopes a BNI will form an ecosystem of shared resources.
“It’s a good call for collective action,” she said.
“There is a need in Melton at the moment with the expansion of people coming in and all the nearby [chapters] are full.
“We want representatives from each business field… Because when there’s people from each walk of life it’s easy to get things done.”
BNIs have existed for more than 30 years and operate in more than 74 countries, with businesses joining their local chapters for an annual fee.
Once the Melton chapter is set up, the group hopes to meet weekly.
Another organiser, Jasmeet Singh, works in finance and property coaching and said BNIs can create trust in the local business community.
“Business is about trust. If I’m referring my business to someone else, it’s my reputation on the line as well,” he said.
“We want to reach out to people that are looking to start their own business or have the capacity to grow.
“In Melton we need to stand together because in the business community we should have a [collective] voice but we don’t.
“Some people think Melton does not have the right demographics for business minded people but that is not true, it’s a little bit of a scar on Melton that we have to prove [ourselves] a little bit more.”
Expressions of Interest for the Melton BNI can be made through an online form.
Details: tinyurl.com/57ur56h7