It's half past seven on a Thursday. You're sitting in a car park outside a golf club with a coffee going cold, wondering whether to go in. Inside there are twenty people who all seem to know each other, and you're about to walk in on your own.

If that's put you off before, this post is for you. It covers which breakfast groups exist across York and North Yorkshire, what the different kinds are like, what they cost, and what to expect when you walk in.

What happens at a breakfast networking event?

Most breakfast groups follow a similar shape. You arrive, get a name badge and a drink, and chat to whoever's nearest while people turn up. Then everyone sits down and goes round the room with a short introduction, often 45 or 60 seconds each: who you are, what you do, and who you'd like to meet. After that there's breakfast, sometimes a short talk from a member or a guest, and more chat. Most finish by half past nine so you can get on with your day.

The bit people worry about is the introduction. Nobody expects a polished pitch. Say your name, what you do, and one thing you're looking for. That's enough.

There are two broad kinds of group, and it's worth knowing which you're walking into.

Referral groups take one business per trade. So there's one accountant, one electrician, one photographer, and members pass work to each other. They meet weekly or fortnightly, you're expected to turn up regularly, and there's a membership fee. Visitors can usually come once or twice to see if it suits them. BoB Club, Firefly Hub, Trust Networking and My Business Networking all work this way.

Open groups have no limit on trades and no membership. You pay for your breakfast or a ticket, or nothing at all, and you go when you can. These suit you if you'd rather not commit, or if you're in a trade that's already taken at the referral group near you.

Neither is better. It depends on what you want from it.

Breakfast networking in York

York has the biggest choice. This is just a selection. You'll find more in the calendar.

• BoB Club has three York groups: York East, York Forest Park and York North. Each meets twice a month at breakfast time, and visitors can book a place through Eventbrite. Referral group, one business per trade, around £10 to £12 a meeting.

• Firefly Hub runs a monthly breakfast referral meeting in York, with breakfast rolls, tea and coffee included. Around £20.

• York Professionals holds a networking breakfast every few months for its members.

• Woodland Connections is the one I run with Sharon Dawson, in woodland just outside York. It starts at eight, but it's coworking and a netwalk rather than a sit-down breakfast, so it's a different kind of morning. If you want to know more ask me about it.

Breakfast networking in Harrogate

• Harrogate Business Group meets every week for breakfast and a workshop. Visitors come free and pay for their breakfast at reception. Members pay a meeting fee and an annual fee.

• Firefly Hub also has a fortnightly breakfast group just outside Harrogate, in Knaresborough.

• Connect over a Cuppa is a free monthly morning for North Yorkshire business owners, run for the Growth Hub, with a speaker and coffee. It starts at nine, so it's a gentler start than the breakfast groups.

• Step Out is a free monthly netwalk through the Valley Gardens on a Friday morning, run with the Harrogate Chamber. No breakfast, but it's early, it's free, and you're walking rather than sitting.

• FORE Business does breakfast then eighteen holes at Rudding Park once a month, if you'd rather do business on a fairway.

Breakfast networking in Scarborough and the coast

• My Business Networking Scarborough is a referral group meeting twice a month. Visitors can come twice for around £15 including breakfast before deciding on membership.

• BoB Club Scarborough meets twice a month on a Friday. Referral group, visitors welcome up to twice.

• YNY Network runs a free morning in Scarborough every four weeks, starting at nine, with a speaker and local council and business support people in the room.

Breakfast networking in the market towns

• Ryedale In Business in Malton is a relaxed monthly breakfast, open to all, with no pitches and a ten-minute spotlight from a local business. Around £15.

• YNY Network also runs free mornings every four weeks in Malton, Northallerton and Thirsk, starting at nine. The Malton one sold out last month, so book early.

• Skipton Business Breakfast meets twice a month at a café in town. Around £20.

• Biz Group 66 meets fortnightly on a Thursday morning at rolling venues around Richmond. Membership is about £10 a month.

• Builders of Business in Great Ayton is a monthly breakfast for the Guisborough, Ayton and Stokesley area, with a breakfast sandwich included.

• The Honest Business Club in Sherburn in Elmet is free, monthly, and you just buy your own tea or coffee at the Aero Club. We Are Sherburn meets there too, for members, with one free first visit.

Just over the border in Wetherby

Wetherby is in West Yorkshire, but it's close enough that plenty of York and Harrogate people go.

• Trust Networking is a weekly breakfast referral group. Guests come free, and the profits go to charity.

• Wetherby Business Referral Network meets on the first and third Friday, with a buffet breakfast and an education slot on referrals. Free, but places are limited.

• Wetherby Grafters Super Group is fortnightly and for the construction and property trade only.

Which breakfast groups are free?

If you want to try one without spending anything:

•Harrogate Business Group (visitors free, pay for your breakfast)

•Connect over a Cuppa, Harrogate

•Step Out netwalk, Harrogate

•YNY Network in Scarborough, Malton, Northallerton and Thirsk

•The Honest Business Club, Sherburn in Elmet

•Trust Networking, Wetherby (guests)

•Wetherby Business Referral Network

Most of the referral groups let you visit once or twice before you decide, so a first go is cheap even where there's a fee.

Where are the dates?

Groups change venue, skip August, or stop for Christmas, and a post with dates in it goes out of date fast. So the dates, venues, prices and booking links are in the free monthly calendar. It arrives on the 28th of each month and covers the next five weeks across York and the whole of North Yorkshire. Every event in it is checked by hand.

Send me the free calendar

Questions people ask

What time does breakfast networking start?

Most referral groups start between seven and half past, and finish by half past nine. The open groups and the YNY Network mornings tend to start at nine.

Do I have to be a member?

Not to visit. Nearly every group lets you come once or twice first. The YNY Network mornings, Connect over a Cuppa and The Honest Business Club have no membership at all.

Is breakfast included?

It varies. Some include it in the ticket, some have you pay at the venue, and the free ones usually mean you buy your own drink. The calendar says which.

I'm nervous about the sixty-second introduction. Any advice?

Write three sentences before you go: your name, what you do, and who you'd like to meet. Read them if you need to. Nobody minds, and by the second visit you won't need the paper.