This is a rebroadcast of Episode 395.

Synopsis

Dr. Misner’s wife Beth joins him on the podcast today to talk about Business Voices, which is an initiative of the BNI Foundation.

Social consciousness and service are important to BNI. If you’re not in a healthy, strong community, your business can only go so far. A business that is successful and sustainable can serve a larger purpose in the community.

In a conversation about the “B” team, Richard Branson shared with Dr. Misner how important it is for businesses to think about people first, then the planet, and profits third. This conversation inspired Beth Misner with the Business Voices idea.

Business Voices is an initiative of the BNI Foundation, but it’s open to other organizations. It’s about giving businesses a voice in what happens in communities around the world.

The primary focus of BNI Voices is children and education. To get involved, visit BusinessVoices.org, follow the Business Voices Facebook Page, or join the Business Voices group on BNI Connect, or attend a monthly spotlight webinar.

Watch the video of Dr. Misner talking to Richard Branson about the “B” team.

Brought to you by Networking Now.

Complete Transcript of Episode 395 –

Priscilla:

Hello everyone and welcome back to the Official BNI Podcast, brought to you by NetworkingNow.com, the leading site on the net for networking downloadables. I am Priscilla Rice, and I am coming to you from Live Oak Recording Studio in Berkeley, CA. I am joined on the phone today by the Founder of BNI, Dr. Ivan Misner. Hello, Ivan. How are you and where are you?

Ivan:

Hey, I am actually at home today. I am not on the road this week. I have a special guest with me and we are here in our place in Austin. I am actually looking out my window at the State Capitol, which makes my guest very happy. It is actually my wife who is with me today. Hi Beth.

Beth:

Hi honey. Right here in Austin, TX and it is a very good thing.

Ivan:

Beth is a Texan and she reminds me of it regularly.

We have an interesting topic today. For those of you who don’t know Beth, she is the Co-Founder of the BNI Foundation, which we started in 1998, I think?

Beth:

1998.

Ivan:

1998. She has also been very involved in BNI almost since the very beginning. She was a BNI member in 1986, and we started going out in 1988. We got married in 1989. It was the best referral I ever got. Thanks for being on the podcast today, Beth.

Beth:

Thanks for having me. I am very passionate about this topic as you know so I am very grateful to be on the show today.

Ivan:

We are talking about Business Voices, which is an initiative of the BNI Foundation, and I think a great place to start would be with the work the foundation does- why is that important to BNI? Why is social consciousness and service to the community important to BNI in your opinion?