Top Tips from Nick Fennell who started the Adderbury Friday Club
Nick, this is a really friendly group which you have kept going for ten years - what is the secret of your success?
1. Have a clear objective: we never set out to be a business/networking club. There are enough of them in Banbury already. Just an event that homeworkers could look forward to attending once a month, a chance to get away from the workplace and meet like-minded people for a sociable catch-up.
2. Share what we each do for a living: this in turn provides a helpful forum for discussing common challenges and solving problems; the computer, the Revenue, how to win business. But no hard sell.
3. Spread the word: introduce new members to keep a rich mixture of people on the database.
People who run businesses or who work from home are notoriously hard to reach. How did you find people to come along at the beginning?
Personal contacts, the village mag, the village website (now) Banbury Guardian, BBC radio & TV Oxford – and the big coup, being featured on the BBC Working Lunch programme
What tips would you give anyone else who is thinking of setting up a club like this?
Research who might be in the club, get a core band of people for the initial meet, and progress from there
How important is The Bell as a venue for the Friday Club?
It is a village club, although we do welcome members from elsewhere, and The Bell is very much the focal point of the village. And the beer is very good!