The Last Friday Club Turns 9 🥳
From a dozen strangers in 2016 to 50+ solo entrepreneurs monthly – the nerdy data story that shows how much a networking group like ours was needed in Chichester.
The 'Too Long, Didn't Read' Bit
When I placed a simple listing in the local Chichester newspaper in May 2016, Emily Perry and I had no idea we were launching Last Friday Club just when it was most needed; at the start of a boom in self-employment.
A Simple Idea, Perfect Timing
May 2016: Spotting the Gap
I had just started my freelancer/solo entrepreneur journey and found myself down rabbit hole after rabbit hole, trying to learn HOW to run a solo business – and feeling pretty out on a limb navigating it alone. I had a chat with my friend Emily, who was already running her own solo empire as an HR consultant, to find out more about local networking opportunities; there was nothing for "people like us".
So we thought to ourselves HOW HARD COULD IT BE? In short, it's dead easy to start a networking group, keeping it going takes drive and commitment.
When we launched Last Friday Club, our approach was refreshingly straightforward. Here's the text from that newspaper listing:
"We want to offer something a little more informal than perhaps other local business meetings you've attended in the past. We want you to come away from each get together with renewed vigour and purpose for your business by benefitting from the experience of others or just having a second pair of eyes on what you're currently working on; a different perspective."
We were amazed when people started turning up (we had zero social following at that time) – strangers willing to try something new and keen to find their people.
The EPIC Foundation
Over the years, what has emerged was a clear purpose (and is still true to our original aim) summarised in EPIC:
Encourage: Everyone gets a chance to speak and be heard
Purpose: Meaningful connections that serve your business goals
Integrity: Authentic relationships built on trust
Community: Supporting each other's growth and success
The Nerdy Data Bit
When we started talking about creating a networking group, our research found that there were plenty for SMEs or full powered corporate entities, but nothing for those that actually make up the majority of business owners in the area. They were also all membership or pay-to-attend models; we wanted to offer something free to attend.
Turns out we were right — there was a market and there was a need. And there still is!
The UK saw self-employed workers increase from 3.3 million in 2001 to 4.8 million by 2017¹, with most growth coming from solo entrepreneurs working alone – exactly our target audience.
Chichester: Perfectly Positioned
Our choice of Chichester proved strategically excellent (whilst also being the obvious choice, as that's where we're both based!). The South East experienced one of the largest increases in self-employment¹, and local data shows just how much this market was growing:
Chichester's self-employment rate jumped from 5.6% in 2022 to 13.9% in 2023
This 13.9% significantly exceeds both regional (9.5%) and national (9.5%) averages
Around 644,000 self-employed workers are now based in South East England²
Why Community Matters
Solo entrepreneurs face unique challenges – income volatility, professional isolation, limited access to business advice, and the need for peer support.
Often in the early days of starting, the typical self-employed income is lower than that for employees¹, creating a real need for the collaborative opportunities that Last Friday Club provides, to really support ambition and financial growth (and freedom that comes with it).
And, our meet-ups are (and will always be) FREE, no membership or attendance fee. We even have monthly sponsors to cover costs of sweet treats and coffee, this also gives the sponsors (who are our Members) a bit of exposure across our social media channels and a warm fuzzy feeling knowing they are supporting their fellow entrepreneurs.
Community and feeling part of something really does matter. Our meet-up feedback and the collaborations (and friendships formed) consistently prove this.
From Coffee Shops to RUME2
The club's growth mirrors the broader market transformation. Our partnership with RUME2, the Chichester co-working space that opened in 2019, represents perfect harmony – both serving the same growing community of solo entrepreneurs.
Our model of featuring speakers from within the Club membership demonstrates the wealth of expertise in our community – validating our original insight that solo entrepreneurs had valuable knowledge to share but lacked the platforms for others to discover.
The Numbers Don't Lie
Here's our attendee data since 2023, when we switched to using lu.ma for registration management:
Events: 23 events (Jan 2023 - Mar 2025)
Registrations: 1,532
Unique Attendees: 418 (excluding organisers and host venue)
Average Attendance: 67 people per event (give or take the odd no-show! Grrrrr)
The Perfect Storm
Last Friday Club caught the perfect storm: the right insight, at the right time, in the right place, serving the right audience.
We didn't just start another networking group – we recognised a fundamental shift in how people work and created a community to serve that shift.
But the real measure of success isn't in the national statistics – it's in the transformation from a dozen strangers to a community that meets monthly at RUME2, supporting each other through the challenges and opportunities of solo entrepreneurship.
The numbers prove the market was there. We just recognised it first.
Connect with Debbie on LinkedIn
Connect with Emily on LinkedIn
Data Sources
Office for National Statistics - Trends in self-employment in the UK (February 7, 2018)
Statista - UK self-employment figures 2024 (December 17, 2024)
https://www.statista.com/statistics/318234/united-kingdom-self-employed/
Side Hustle Trends - Freelancing Statistics UK 2024 (March 6, 2024)
West Sussex County Council - West Sussex Economy Snapshot (June 2024, Issue 47)
Data compiled and analysed December 2024. All statistics cited are from official UK sources.
