BNI Wildfire: Northern Illinois Business Networking Group

10/15/2018

EVERYONE GAINED NEW BUSINESS: BNI WILDFIRE MEMBERS CLOSE OVER $1 MILLION IN FISCAL 2018

Givers gain and at BNI Wildfire we continue to gain new members, make new friends, act on new referrals and grow our businesses. Congrats to BNI Wildfire members for supporting one another and achieving a banner fiscal year-end close for 2018.
• We shared 319 one-to-one’s with our fellow members
• We provided one another with 390 referrals
• We closed more than $1 million in business from member referrals

The BNI Wildfire chapter meets every Wednesday from 7:15 a.m. – 8:30 p.m. at the Chevy Chase Country Club in Wheeling, IL. We welcome visitors and those interested in joining BNI Wildfire. For more information or to schedule a visit, please private message Lisa Mizock Raatz.

08/11/2018

08/11/2018

NETWORKING LIKE WILDFIRE
BNI Wildfire, a professional network group, is the fastest growing BNI chapter this side of Deerfield. They're hot and getting hotter, closing more than $1M in referred business for the 2018 fiscal year.

The BNI Wildfire chapter meets every Wednesday from 7:15 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. at the Chevy Chase Country Club in Wheeling, IL. We welcome visitors and those interested in joining BNI Wildfire. For more information or to schedule a visit, please private message Lisa Mizock Raatz or Leslie Silverman.

05/04/2018

In business a little competition is good for the soul, especially when you are on the winning team. Great Whirlyball event. Thanks Andy Margolis and Chad Arnold, for organizing and ensuring I was on the winning team.

03/08/2018

BNI WILDFIRE MEMBERS BOOK NEARLY $900K in 2017
Givers gain and at BNI Wildfire we continue to make new friends, act on new referrals and grow our businesses. Congrats to BNI Wildfire members for supporting one another with nearly $900 thousand in referred business.

We are on track to close more than $1 million in 2018, with more than $240K in closed business through the end of February.

BNI is the largest small business-networking group in the world. We offer members the opportunity to share ideas, contacts and most importantly, business referrals.

BNI Wildfire is a group comprised of of 20+ diverse professionals. While our work differentiates us, our approach to how we work unites us. Each of us has a vast network of business and personal contacts that we appropriately share amongst fellow BNI Wildfire members, multiplying opportunities for not just our members, but our families, friends and business contacts that need qualified services.

The BNI Wildfire chapter meets every Wednesday from 7 a.m. – 8:30 p.m. at the Chevy Chase Country Club in Wheeling, IL. We welcome visitors and those interested in joining BNI Wildfire. For more information or to schedule a visit, please contact: Lisa Raatz

01/20/2018

BNI Wildfire gives back in many ways. BNI Vice President and owner of Paper Tiger Document Solutions, was master chef at the 61st Annual Pancake Breakfast for Scout Troop 9 in Wilmette. John has volunteered with the troop for more than 10 years.

08/25/2017

Why are all these people smiling? It's not the picture. It's a chronic condition, resulting from the incredible business opportunities we've gained from BNI Wildfire (In 2016 we closed $1.3 million in business from member referrals), a professional networking group located in Wheeling, IL. The BNI Wildfire chapter meets every Wednesday from 7 a.m. – 8:30 p.m. at the Chevy Chase Country Club in Wheeling, IL. We welcome visitors. For more information or to schedule a visit, please private message Lisa Mizock Raatz

05/15/2017

BNI WILDFIRE MEMBERS AND MEMBERS' BUSINESSES ACHIEVE ACCOLADES

Fueled by referrals and driven by exceptional follow through and customer service, success comes often to BNI Wildfire members and their respective businesses.

Congratulations to:
• Matt Field, one of BNI’s newest members, owns and operates Right at Home of north suburban Chicago. Right at Home of north suburban Chicago was recognized as a 2017 Best of Home Care® Employer of Choice, by HomeCare Pulse®.
• Leslie Silverman, BNI co-growth coordinator and a real estate broker with , was named a top producer in her company for the 2nd year in a row. Leslie sold almost $7 million in homes in 2016 earning her the prestigious $5 - $10 Million Outstanding Achievement award.
• Michael Malanfant, BNI education coordinator is a division vice president at Diamond Residential Mortgage Company. Diamond Residential was recognized as No. 17 of the 50 Best Companies to work for in the mortgage industry by Mortgage Executive Magazine.
• Karen DeRose, CFP®, CRPC®, BNI mentor and managing partner of DeRose Financial Planning Group was named one of Chicago’s Top 9 Best Financial Advisors in 2017 by Advisory HQ. DeRose FPG was also named one of the top 20 out of 678 financial advisory groups in Chicago, by Expertise, a website devoted to reviewing and rating top local experts.
• Cordell Cooper, BNI Wildfire president and a relationship manager at JP Morgan Chase, in Deerfield, IL, was recognized as a Chase National Achiever for the fifth time since 2011. National achievers are the top 10 percent producers within their respective peer groups.

Looking to network with a group of vetted professionals who are the best in their respective fields? Look no further than BNI Wildfire. BNI is the largest small-business networking group in the world. We offer members the opportunity to share ideas, contacts and most importantly, business referrals.

