Who knew? All the time you spend talking to other professionals, courting potential clients and spreading the word about your business actually has a week designated to recognize your efforts! What is it? Well get your party hats on, because it‘s called International Networking Week and it‘s almost here! Business networking, always an essential skill for commercial success, is even more necessary in a slow economy, where word-of-mouth recommendations and one-to-one encounters with potential clients can protect and expand profits. The second annual International Networking Week, which celebrates the remarkable success networking strategies have achieved, will be held from Feb. 4 to 8. While International Networking Week is an initiative of BNI, the largest business networking organization in the world, its goal is to bring together diverse groups to create new contacts and expand business horizons. This week of recognition will feature a number of networking events across the world - the goal being to celebrate the key role that networking plays in the development and success of businesses across the world. Simultaneous events will be held nationally to celebrate International Networking Week. The focus of these events will be to bring together representatives of government, businesses and the community to network with each other, to understand the concept of good networking and to listen to talks by key networking specialists from across the world. These speakers will offer advice and information on how businesses can grow and succeed through good networking practices. Events are open to the wider business community, members of other networking organizations, students, press representatives and interested parties from all levels of government and business. The purpose of International Networking Week™ is to raise the profile of networking in the wider community, recognizing it as an essential tool for success in today’s business climate. BNI has more than 4,000 chapters worldwide. Chapters in at least 19 countries participated in the first International Networking Week in February 2007. For further information on International Networking Week, and to see if there are any events going on near you, go to: http://www.InternationalNetworkingWeek.com. For additional information on BNI, visit: http://www.BNI.com or http://www.bniwcf.com. | 
