Altrincham HQ has been running our networking events for over 7 years now.
Our networking events are free to attend. But they are not free to run.
In 2026, our original event Alex & His Sister celebrated its 7th birthday, and also this year Smiley Happy People will celebrate 3 years of events.
Many networking events with small numbers of attendees can charge anywhere between £15-£40, so when I read the Parkrun blog What it really takes to keep parkrun free, I thought it was time to really spell out what it takes to keep our networking events free.
Altrincham HQ to make a profit
Our very 1st networking event was run to celebrate 10 years of Altrincham HQ.
It was supposed to be a one-off, but people loved it so much that we continued.
But as I said then and I say now at the start of every networking event: “Networking isn’t our main job. Our main job is social media marketing – training, management and advertising.”
Altrincham HQ has to turn a profit to be able to run free networking events.
Essentially, anyone who books a social media training course, hires us for social media management or books in some adverts with us is helping to fund the networking events for the whole room. So please do give those people a round of applause because the events can’t happen without support.
How can you support: If you feel you need support with your marketing – book us in.
A supportive local venue
Our home, apart from the very 1st event, has always been the Con Club in the centre of Altrincham.
They’re wonderful, accommodating and open early for us.
Because they know the events are free entry and we get the numbers in, they don’t charge us a venue hire fee.
They’re setting up for us the day before and getting staff in 2 hours earlier than they normally would for our events. So that’s why we always ask for people to buy a tea, coffee, Diet Coke when coming to our event.
How can you support: Obviously buy the drink on the day, but if you visit again let them know it’s because you 1st attended an Altrincham HQ networking event.
Speakers with a story to give their time freely
We honestly book the very best speakers at our events.
These aren’t just speakers doing the circuit doing hard sales pitches.
Speakers with amazing stories, amazing lives and amazing lessons for you to take away.
They don’t charge for their time. Like us, they do it to support the business community around them and lift others up.
I’m so grateful when people say yes because I know they’re taking time away from their business and their clients to do it.
How can you support: Post about them on the day. And if you can use their services or know someone who can, recommend them.
Our photographers to give their time freely
Katie Lucas and Chris Currie are our regular photographers at each event.
And we’ve also had Maggie Derry and Martin Hambleton support us with photography.
They really have enhanced the events and our ability to market them to the wider community.
They all have decades of experience and are at the top of their game.
They provide photos which not only show off the event, but also show off you guys out there working to promote your business.
How can you support: If you have a need for headshots, event photography or other photos – hire them.
Attendees to turn up (and not cancel last minute)
The biggest difference between paid and free events is:
If someone has paid £15-40 for a ticket, it’s very unlikely they’re going to cancel or do a no-show.
If an event is free, every organiser will tell you at least 30% of people who book on will just cancel last minute or do a no-show.
Showing up if you’ve booked on matters because quite often the events are fully booked and other local businesses miss out on attending because people cancel last minute.
It also matters because the venue plans their staff around how many I say will attend.
It also causes reputational damage for the person who cancels, i.e. how can someone confidently recommend you to others if you cancel events 3 or 4 months in a row?
How can you support: Simply turn up if you book on.
Attendees to shout about the success stories from their events
We ask attendees to talk about the events if they attend – that’s a given really.
But more than that, people need to be vocal about how the event has changed their business.
We have so many local businesses who have had a coffee, worked together, done collabs and grown because they met at our events.
People who would never have met without the community coming together.
It’s so appreciated when someone tags us in as a thank you for bringing them together.
How can you support: Give credit to those people who brought you together.
No breadcrumbing from people looking to set up paid communities
I won’t lie – in 2026 our events are still as busy as ever and selling out every month.
But we have to market them a lot more these days because of the people who come along purely to build their own community.
The people who turn up at our events for 3-6 months, collect names and business cards, build relationships with people in the room and then launch their own paid networking events or community before disappearing from ours.
Someone told us there was a name for this: breadcrumbing – taking the crumbs from someone else’s hard work and using them to build something for yourself.
We’re all for people creating communities and putting on events. But there’s a difference between supporting a community and using someone else’s community as a customer database.
Don’t do it.
How can you support: Support the people and communities that genuinely invest in bringing people together, rather than those who simply use them as a way to build their own.
With over 100 attendees, Alex & His Sisters and Smiley Happy People continues as standout networking events in Altrincham, bringing together inspiring speakers who share their real-world insights and practical advice.
Follow On Eventbrite here
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/alex-mccann-18007752018
Event Photos by Chris Currie
https://www.chriscurriephotography.co.uk/
