What do you think is the best way to share and collaborate with referrals outside of BNI?

For my money BNI has been one of the best investments we have made to receive referrals and to network with local businesses. I am a local BNI Ambassador and really believe the initial costs are well worth the investment. Our Chapter has 44 members and we average at least 50 referrals per week. The advantage is that you have 44 people selling YOU to their contact sphere at all times. We figured what a seat in our Chapter is worth to each member and came up with $58,000.00 by dividing the total of the closed business for the year by 44 seats. You may want to also look into your local Chamber of Commerce and look at joining also.

Join groups in your area that do similar business and make friends who can share information fairly. 

Don't know    First tell us what BNI Is ???????

What are you looking for?  Each type of networking venues have different possibilities.  Networking with non-exclusive groups, will widen your prospects.  Networking with exclusive oriented groups will open up new prospects.  PBN's and BNI's are limited to those in your group and the reliability of receiving good referals with someone you can like and are willing to do business with.  ALL are good possibilities.  So is your church, synagogue, school, Chamber of Commerce, hobby clubs, etc.  It is for you to try out different possibilities and find what works for you.  They all mean you must invest your time and effort.  Not all require a monetary investment.

While BNI is an amazing organization, its commitment is as well.  I, personally, cannot make that commitment.  If that is your issue, I would suggest you look into other local networking groups.  You might just find that there are more "out there" than you ever would have thought.  Some have monthly meetings, others have no commitment whatsoever and just "drop in."  Some may yield great results, others not.  I believe you do what suits you best. If you are really ambitious, get together with some local businesses and start your own!  Whatever you choose, I wish you well. 

I am also a member of BNI and have been in the same group for over 10 years.  I left the group for a year due to a job schedule change.  Even when I was out for that year, my team still referred to me (and I referred to them also).  I find that the local Chambers of Commerce are great ways to increase my referrals.  Many of the members are in networking organizations also, in addition to being loyal to doing business with the local community businesses.  I attend about 1-2 Chamber activities each month.

It will be better through the referee

I'm hoping becoming active on  Alignable will be a great way to share and collaborate with referrals. I've already met with Bobbie from B&B Bartending, another Alignable business, for coffee to get to know each other to make referrals. 

Identify your customer then network with other businesses, groups, associations, etc. That share your customer base.

Have you gone on Meetup.com? There are so many unique and fun networking events! Also, join different groups on FB that share your goals. I've met a lot of supportive fellow small business owners that way, and we can call on each other when we have clients needing there services!