Wed 28Oct
Fortnightly brunchOpen to visitors
Didsbury Brunch
Didsbury · In person
25 years · The UK's original referral breakfast
Grow your business in
90 minutes a fortnight
One seat per profession. A room of business owners who know your work well enough to send it your way — same faces, same table, every fortnight, with food included.
- 25 years of referrals
- One seat per profession
- First visit free
90 minand you leave two introductions better off
What every Business for Breakfast group guarantees
- 25 yearsRunning referral groupsThe UK's original referral breakfast
- One seatPer profession, per groupEvery referral for your trade comes to you
- FreeYour first visitFood included, no card needed
- 90 minEvery meetingSame agenda, start to finish
The person behind the table
Hi, I'm Mel.
[MEL_STORY: 2-3 sentences on how she started — first person, e.g. why she walked into her first referral meeting and what made her stay]
Is this for you?
Three kinds of business owner. One reason to be in the room.
Different problems, same answer: people who understand your business well enough to recommend it when you're not there.
SoloOwner-operators
Electricians, bookkeepers, photographers, coaches
The problem
You are the business. While you're delivering, nobody is finding the next job, so work comes in feast-or-famine waves.
What changes
Twenty-plus people learn what a good job looks like for you, then spot it all week. You get a sales team without the salary.
A steady pipeline without cold calling
ScalingGrowing firms
Agencies, trades firms, installers, manufacturers
The problem
Ad costs go up every year and the leads get worse. You need growth you can forecast.
What changes
Referred work arrives already trusting you. It closes faster and haggles less, and every referral is tracked, so you can see exactly what your seat returns.
Lower cost per client and a shorter sales cycle
AdvisoryProfessional and advisory firms
Solicitors, accountants, IFAs, consultants, surveyors
The problem
Clients choose advisers on trust, and you can't advertise your way to trust.
What changes
You build standing with the people who already advise your ideal client. And it costs one diary slot a fortnight.
Introductions from trusted advisers, not strangers
How it works
Three steps from first coffee to first referral
No application form and no interview panel. See a real meeting, then decide.
- 01
Check your seat
Tell us your profession and postcode. We'll confirm the seat is open and send you the venue, the parking details and who to ask for.
- 02
Come as our guest
Eat with the room, watch a real meeting and take 60 seconds to introduce your business if you'd like to.
- 03
Claim your seat
Your profession is yours alone in that group — every referral in it for your trade comes to you, and to nobody else.
Book a free visit
Takes two minutes. We confirm your seat is open before you travel.
The method
The method Mel teaches every member
Four habits, drilled in every meeting and every Academy course. None of them are complicated. All of them are why the referrals keep coming.
Same seat, same faces
Turn up every fortnight and sit with the same people. Referrals follow familiarity, not business cards.
One clear ask
Name the exact introduction you want this fortnight. A room can't refer 'anyone who needs a hand'.
Give first
Open your own book before you ask anyone to open theirs. The fastest way to get a referral is to pass one.
Track what it's worth
Log every introduction and what it closed for. If your seat isn't paying for itself, the numbers will say so first.
Running a business in itself will have its own challenges. We'd like you to have a comfortable journey — and somewhere you can look into the best tips and tested process that others in our group have been sharing with us.
— Mel
Inside a meeting
Ninety minutes. Every minute has a job.
No mingling and hoping. Every meeting follows the same structure, which is why the referrals keep coming.
- 20 min
Arrive and network
Coffee and open conversation. No forced icebreakers.
- 10 min
Food and welcome
A hot meal while the group leader welcomes visitors by name.
- 20 min
60-second pitches
Everyone gets the same minute: who you are, what you do, and the introduction you want this week.
- 15 min
Member spotlight
One member goes deep, so the room can refer them precisely.
- 15 min
Referral round
Members pass named introductions and thank each other for work that has closed.
- 10 min
Close
Diaries out to book one-to-ones. Visitors get a straight answer on open seats.
- The times above are a 10:00 brunch group. Breakfast groups run exactly the same agenda from 07:00, and twilight groups from 18:00.
