When do you want to meet?
When to meet up depends on the group. Before or after school hours may exclude people with family commitments. Some groups vary the time and day they meet to be as inclusive as possible. You won’t be able to suit everyone.
Here are some of the pros and cons:
Lunchtime 12.30 – 2.30 very popular with regular monthly groups, either you can organise a discounted meal in a pub (Adderbury Friday Club) or a pay-as-you-go (Wallingford Freelancers), social and informally structured, not ideal for expert speakers or “training” type sessions such as workshops
Breakfast e.g. 7.30 – 9.30 good for business people on the move, get you out of the house, good for wake-you-up talks/workshop type activities, not much good for family people, too early for some (Chipping Norton)
Late Breakfast e.g. 9 – 11 good start to the business day, after school run, or breaks into the working day (Brill)
After work/supper e.g. 5.30 – 7.30 may benefit from relaxed end of day feel, catch people after work but before rejoining family, difficult for family people (Launton)
Evening This seems to be the least common time chosen by informal village business groups.
If you, as the organiser, can be flexible, ask your first members what sort of time would suit them. When you have a feel for the most mutually convenient time, check again that a few people can definitely attend before going ahead with a general invitation.