Stacy Harris, First franchisee to own four groups
NIA The Woodlands Groups, Texas

I started my image consulting business, Impressions, eleven years ago after working in the sales and marketing industries for about a decade. It was a good decision. Though being an entrepreneur is fraught with uncertainty and challenges, I found that I thrived as my own boss. Of course, one of the biggest hurdles all business owners face is getting their name and product to the masses. Since I started my business on a very limited budget, my only marketing strategy was my own blood, sweat, and tears. I have always been a relationship person, and I knew that if I could just meet people face to face and develop a relationship with them, I'd be able to build my business.

Fortunately, a friend of mine invited me to a professional networking event and the rest is history. I was totally mesmerized by this group of people who were meeting together to talk about their businesses and send customers to one another through the oldest (and best) marketing method in the book—word of mouth! I loved meeting all these new people, finding out about their businesses, and then figuring out ways to connect them to customers and clients who would bring them business. Nothing made me happier than to get a call or text from my networking buddies telling me that a referral I had sent them had turned into cold, hard cash.

For the next ten years, I attended as many networking events as I could fit in, narrowed down the ones that were the most mutually beneficial, and then I committed myself to being the best networker I could be. I studied the art of networking, I talked to people who I knew were good networkers, and I read books on networking. The result? Over the years, I became a great networker with a crazy amount of contacts and connections.

There was one networking group in particular that I had dedicated myself to for nine years. I served as president of that group multiple times and was always in a leadership role of some kind over those years. I excelled at leading and inspiring the group to hit new goals and set a big vision of success. It was a great experience, and I formed valuable relationships there, but after nine years, I had outgrown the group, and it was time for me to move on.

I found out about NIA® through, guess what, a networking partner. I drove an hour to visit my first NIA® meeting in May 2016. I was so impressed with the level of professionalism I saw in the whole concept of using technology to keep everyone in touch with each other and the business that was being generated by the members.

Moose Rosenfeld, First franchisee
NIA Galleria Group, Houston, Texas
NIA Bellaire Group, Bellaire, Texas

My father, Dickie, served as president and general manager of KILT, one of the most iconic radio stations in Houston, Texas. He spent thirty-eight years in the industry. This had a profound impact on me. I eventually got into radio sales in 1974 in San Antonio, Texas, and took the same path as my father, working my way up to sales manager and general manager roles at radio stations across the country. I learned that when you’re new to a market, you have to get to know people. I was blessed with a personality to have never met a stranger. I have always found it very easy to meet people, and that’s still true to this day.I have worked with businesses on the local level my entire career. From radio to Internet marketing, I have always had a passion for helping a business get more customers. I have always been the idea guy. Great ideas can sell lots of product. I’m still an idea guy today, but working with a different kind of product—people.

After my dad passed in 2000, radio was not the same to me. I retired from radio in 2003 and became on entrepreneur. I joined my first business networking group, Cooper Connection, in 2005. The idea of having a fellow member either use me or refer me was pretty remarkable. I got a lot of value out of the group. I still have friendships I developed at Cooper Connection and do business with several of them to this day. The group was run by an outstanding networker, Joann Cooper. At one time, she ran eight different chapters. I learned a great deal from her on how to run a great meeting. I was a member for a little over five years until Joann decided to shut it down in 2010.

I was a member of BNI® Memorial for over five years and made some great friends during that time, too. I served on the membership committee twice and filled the secretary/treasurer role before accepting an Ambassador role. I passed lots of referrals to our membership over the years.

When Scott Talley called me in November 2014 to tell me his idea of a new networking group he was starting called Network In Action, I personally thought he had gone crazy. Going up against the big guys? Was he kidding? However, I trusted him enough to investigate. After all, I know if you can’t dream it, it will never happen.

I came to his NIA® Heights launch in January 2015 and was impressed with his membership. I went to his February and March meetings, still as an observer. He was at well over thirty members and growing! After much soul searching, I decided in late March to move forward with being the first NIA® franchisee. It was a step of faith and a step for my future. I announced my decision to drop my membership with my BNI® group at the April meeting, much to the surprise of the members. I was always there. I had been part of their sales team for years. And now, no more Moose.

Keith Duke, NIA Pioneer
NIA Spring Texas Group

My journey to becoming a professional networker with Network In Action has been an action-filled adventure. To tell the full story, I must go back quite a few years. I barely made it out of high school. I was the guy who would rebel against the system just to test it. I would wear sunglasses, show up to class two seconds after the bell, and ask question after question about assignments. Let’s just say that the principles all knew my name, and I went to a high school of nearly four thousand students, so you really had to work hard for all of the principles to know your name.

I tell that part of my story because testing the system is why I believe my path has taken me to entrepreneurship. I have worked for “the man” in the corporate world and, though I learned a lot, it was not my thing.

I have had several business ventures—from direct sales, to construction, to consulting—and now Network In Action. I came across Network In Action while running my construction and concrete business. It was such a great opportunity I couldn’t pass it up. I had been in an organized networking organization for several years, and it had run its course for me. I started to look for what else was out there, and as a good networker, I reached out to my network circle to see what they could refer. A mutual business professional introduced me to NIA®. I set up a time to go to a meeting and see what it was all about. When I arrived at the meeting, I was instantly blown away. The energy, the people, the welcoming atmosphere, and then the meeting itself. I had never seen a networking meeting that was so engaged with its members. I was used to meetings that were designed for the visitors. Attending a meeting that was structured around the members and building relationships during the meeting was really unique. However, even though I was there as a visitor, I still came away with loads of information. That meeting was run by Scott Talley. He gave me the complete rundown of what NIA® was all about. The things that really caught my attention were the monthly meetings, full-time leadership, and state-of-the-art technology. I had been a member of an organization that was stuck in the Stone Age and had no vision of moving into the twenty-first century. It was amazing that there could be a higher level of networking with proven results on a modern platform. When he told me about the franchise opportunity, he had me hooked. Now, I am an NIA® lifer!

My Leadership Principles

As a professional networker, I still visit other groups as a method to meet and grow my network. It is just something I believe we have to constantly do. If we as franchise owners are not improving our networking skills and growing our connections, we are not providing the best service to our members. As I attend these other events, it is so apparent how well NIA® is organized and structured to bring the best networking experience to its members.

My time in NIA® has been amazing. I have been very fortunate to be involved in two franchises. I created them six months apart, and I am so proud to say that I made a return on each of those investments in less than thirty days. I worked with a colleague to start and build two groups out to great success. It occurred to us that in order to grow the NIA® name and territory, we needed to split up. So, we did! Those two existing groups are still active, growing, and doing great things.