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Khaleej Times
Khaleej Times
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6/5/2024
UL_EDWIN_BNI FINAL
Category
🛠️
Lifestyle
Transcript
Display full video transcript
00:00
If Bena didn't happen to me, I think I'm still an employee today.
00:11
I experienced some hardship that time.
00:16
I'm selling the rice cakes, collecting garbage of my neighbor in exchange of coins, drive
00:22
you know the rickshaw.
00:23
It's one of my sidelines to somehow earn money.
00:27
I was rejected five times from one of the food chain restaurants and I never stopped.
00:33
On the six applications, I managed to come in and the rest is history.
00:39
My name is Edwin Duria and this is my BNI story.
00:45
2009, I arrived in Dubai.
00:49
My first job, I worked with Alco Baisi family.
00:51
I joined another company.
00:53
It's in business setup industry, in the same industry for almost 15 years now.
00:59
I lost roughly around 147,000 Dirhams.
01:02
My five years gratuity, my salary, my allowances, some commissions.
01:07
That's the time that my boss ran away.
01:09
So I think it's a blessing in disguise.
01:11
Thankfully, I have a BNI family.
01:13
One magical question from Kapil triggered me to be an entrepreneur, to register my own
01:18
company and to go ahead with my goals, my dreams.
01:22
And you know what magic question?
01:24
What do you want Edwin?
01:25
To be an employee or to be an entrepreneur?
01:30
And immediately I told him I want to become an entrepreneur.
01:34
I want to have my own business and he said, then do it.
01:37
I started my company with zero funds, zero money, a repair partner, the lawyer.
01:44
He gave me a job.
01:45
I started with that job, processing all the documentations and registrations and I used
01:50
that money to start my company.
01:52
So after losing that much, this is the blessings that came in through BNI, through my relationship
02:01
with my repair partners.
02:03
So I registered my company last January 2015.
02:07
It's called Play Middle East Business Consultancy.
02:11
And I'm very grateful that through BNI, my business is growing every year, at least between
02:16
30 to 35% per annum.
02:18
Of course, Edwin has been in BNI for a long time, over a decade now, but I think he came
02:23
on my radar when he was serving on the leadership team of his chapter.
02:28
And he was amongst the first people when the chapter launched, the energizers, he was selected
02:32
to serve on leadership.
02:33
He spent his time so well, always has his family, his work, spirituality, because I
02:40
believe he serves in the church as well.
02:43
Going ahead and these people like Himali, Kapil, Suku, are those people who mentored
02:49
me to be a successful entrepreneur.
02:52
Himali, she's also helping me.
02:54
She's like my sister.
02:55
We became more closer during the LT.
02:57
Edwin is a brother.
02:59
We started together, gone, grown, had our ups and downs, you know, a lot of difficult
03:07
times.
03:08
Like I would say, we supported each other in very many ways.
03:12
Edwin is very organized.
03:14
Anything that we expect out of a BNI member, the ideal BNI member, Edwin is right up there.
03:21
He doesn't have any ego.
03:23
I think that's what I love about leaders like Edwin.
03:26
He's not somebody who's looking for overnight results.
03:29
And he knows that, you know, in order to get sustainable results, you need to be doing
03:34
things consistently.
03:36
And even to date, Edwin is that one man that brings all of that energy into our chapter.
03:42
And BNI is that magical element that he brings into the equation, and he just blooms like
03:47
a flower.
03:48
I started 2011.
03:49
I attended my first BNI meeting, and I closed business worth 105,000 dirhams to my fellow
03:54
visitors.
03:55
See, in BNI, it requires commitment.
03:57
It requires time.
03:59
Building relationship takes time, but it's really worth it.
04:01
Every visitor that comes to our chapter, every member that is in our chapter, we understand
04:05
from each other that we're looking for that relationship-building attitude.
04:09
Because he's into that, I'm into relationship-building.
04:12
And together, I love that we share that value.
04:15
Because it's not about us, it's about the chapter.
04:19
The core values of BNI itself, if you apply it to your organization, it's also effective
04:24
at the same time.
04:25
We're focusing more on really accountability.
04:28
We help each other also at the same time, making sure that we deliver.
04:31
Second is the positive attitude.
04:34
Whatever happens, make sure we be positive.
04:37
That's why members look up to him, because he lives every single day.
04:40
A client calls him, he's going to bend over backwards to make sure that client is taken
04:43
care of.
04:44
A member calls him, he's going to bend over backwards to make sure that member is taken
04:47
care of.
04:48
That's the single most important reason why members look up to Edwin, because he practices
04:53
what he preaches.
04:54
There are a lot of values that Edwin gives to the Energizer.
04:58
If you heard the name Edwin Duria, how much he is exerting effort to help fellow entrepreneur
05:04
and fellow business owners to win their business.
05:07
His courage brought him a very successful entrepreneur.
05:11
He really follows or believes in core value of giver's gain.
05:15
He will do exactly what he says to do.
05:19
Even the giver's gain part, I would still emphasize on giver.
05:24
He doesn't look at the gain.
05:25
The membership that we brought, the maximum is 49.
05:28
So we are the most diverse chapter at that time.
05:31
He's got this amazing skill to exit at the right time.
05:37
They call me a magician.
05:39
Now you see me, now you don't.
05:41
True ambassador and a fan of the brand and BNI.
05:49
BG Shah, I love this guy.
05:50
He is also my mentor.
05:52
He asked me to step in as the ambassador of BNI Evergreen.
05:57
Very proud that it's the first all-women chapter in the world.
06:00
When I asked BG Shah what's the best way to mentor people, to mentor members, he just
06:05
told me one amazing thing.
06:07
He told me, Edwin, all you need to do is to share your BNI success story and be inspired
06:13
and look after you.
06:14
BNI is, you know, I can say it's a one-stop shop, a community where you can get business.
06:21
It's a training ground.
06:22
You don't stop learning.
06:25
Every time that I'm mentoring a new member, I always advise them to step out of their
06:30
comfort zone because at the end of the day, their names, their personality, it's their
06:35
brand.
06:36
Because BNI is a very structured business repair organization.
06:43
If BNI is the right platform for you, your business will grow.
06:47
You have extended family also.
06:49
Don't do it because of recognition.
06:50
Don't do it because you want to be famous.
06:53
But if you're doing it right, doing it wholeheartedly, I believe the law of nature will grant all
07:00
the desires of your heart, no matter what happens.
07:03
If BNI didn't happen to me, I think I'm still an employee today.
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