I was a member of Business Network International (BNI) for many years. It was a very rewarding experience. The business referred to me offset the dues many times over. I have maintained relationships with the members to this day. I can call up any of my old BNI friends and ask for advice and expect to get good information for free. Likewise, I share freely with them when they call. I am a CPA and referrals make up the vast majority of my business. It was always hard to come up with, execute and refine a referral system on my own. That's why I went to my first BNI meeting and stuck with it. The one thing I didn't like was the time commitment. It takes a long time to get to know and trust that the people you are referring to. Also you need to demonstrate that you are a worthy referral as well. But, any referral system requires a large time investment before seeing any return. The relationships need to be maintained and that is also an ongoing time commitment. All the time spent is worth it though. I had to quit when the chapter I belonged to shrunk down to the size that it couldn't afford a decent venue. In a small rural town, that's always a problem. If you need referrals to drive your business (accountant, lawyer, chiropractor, insurance, investments, wedding businesses etc.), you just have to spend the time.