Breakfast Networking Events - useful or waste of time?

Hi there all

Mark here on a not to miss thread .
Breakfast network meetings............ Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm
lets start with the breakfast aye .....
I worked away from home for some time living in hotels,motels and guest houses and my pet hate was the breakfast, either cold or continental and rubbery ohhhh and did I forget to mention over priced?
The breakfast networking I went to was slow due to everyone still half asleep at 7am and when it did liven up most people were ready to leave for bookings or probley other networking meetings lol

I think some people have networking down to a fine art and some even make a buisness out of it but for me it I think id rather send a saleman to one and do the leg work as I havent been to one yet that has produced links with clients of use.

So if you like a good chin wag on your buisness account these are fine although id rather network in a pub most towns/citys worth there salt have a decent one and it cuts out the cost of a cold rubbery slab of bacon, If your hungry have a pub lunch then gear yourself up to sell yourself and your buisness, sounds a better way to me.

Forums are a better way to network as these breakfast clubs are very clicky and yes expensive for what you get out of them.
Your not cynical,your like me a tight ****d so n so whos wallet is tightly buttoned up in there back pocket lol.

I now run an evening (5-7.15) networking group in Doncaster. I started in in October to fill a gap in the market. We get around 23-25 every time, usually about a dozen are new faces and the others are returners/regulars so a nice mix. I am also adding in 3 speed networking events.

I run this is a

I'm not interested in talking to anyone over breakfast - but sessions later in the day (centred around a topic that interests me and a chance to chat to others over a coffee or two) have been worthwhile.

What often happens is that you've a chance to identify people with whom you'd happily work on a joint project (and vice versa). Sometimes it's just a chance to learn and be sociable. On the whole, I think formal networking meetings have been over-hyped.

Good point, I struggled at some of the breakfast meetings I went to. Everyone seemed more interested in getting some breakfast down them than actual networking, plus I don't feel particularly sociable until I've had a couple of coffees..


Even Indizines running one! Evening or afternoon groups do seem to make more sense. So is this done as a way to gently softsell your web biz, or is the network group a completely independent business? If independent, is it scalable, or would you want to keep it local?

Just curious, because the attraction of some groups seems to be the ability to go to different meetings in different areas, so you will see fresh people.


I guess it's a fine line between having a regular core group that you get to know well, and developing into a click that makes outsiders feel unwelcome. I know a few online forums that have slid into this model, with newbies getting flamed and made to feel like outsiders, and I've seen it myself at a breakfast meeting as well, so never went back

I like the idea of an informal get together, with none of the stricter rules that bigger groups can bring, and I can see the attraction, especially for smaller businesses that it feels like a support network and you have someone to talk to. I suppose a face to face version of forums like this.


Interesting view, and depending where abouts you live, there does seem to be some overhyping and almost surplus of networking groups. Across the Midlands, I've seen groups actively competing and marketing against each other, and I wonder if the networking groups popularity is buoyed up by the steady stream of new businesses, who have that overwhelming desire to get out there and network and join every local association going? I know I was guilty of that, joining different Chambers of Commerce, local networking groups etc.

But then this wore off as I had to start managing and justifying my time a bit better!

Anyone else got any views?

I cant function without at least 3 cups of coffee in the morning, then Victor turns into Clive, well some mornings anyway lol

I have to be honest I have been to a fair few of these meetings both breakfast & lunch and you do seem to bump in to the same people time and time again, even when you go to different venues - out goes the sales pitch and you end up talking about the wife/husband/partner and the kids.

But will that person think of you for the next time he is wanting advertising (in our case) or will i think of him/her when i need his/her service? So in that respect is it worth it?

I have a desk full of business cards gathering dust from these meetings and after the initial obligatory email reminding them of who i am and what i/we offer not once have i picked up their card again for their service - so kinda answered my own question.

I used to go to some groups in Stratford upon Avon they were ok, I always saw the same faces which made me think I could be doing more back at the office.

Steve, to answer your question, it is run as a networking group in it's own right (with it's own name and own website; in fact in May I will be re-launching it with a new name to give it a better identity, and moving to a new venue too.

I do not get the chance to join in the actual networking to promote Indizine. I don't get enough time because I am busy time-keeping for the table shuffles and hosting, etc. I tried joining in the last one but only managed to join one table. I am going to try and join in more though in the coming months!

Well if you ever branch out to Warwickshire, I'll give it a go

Must admit me and Clive have toyed with the idea a few times, there certainly seems a lot of appetite for networking groups, which explains the number of them, or at least round here!

It does seem an awful lot of work though, plus you need to constantly market and promote, so hats off to you. I think I'll stick to the online world for now!

I Have Not Found A Suitable Meet Yet Although I Do Go To A Mastermind Group For Internet Marketers Which is Excellent.

S