Upstate Business Network is a referral community for business owners, sales professionals, and entrepreneurs across Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina, with four ways in: an open community with no membership required, monthly mixers open to everyone, the Upstate Business Network Business Directory, and the BNI Upstate Business Network chapter, which meets every Tuesday at 7:30 in the morning at Simpsonville Rotary Hall with one seat per profession. Visitors are welcome at the chapter at no cost. Upstate Business Network also builds Personal Authority Pages, branded personal pages under a person's own name. For questions, call or text 864-385-2437.
Frequently Asked Questions
Upstate Business Network Questions and Answers
The community, the mixers, the directory, the chapter, and Personal Authority Pages, answered in one place.
Questions
ABOUT UPSTATE BUSINESS NETWORK
Upstate Business Network is a referral community for business owners, sales professionals, and entrepreneurs across Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina, with four ways in: an open community with no membership required, monthly mixers open to everyone, the Upstate Business Network Business Directory, and the BNI Upstate Business Network chapter, which meets every Tuesday at 7:30am at Simpsonville Rotary Hall with one seat per profession. Bart Ratliff, authorized BNI Launch Director Consultant with BNI Global LLC, leads Upstate Business Network.
Bart Ratliff, a BNI member since 2006, created the concept in May 2026, when he became an authorized BNI Launch Director Consultant for the Upstate. The community and the directory launched in October 2026.
Upstate Business Network hosts the BNI Upstate Business Network chapter, which meets every Tuesday at 7:30am at Simpsonville Rotary Hall. Bart Ratliff is an authorized BNI Launch Director Consultant and has been a BNI member since 2006.
No. The community, the monthly mixers, and the BNI chapter are based in the Upstate, and the Upstate Business Network Business Directory welcomes businesses across Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina, including those that serve customers nationwide. Personal Authority Pages are open to business owners, sales professionals, and entrepreneurs wherever they work.
The community is open to any business owner in Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina, with no membership required. It runs in the Upstate Business Network group on Facebook and is designed for introductions, collaboration, and referral relationships. The BNI chapter is for professionals ready for structured weekly meetings, mutual accountability, and a dedicated profession seat. One member per profession category. The community is the on-ramp. The chapter is where referrals compound over time.
Absolutely. The community welcomes business owners, sales professionals, and entrepreneurs from any BNI chapter who do business in the Upstate.
Yes. Members of other networking groups, chambers, and associations are welcome. The Upstate Business Network community is open to everyone, with no exclusivity and no membership required.
There is no cost to join the Upstate Business Network community or to attend a visitor meeting as a guest of the BNI chapter. BNI chapter membership carries an annual investment. You will not be asked for any payment to join the community, request a visitor seat, or attend your first meeting. Everything you need to evaluate the chapter is visible before you make any decision.
Every scheduled date is on the calendar at the top of the Upstate Business Network events page, including mixers, community events, and the weekly chapter meeting. New dates are announced in the Upstate Business Network community on Facebook first, then they appear on the calendar.
Business owners, sales professionals, entrepreneurs, and anyone who does business in the Upstate. Members of any BNI chapter, other networking groups, chambers, and associations are welcome. The community has no categories and no limits.
The Upstate Business Network Business Directory is where business owners, sales professionals, and entrepreneurs find who does what across Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina, from local businesses to those that serve customers nationwide. Each business submits its own listing, every listing is reviewed before it goes live, and every listing has its own page.
Any business owner, sales professional, or entrepreneur who serves Upstate South Carolina or Western North Carolina, including businesses that also serve customers nationwide. Members of any chapter, chamber, or association are welcome, and so are businesses that belong to none.
To update your listing, use the Claim button on your listing page to take ownership of it, then edit your details. Every change is reviewed before it goes live. To remove it, call or text 864-385-2437.
The BNI Upstate Business Network chapter meets every Tuesday at 7:30 in the morning at Simpsonville Rotary Hall, 205 N Maple St Suite 15, Simpsonville, SC 29681, about fifteen minutes south of downtown Greenville. Doors open at 7:15am and the meeting ends at 9:00am. Visitors are welcome at no cost. Call 864-385-2437 or request a visitor seat on the Upstate Business Network website.
No. Visitors are welcome at any Tuesday meeting at no cost, and you do not need to be a member of BNI or of anything else. Visitors who are not BNI members can attend twice. BNI members from other chapters can visit as often as they like.
Yes. Anyone can visit a Tuesday meeting at no cost, whether their category is open or filled. BNI seats one member per profession, and if your seat is taken here, Bart Ratliff can point you to one of the 16 other BNI chapters across the Upstate that has your category open or is a better fit. The community, the monthly mixers, and the directory are open to everyone either way.
Plenty of business cards. You will meet everyone in the room in one morning, and most will ask for one. Beyond that, think about who a good referral looks like for you. Members can only refer you well if they know what a good client of yours looks like.
The six Contact Spheres are Events, Marketing Services, Business Services, Real Estate, Trades, and Health and Wellness. A Contact Sphere is a group of professions that naturally refer to each other rather than compete. BNI reports that your Contact Sphere provides 50 to 60% of your referrals, which is why balanced spheres matter more than raw chapter size.
Visit first. Request a visitor seat on the Upstate Business Network website and attend a Tuesday morning meeting at no cost. You meet the members, see how the chapter runs, and find out whether your profession category is open. If the chapter is a fit and your category is available, membership is discussed from there. Membership carries an annual investment set regionally.
A branded personal page under your name on the Upstate Business Network website. It tells people and AI search tools who you are, what you do, who you serve, and how to reach you, written from your own answers and linked from your listing in the Upstate Business Network Business Directory.
Business owners, sales professionals, and entrepreneurs whose name should be bringing them business, including real estate agents, insurance agents, loan officers, financial advisors, and sales representatives for larger companies. It fits anyone whose company has a website but who has no page of their own, in Greenville, Spartanburg, Greer, Simpsonville, Anderson, across Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina, and nationwide.
Yes. The Personal Authority AI Smart Site is a complete website on your own website address, with an AI assistant that answers questions about you and books meetings on your calendar. It costs $2,997, then $297 a month starting 30 days after purchase, with quarterly updates included.
No. Personal Authority Pages are open to business owners, sales professionals, and entrepreneurs, wherever they work. You can also join the Upstate Business Network community on Facebook.