Khaleej Times
UL_EDWIN_BNI FINAL
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00If Bena didn't happen to me, I think I'm still an employee today.
00:11I experienced some hardship that time.
00:16I'm selling the rice cakes, collecting garbage of my neighbor in exchange of coins, drive
00:22you know the rickshaw.
00:23It's one of my sidelines to somehow earn money.
00:27I was rejected five times from one of the food chain restaurants and I never stopped.
00:33On the six applications, I managed to come in and the rest is history.
00:39My name is Edwin Duria and this is my BNI story.
00:452009, I arrived in Dubai.
00:49My first job, I worked with Alco Baisi family.
00:51I joined another company.
00:53It's in business setup industry, in the same industry for almost 15 years now.
00:59I lost roughly around 147,000 Dirhams.
01:02My five years gratuity, my salary, my allowances, some commissions.
01:07That's the time that my boss ran away.
01:09So I think it's a blessing in disguise.
01:11Thankfully, I have a BNI family.
01:13One magical question from Kapil triggered me to be an entrepreneur, to register my own
01:18company and to go ahead with my goals, my dreams.
01:22And you know what magic question?
01:24What do you want Edwin?
01:25To be an employee or to be an entrepreneur?
01:30And immediately I told him I want to become an entrepreneur.
01:34I want to have my own business and he said, then do it.
01:37I started my company with zero funds, zero money, a repair partner, the lawyer.
01:44He gave me a job.
01:45I started with that job, processing all the documentations and registrations and I used
01:50that money to start my company.
01:52So after losing that much, this is the blessings that came in through BNI, through my relationship
02:01with my repair partners.
02:03So I registered my company last January 2015.
02:07It's called Play Middle East Business Consultancy.
02:11And I'm very grateful that through BNI, my business is growing every year, at least between
02:1630 to 35% per annum.
02:18Of course, Edwin has been in BNI for a long time, over a decade now, but I think he came
02:23on my radar when he was serving on the leadership team of his chapter.
02:28And he was amongst the first people when the chapter launched, the energizers, he was selected
02:32to serve on leadership.
02:33He spent his time so well, always has his family, his work, spirituality, because I
02:40believe he serves in the church as well.
02:43Going ahead and these people like Himali, Kapil, Suku, are those people who mentored
02:49me to be a successful entrepreneur.
02:52Himali, she's also helping me.
02:54She's like my sister.
02:55We became more closer during the LT.
02:57Edwin is a brother.
02:59We started together, gone, grown, had our ups and downs, you know, a lot of difficult
03:07times.
03:08Like I would say, we supported each other in very many ways.
03:12Edwin is very organized.
03:14Anything that we expect out of a BNI member, the ideal BNI member, Edwin is right up there.
03:21He doesn't have any ego.
03:23I think that's what I love about leaders like Edwin.
03:26He's not somebody who's looking for overnight results.
03:29And he knows that, you know, in order to get sustainable results, you need to be doing
03:34things consistently.
03:36And even to date, Edwin is that one man that brings all of that energy into our chapter.
03:42And BNI is that magical element that he brings into the equation, and he just blooms like
03:47a flower.
03:48I started 2011.
03:49I attended my first BNI meeting, and I closed business worth 105,000 dirhams to my fellow
03:54visitors.
03:55See, in BNI, it requires commitment.
03:57It requires time.
03:59Building relationship takes time, but it's really worth it.
04:01Every visitor that comes to our chapter, every member that is in our chapter, we understand
04:05from each other that we're looking for that relationship-building attitude.
04:09Because he's into that, I'm into relationship-building.
04:12And together, I love that we share that value.
04:15Because it's not about us, it's about the chapter.
04:19The core values of BNI itself, if you apply it to your organization, it's also effective
04:24at the same time.
04:25We're focusing more on really accountability.
04:28We help each other also at the same time, making sure that we deliver.
04:31Second is the positive attitude.
04:34Whatever happens, make sure we be positive.
04:37That's why members look up to him, because he lives every single day.
04:40A client calls him, he's going to bend over backwards to make sure that client is taken
04:43care of.
04:44A member calls him, he's going to bend over backwards to make sure that member is taken
04:47care of.
04:48That's the single most important reason why members look up to Edwin, because he practices
04:53what he preaches.
04:54There are a lot of values that Edwin gives to the Energizer.
04:58If you heard the name Edwin Duria, how much he is exerting effort to help fellow entrepreneur
05:04and fellow business owners to win their business.
05:07His courage brought him a very successful entrepreneur.
05:11He really follows or believes in core value of giver's gain.
05:15He will do exactly what he says to do.
05:19Even the giver's gain part, I would still emphasize on giver.
05:24He doesn't look at the gain.
05:25The membership that we brought, the maximum is 49.
05:28So we are the most diverse chapter at that time.
05:31He's got this amazing skill to exit at the right time.
05:37They call me a magician.
05:39Now you see me, now you don't.
05:41True ambassador and a fan of the brand and BNI.
05:49BG Shah, I love this guy.
05:50He is also my mentor.
05:52He asked me to step in as the ambassador of BNI Evergreen.
05:57Very proud that it's the first all-women chapter in the world.
06:00When I asked BG Shah what's the best way to mentor people, to mentor members, he just
06:05told me one amazing thing.
06:07He told me, Edwin, all you need to do is to share your BNI success story and be inspired
06:13and look after you.
06:14BNI is, you know, I can say it's a one-stop shop, a community where you can get business.
06:21It's a training ground.
06:22You don't stop learning.
06:25Every time that I'm mentoring a new member, I always advise them to step out of their
06:30comfort zone because at the end of the day, their names, their personality, it's their
06:35brand.
06:36Because BNI is a very structured business repair organization.
06:43If BNI is the right platform for you, your business will grow.
06:47You have extended family also.
06:49Don't do it because of recognition.
06:50Don't do it because you want to be famous.
06:53But if you're doing it right, doing it wholeheartedly, I believe the law of nature will grant all
07:00the desires of your heart, no matter what happens.
07:03If BNI didn't happen to me, I think I'm still an employee today.