There is a moment in every entrepreneur's life when the loneliness of running their own business weighs more than any financial challenge. That's when the calendar is full, the team is assembled, the product is good — but something is missing that no strategic planning can replace: the right people around, people to exchange ideas with, to trust and grow alongside.
For José Roberto Teixeira, from JRT Print, a company specialized in Print Outsourcing services — helping reduce costs and boost productivity — that moment came after a career built with rigor and ethics in the corporate market. And it was BNI that filled that gap.
A career built on detail
Teixeira started in 1989 as a field technician at Xerox do Brasil. Fifteen years learning what no classroom teaches: the logic of service, the behavior of machines, the demands of clients who accept nothing less than excellence. Then twelve more years helping build from scratch a printer leasing operation — that went from zero revenue to a million and a half per month, becoming one of the largest companies in the sector.
When it came time to strike out on his own, Teixeira made a decision that says a lot about who he is: he signed a non-compete agreement, stayed out of the printing market for two years, and rebuilt his client portfolio without approaching a single former client. "Out of respect and ethics," he summarizes. No shortcuts, no bitterness, no bridges burned.
It was in this fresh start — alone, with a team but without a network — that he was invited to a BNI meeting. And what he found there was exactly what he had been missing.
The day he realized he wasn't alone
"I saw a group of entrepreneurs with the same pain I had — people who needed business partners, support. Because entrepreneurship is very lonely."
He joined BNI in 2016, at the founding of the Prósperos group in Osasco. In the second year, he was already president of the group. Then director. Then area director — today responsible for 4 groups and 98 members in the Osasco region. Ten years building relationships, generating referrals and teaching other entrepreneurs to do the same.
This is not a story of luck. It is a story of method and dedication.
When a referral becomes an avalanche
Teixeira has a question he asks every client after closing a deal: "Is there anything else you need? Because I can try to help."
It sounds simple. The results are not.
On a visit to a school in Osasco, he didn't close the deal he went to get. But he heard that the client needed an architect for a construction project. He referred an architect from the BNI group — and the project of a wall that would cost R$ 100,000 turned into the school's complete new façade, a R$ 900,000 project.
Another client had suffered from flooding and needed to remodel his building — Teixeira referred another architect, with an initial project valued at R$ 1 million. What happened next is living proof of what a committed, well-connected professional can accomplish: building the client's trust with every delivery, she kept expanding the scope and uncovering possibilities he had never imagined. Three floors renovated, the rooftop transformed into an events space, and she herself bringing in the right suppliers — furniture, kitchen, air conditioning, barbecue — all BNI members. When the project was delivered turnkey, it had jumped to R$ 3.5 million and generated real business for an entire chain of professionals in the network.
"That's what we call the cascade effect. With reliable service providers, this structure keeps reverberating as real business for everyone."
The tool that needs to be used
Ten years inside BNI have taught him to distinguish who uses the tool from who merely carries it. "People join BNI thinking they're buying a quantity of referrals. That's a mistake."
For him, the first pillar is Givers Gain — giving before receiving. But giving alone isn't enough: you must ensure the other members understand what you do, know your work, and have enough credibility to refer you with confidence. "Why don't people refer me? Do you know my work? Do you know what I do? What credibility have I earned with you?"
If you want something fast, go alone.
If you want something lasting, go as a group.
These questions, according to him, need to be asked frequently — and the answers need to generate action. Hold one-to-ones with members, train the group about your own business, expand your Power Team, visit other groups. "BNI is an arm of your company. If you don't work it, if you don't dedicate yourself, if you don't use the methodology, nothing will happen."
The differentiator no price can buy
In his own business, Teixeira applies the same philosophy. His client renewal rate exceeds 90% — a number he doesn't attribute to price, but to service. "I'm not renting a printer to the client. I'm selling the printed page — the output that comes out at the end. If it isn't coming out, the problem is mine." Technical issues, supply problems, electrical installation — the solution comes from him, not the client.
Teixeira understands what it means to put the power of connection into practice. It isn't just in the event or the weekly meeting — it's in what you build afterward, when delivery is consistent and every member understands that the other's success is part of their own journey. Ten years, and results that speak for themselves. Being part of this group was never the obvious choice. It was the right one. Because when you find a network where belonging goes beyond doing business — you stop being just another entrepreneur in the market and become part of something bigger. And it is exactly there, in that sense of belonging, that BNI's pillars stop being a concept and become reality.