If you have even interacted with the LeTip of Hackensack chapter, you have probably interacted with chapter president Craig Andriulli, who holds te Mortgage Loans category in the group. He has been a LeTip member since 2009 and has grown his business tremendously while utilizing LeTip along the way. He is a Gold Badge member and has been a straight-up powerhouse in his chapter, helping them grow at lightning speeds.
Craig ventured into business in the mid 2000’s, and before 2010 his business grew exponentially; from just a small handful of people, to around 90 employees! His company, Bond Street Mortgage LLC, specializes specifically in real estate financing. He proudly wears the titles of Senior Vice President and Sales Director for the company.
When asked about how LeTip has helped his business Craig said, “LeTip, first off has taught me a lot about business in general. How to be a presence with a big group of people, how to approach people, how to dig down and identify where people have needs, besides what you would call the first layer. LeTip has helped me really formulate the relationships that allow me to dig deeper with these relationships to find opportunities to do more business with them.”
In terms of how important LeTip of Hackensack is to him, he shared something that we hear it time and time again. The most common word when members describe their chapters, and that it is a “FAMILY”! To Craig, LeTip of Hackensack chapter is his second family – but not just that, it is a vast resource for limitless growth on both a business level and a personal level. He shared many stories of the great relationships he has formed in his chapter and through LeTip, and also shared with us about the professionalism and skillset that his chapter membership holds. Their bonds were formed in business, but go well beyond.
We asked Craig to share some of his success stories, and he gave us several great examples: “When I first started in the group Sheldon Neil and I both started around the same time. He was in the group a few months before me and then I came in and we were both somewhat wet behind the ears and new in our business, so at that point we knew that our personalities kind of jived and we had a very similar approach to things.” He went on to describe how they would meet monthly and go over their business plans together, and fleshed it out into an annual plan for each of their businesses, respectively. Fast forward a few years and they ended up becoming two of the top performing mortgage lenders in the county and the state. And according to Craig, they still continue to meet up regularly to go over plans.
Another example Craig referenced was something very important in LeTip: visitation. He believes that visitations are the best way to get more from your membership, as a whole. For those new to LeTip or not yet in LeTip, visitation is when members meet outside of chapter meetings to learn about each others’ business. This is integral to becoming better tippers and also improving chances at cultivating Power Partners.
He went on to mention an experience with his dry cleaner, who he mentioned is an amazing person. Just through an unplanned meeting, they networked together and came up with a great way to share business together – the dry cleaner found an opportunity to start doing all of the dry cleaning for Craig’s business and the office employees. After this worked out, he is looking to open it up to corporate management and give his dry cleaner potentially thousands of tips worth of business.
Craig told us about another profitable connection he made in his group with with Anthony Colandro (who is in the Firearm Instructor category). By connecting, he was able to set up and hold presentations with their company, and also meet with them one-on-one to help build wealth. He also mentioned Mike Felardi (Contractor General), and through their connection, Craig was able to strengthen their business relationships and become a finance partner on construction projects through Mike.
As mentioned in the beginning of this spotlight, Craig is the proud President of LeTip of Hackensack, NJ. When asked about his leadership role as the chapter president of LeTip of Hackensack, Craig told us that this is a title and office that he does not hold lightly. We could tell from his time speaking to us and allowing us to do this interview that being professional and trustworthy are extremely important core values that he exudes as a leader within his chapter.
Craig also gave some great key pointers onto how to successfully run a chapter:
1 – Meeting Attendance. If you have strong membership, they have to be showing up on a weekly basis. Members who regularly miss meetings, generally do not make very successful members.
2 – Learn The Bylaws. If you are in a group that has issues to deal with, or seems to be not growing, lean on the bylaws so you can start implementing them. There are bylaws that cover all sorts of situations to help out your chapter in times of need.
3 – Extracurricular Activities. Craig’s chapter, for example, does about 5-7 events a year that are not part of their normal meetings, like having BBQs together or going bowling. They enjoy doing fun activities to get to know each other on a more personal level – outside of just going to chapter meetings. (Craig says this has been huge for his chapter!)
4 – The Group Is What You Make It. If a group isn’t working out the way you want it to, get involved. Don’t be just a spectator. If you want to grow, remember you have to give first. Positive change can always happen, you just need the right people to step in and take the opportunities.
Thanks Craig, for your insights and knowledge, and also your dedication to your business and LeTip. Your entrepreneurial spirit is one that is kindred to all of us throughout this organization.
In closing, we wanted to mention one last thing: Craig informed us that he has a personal goal of expanding his chapter to 100 members by year-end. We know you can do it, Craig!