Why it works
Same faces, same time, same seat. That's what makes people refer you.
Referrals don't come from meeting people once. They come from people who've watched you for months and trust you with their own reputation.
- 90 min
In and out, on time
Every meeting runs the same 90-minute agenda and ends when it says it will — a 10:00 brunch is over by 11:30. It takes a slot out of your day, never the day itself.
- Fortnightly
A slot you can protect
Same day, same time, every fortnight. A rhythm that predictable is easy to hold in your diary — so the room actually shows up, and the referrals follow.
- Your trade
No competition in the room
You're the only one of your profession at the table, so every other member is a potential referrer, not a rival. That changes what people are willing to share.
What membership gives you
Relationships, referrals and the skills to use both
Trusted relationships
Repetition turns a contact into an advocate. Same faces, same slot, same seat — month after month, until they know your work well enough to stake their own name on it.
- Your profession's seat, held exclusively
- Structured one-to-ones that go deeper than small talk
- A member directory across every group in the network
Referrals you can measure
A referral group, not a mixer. Every introduction is named out loud in the meeting and logged afterwards, so you can see what your seat is actually worth.
- A referral dashboard that tracks every introduction
- A quarterly report on what your seat has returned
- Visitor days to reach beyond your own group
Skills from the Academy
Short, practical courses written by members who win work this way — not theory from someone who has never had to ask a room for an introduction.
- Four core courses, around 40 minutes each
- Live workshops and regional training days
- A new course every quarter
See it for yourself
A minute inside the network
Short films from real meetings and workshops. Member stories — the member, the figure from their dashboard, their own words — are being collected now and will be published with permission.
Grow your network
Two members talking before the room fills up — the ten minutes where most introductions actually start.
BforB workshops
Practical skills sessions that run alongside the fortnightly meetings, open to members across the network.
Network and grow
A member walking her table through how she wins work — the part of the morning where everyone else takes notes.
From the Referral Academy
A minute with Mel
Mel introduces the three stages the Referral Academy is built around — starting up, growing, and exiting — in under a minute each.
Membership
One price. Food included. No upsells at the table.
Visit free first. Join only if the room is right for you.
Visitor
Freefirst visit
No joining fee, no card needed
See a real meeting before you decide anything.
- A full meal, included
- 60-second introduction
- Meet every member
- A straight answer on open seats
- One free Academy course
Most popular
Monthly
£59per month
Plus a one-off £125 joining fee
Your seat in one group, billed monthly.
- Your profession's seat held exclusively
- Every meeting, food included
- Full Academy access
- Directory of every group
- Referral dashboard
- Guest passes
Best value
Annual
£590per year
Joining fee waived — a £125 saving
Save £243 in year one — two months free and no joining fee.
- Everything in Monthly
- Priority booking for training days
- Two free guest meals for your clients
- A guaranteed member spotlight
- Annual referral report
Prices exclude VAT. Food is included at every in-person meeting.
One seat per profession
Each group holds a single seat for each trade or profession. If you're the mortgage adviser in the room, you're the only one — so every mortgage referral in that group comes to you. It also means seats genuinely run out, which is why we check availability before you visit.
Your first visit is on us
Visit any group as our guest, completely free — food included. Come twice if you want to be sure. There is no pressure to join and no follow-up sales call you didn't ask for.
Book a free visitThe BforB Academy
Referrals are a skill. We teach it.
Short, practical courses built from 25 years of referral meetings. Finish one on a lunch break and use it at your next meeting.
- Free for visitors
Mastering your 60-second pitch
Why 'a bit of everything' gets you nothing, and the one specific ask that makes a room remember you.
Taught by Mel - Core
The referral mindset
How to give first, spot a referral in ordinary conversation, and never sound like you're selling.
Taught by Mel - Core
Running great one-to-ones
The 45-minute structure that turns a polite coffee into a working referral partnership.
Taught by Mel - New
Using AI to grow your business
Practical, no-jargon AI for small businesses: quoting faster, following up properly and writing less admin.