We meet every Wednesday from 7 a.m. – 8:30 p.m. at the Chevy Chase Country Club in Wheeling, IL. For more information or to schedule a visit, please contact Lisa Raatz.

03/22/2017

YOUR TRASH CAN COST YOU A TON OF CASH. ‬‬
WHY NOT HAVE PAPER TIGER SHRED YOUR PAPER STASH? ‬
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Attention paper hoarders: Did you know 45 percent of all data breaches result from improperly discarded paper files? Each breach can cost you $50,000 or more, according to a joint survey by the Society of Corporate Compliance® and Ethics, and the Health Care Compliance Association®.‬
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Safeguard personal information.Contact Paper Tiger Document Solutions at 847.599.9700 or https://yourpapertiger.com, to securely shred your files before they go into the trash. Our shred trucks will shred sensitive documents at your location, or we can pick them up for shredding at our secured shred site.‬
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03/15/2017

WILDFIRE PRESIDENT CORDELL COOPER ACHIEVES TOP 10% CHASE PRODUCER FOR 5th YEAR
Congrats to Cordell Cooper, relationship manager at JP Morgan Chase, in Deerfield, IL and BNI Wildfire president for being recognized as a Chase National Achiever for the fifth time since 2011. National achievers are the top 10 percent producers within their respective peer groups.

As a Business Relationship Manager, Cordell works closely with business owners and their principals to help them protect and grow their companies. Cordell’s focus is on enhancing cash flow and capital for businesses with historical annual revenues of $1 million to $20 million dollars.

Cordell’s mission is to understand the business model and the opportunities and obstacles that face his clients. Cordell constantly identifies and offers resources that will assist his clients. This includes investing considerable time and thought in locating tailored banking solutions that will benefit each of his clients needs. His overarching goal is to improve efficiencies and profitability for his clients, using both internal and external resources, with an absolute emphasis on customer service.

03/07/2017

NAID is the international trade association for companies providing information destruction services.

03/04/2017

SHRED IT AND FORGET IT:
THE DUMPSTER IS NOT YOUR FRIEND

Don’t throw those files away, or you may get a call from the Illinois Attorney General seeking an injunction, a revocation of right to do business in Illinois, as well as tens of thousands of dollars in fines.

If you own a business that collects client information for any purpose, you are subject to following the guidelines of the Illinois Personal Information Protection Act (P**A). The act was broadened Jan. 1, 2017 and covers any entity that “handles, collects, disseminates, or otherwise deals with nonpublic personal information.”

Businesses that fail to implement effective document destruction practices put their clients and employees at risk of identity theft. These companies should seek the advice of a reputable document shredding company, such as Paper Tiger Document Solutions. Paper Tiger is AAA certified by the National Association for Information Destruction (www.naidonline.org) to mitigate the potential threats to businesses and their reputations.

Two years ago, a Northbrook company that stores hospital records was caught disposing of medical records in the company dumpster. The Illinois Attorney General found the company in violation of the state's Illinois Personal Information Protection Act and filed a lawsuit. That company should have called Paper Tiger Document Solutions to properly and securely shred those medical records.

Paper Tiger can handle document storage and document shredding needs for businesses of all sizes as well as residences located in Illinois’ Lake, Cook and DuPage counties, and in southeastern Wisconsin.
Paper Tiger offers:
• Mobile shredding. Our mobile shred trucks will shred sensitive documents at your location. We are also available to host a shred day event for your company or your neighborhood.
• Pick up and drop off services for document shredding and document storage.
• Comprehensive document storage and management solutions in our state-of-the-art, secure, climate-controlled storage facility.
• Electronics Recycling
• Competitive pricing.

Contact Paper Tiger today: 847.599.9700.

NAID is the international trade association for companies providing information destruction services.

01/16/2017

About BNI Wildfire

BNI is all about giving and at BNI Wildfire, a professional networking group located in Deerfield, IL, giving is not just a way of life it’s how we each make our living.

We are a group comprised of 20 diverse professionals. While our work differentiates us, our approach to how we work unites us. At BNI Wildfire we have a motto: If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go with others.

Each of us has a vast network of business and personal contacts that we appropriately share amongst fellow BNI Wildfire members, multiplying opportunities for not just our members, but our families, friends and business contacts that need qualified services.

Since Jan. 1, 2017, our members:
• Exchanged 220 business referrals
• Hosted 21 visitors
• Closed more than $400K in business transactions as a direct result of our referrals.

In 2016:
• We provided one another with 399 referrals
• We closed more than $1.3 million in business from member
referrals

The philosophy of BNI is built upon the idea of “Givers Gain.” BNI offers members the opportunity to share ideas, contacts, networks and most importantly, business referrals. Being a member of BNI is like having sales people working for you every day who market your product or service.

BNI Wildfire meets every Wednesday from 7 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. at the Chevy Chase Country Club in Wheeling, IL. We welcome visitors and those interested in membership at BNI Wildfire. Please private message: Lisa Mizock-Raatz

01/13/2017

About BNI Wildfire

BNI is all about giving and at BNI Wildfire, a professional networking group located in Wheeling, IL, giving is not just a way of life it’s how we each make our living.

We are a group comprised of 20 diverse professionals. While our work differentiates us, our approach to how...