This post is about one of my 45-second pitches at my BNI Chapter, BNI City Business. You can read the introduction to this collection here.

1 March 2024. Something quite different. With the help of Matt, our Education Coordinator (he who runs the weekly slideshow), I arranged for my slide to be last and to be given a little extra time to make an announcement.

“Attention to detail is an essential skill for business owners. I want you to take a look at this slide and tell me what’s unusual, different, or unexpected.”

The chapter quickly saw the bicyclist in the background.

“Anything else?” I asked. No real responses, some blank looks. This was, admittedly, by design. I highlighted the two other parts of my slide that were different and unexpected: My email domain was now ‘.sg’ rather than ‘.nz’ and the TEQ logo was red rather than blue. I didn’t really expect anyone to notice these.

“Exciting news, I am establishing a Singapore branch of my business! However, as a result, I will be moving to Singapore to do this, and therefore leaving the chapter.” Announcement done.

I forgot to mention the significance of the change in logo colour. Blue is a dominant colour in the New Zealand flag, so the TEQ logo in New Zealand is blue. Red is a dominant colour on the Singapore flag, hence the red. Not the same shades as the flags, but indicative. I had done this previously with another business that had a presence in both countries.

I had shared the news of my relocation with only three people in the room beforehand, so there was some surprise. The only comment I heard was, ‘Can you keep sending your slides?’ It’s good to know my contribution is valued!