Taught by Mel
Free PDF
Mel's 30-Day Referral Playbook
One action a day for 30 days: the exact asks, messages and follow-ups that get referrals moving.
- Word-for-word referral asks that don't feel pushy
- A one-to-one agenda you can print tonight
- How to thank a referrer so they do it again
One email with the PDF. Unsubscribe in one click.
Upcoming meetings
Where you can visit next
Every meeting below has visitor places. Book by 5pm the day before so the venue can cater for you.
- Book your seat
- Thu 29OctBook your seat
Fortnightly brunchOpen to visitors
Warrington Brunch
Culcheth · In person
- Wed 4NovBook your seat
Fortnightly brunchOpen to visitors
Trafford City Wednesday
Stretford · In person
- Fri 6NovBook your seat
Fortnightly brunchOpen to visitors
The Point Astley Brunch
Tyldesley · In person
Come and meet her
Where Mel will be next
Mel is in the room at meetings across the network. Pick one of hers and she'll be the one who welcomes you at the door.
Mel's next hosting dates are being confirmed.
Notes from Mel
What I'm learning about referrals
Things Mel has noticed from the front of the room — posted where she posts, gathered here.
LinkedIn postThu 1 Oct
[MEL_POST_TITLE: her latest LinkedIn post title]
[MEL_POST_EXCERPT: first line or two of the post]
Link coming soon
ArticleTue 15 Sept
[MEL_ARTICLE_TITLE: a short article she has written]
[MEL_ARTICLE_EXCERPT: one-line summary]
Link coming soon
VideoTue 1 Sept
[MEL_DESK_VIDEO_TITLE: a video worth featuring]
[MEL_DESK_VIDEO_EXCERPT: one-line summary]
Link coming soon
Follow alongMel on LinkedIn — link coming soonMel on Instagram — link coming soon
Questions, answered
Questions people ask before their first visit
How much does it cost?
Your first visit is free, food included. Membership is £59 a month or £590 a year, plus a one-off £125 joining fee on the monthly plan. Prices exclude VAT.
What times do groups meet?
It varies by group. Most meet for brunch at 10:00 or 11:00 and finish 90 minutes later; some meet for breakfast at 07:00, and some in the evening at 18:00. Every meeting runs the same agenda, and each listing in the diary above shows its own start time.
Is my profession's seat open?
Each group holds one seat per profession, so it depends on the room. Tell us your profession and postcode when you book a visit and we'll confirm the seat is open before you travel — there is no point driving across town to find your trade already taken.
What if I miss a meeting?
Let your group leader know as early as you can. Groups differ on sending a colleague in your place and on making up a missed meeting elsewhere, so ask your leader when you visit and you'll get a straight answer for that room.
How are referrals tracked?
Every introduction is logged in your member dashboard, with its value recorded once the work closes. You get a quarterly summary of exactly what your seat has returned — which is the only honest way to judge whether membership is worth it.
Can I leave?
Yes. We'd rather you left easily and spoke well of us than stayed reluctantly. The notice period is set out in the membership agreement — ask for a copy before you join, so you can read the terms at home rather than at a breakfast table.
Still wondering something? Ask us directly — Mel or the team reply, usually before lunch.
Beyond the breakfast table
Book Mel to speak or train your team
Years of referral meetings condensed into a talk, a training day, or a brand-new group in your town.
Speaking
A keynote or a lunch-and-learn on referrals, networking that actually converts, and the one-clear-ask habit.
Training days
A half or full day with your team on pitching, one-to-ones and building a referral pipeline that doesn't rely on ads.
Start a group in your town
No BforB group near you? Mel helps local founders launch one — venue, format, first members and all.
Your first visit is on us
Your seat might still be open
Pick a group, come along and watch business owners pass real work to each other. If it isn't for you, you've still had a meal with twenty people worth knowing.
[MEL_CLOSING_NOTE: one warm sentence from Mel to someone who has read the whole page, e.g. what she'd say to them at the door] — Mel
- Food included
- No pressure to join
- Done in 90 minutes
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