10 events you should join as a Freelancer
Although it might feel daunting at first, networking online is a great way to meet like-minded people, especially for freelancers. Whether you’re looking for prospective clients or simply to meet a few new faces and have a laugh, socialising and expanding your network is an important factor to success. So the Othership community have put together 10 events that every Freelancer should join.
Fortunately for you, there’s plenty of professional networking events out there—as well as some more casual ones—that make for great places to meet new people. In this post, we’ve listed the best
Othership Events
Fri-yay Social
Last Friday of every month
Since lockdown rules were imposed, we’ve had to take our Fri-yay Socials online, and whilst we hope to be meeting again in the ‘real world’ before too long, our online events are a great way meet new people, have fun and celebrate the end of the month.
Fortunately, the internet is a wonderful place and there’s still plenty of fun to be had. Often this involves running interactive games and activities, such as a treasure hunt on Mibo!
When we’re allowed to, the Fri-yay Social will once again be a physical event. We’ll still play games but we hope to host other activities such as drink tastings and meals at restaurants. Whether it’s happening online or offline, these prove to be really fun networking events for freelancers.
Network & Coffee
Every Monday & Wednesday
Twice weekly, we bring Othership members together for an online networking event to network, share ideas and drink coffee!
This isn’t your standard business to business networking. Forget the suits and meaningless small-talk, at the Othership Network & Coffee events what you’re wearing doesn’t matter as much as your mindset.
This is among the best events for networking as you’ll meet people from all sorts of different backgrounds. You might meet someone that can help you with a problem you’re facing, or may even be looking to hire someone with your skillset!
Cowork & Brunch
Every Wednesday
When you’re a self-employed one-man-band, the office can be a lonely place. This is especially true for new freelancers that are used to working alongside colleagues. Whilst you might not miss the office politics, it’s easy to miss the background bustle, the coffee breaks and team meetings – even the ones that could have just been an email!
To solve this, we host weekly Cowork & Brunch events for freelancers, which is the place to meet and chat with fellow entrepreneurs, or just work in the background. What’s more is if you’re looking to find networking events near you, these are currently running online which means our Cowork & Brunch is as close as your computer.
General Assembly Events
Various dates
Our partnership with General Assembly (GA) means we’re able to offer Othership members various educational events to help them thrive in their career as a freelancer or founder.
Whether you want to learn how to Be Your Best Self or Get the Word Out about you and your business, with our joint GA events you’ll learn some of the best methods and techniques to reach your goals. That’s what makes these some of the best events for digital entrepreneurs.
Other Events We Love
Freelancers Week
October TBC
Freelancers Week is a 10-day event dedicated to bringing together independent professionals and coworking spaces from around the world to help each other improve their careers through learning, skill-sharing, networking and political action.
Freelancers Week is for people of all backgrounds and aims to tackle the biggest problem we all face: isolation. Whether you’ve just taken the leap in making your side-hustle your full-time job or you’re a veteran of selling your skills.
Because we work independently, freelancers are restricted by how often we get to share knowledge and ideas with other specialists. Freelancers Week allows anyone to organise a virtual networking event with the aim of uniting freelancers and communities around the world – so you’ll certainly find networking events for you.
MozCon
12-14 July 2021
What started as an online blog about SEO in 2004 (who knew about SEO in 2004?!) has evolved into one the top online SEO consultancies in the world – and MozCon is its baby. This is one of the best business events for young entrepreneurs with an interest in marketing and SEO.
Expect to hear from a wide panel of expert speakers deliver presentations on search marketing, mobile, conversion optimisation, local search and more. Don’t be fooled into thinking MozCon is just for marketers and SEO experts… In this ever-digitising world, there’s not a business out there that can’t benefit from this event.
National Freelancers Day
17 June
National Freelancers Day is the annual flagship event from the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE). The NFD brings together freelancers, contractors and consultants from all industries. On this day, they get to listen to inspirational speeches, take part in interactive workshops and event networking.
Last year’s lineup included sessions on using social media whilst staying productive and starting a business in a post-pandemic world. There was also a session on ensuring you look after your own mental wellbeing.
CreativeMornings
Location dependant
What started as a way to bring New York’s creative community together has snowballed into what is now known as CreativeMornings – a worldwide amalgamation of coffee-morning freelancer events. Their events now take place in 223 cities in 67 different countries. Almost every day a CreativeMorning is taking place somewhere in the world.
Thanks to corporate sponsors such as MailChimp and Skillshare, CreativeMornings are free and accessible to anyone. Each event is hosted by volunteers in an effort to bring creatives together and celebrate their talent.
Sanctus Mental Health Gym
Daily
Running your own business, no matter how big, is stressful. It’s important that freelancers take time to look after their wellbeing – for the sake of their health and their business.
The Sanctus Mental Health Gym is a daily event that takes place every morning between 8:30–9:00 to bring together a wellbeing-conscious community for group journaling sessions. This free event offers coaching questions to prompt the journaling and members are given access to the community forum.
Build Your Personal Brand Online
24 February
This hour-long YouTube session is a Google-hosted event that aims to help freelancers, founders, entrepreneurs and small businesses find new business opportunities by optimising their online presence.
Don’t worry if you’re completely new to social media and online marketing as this event is for beginners. You’ll even get the chance to ask questions at the end and you should leave knowing:
- How to define your personal brand
- Steps to set up your brand presence
- Ways to increase your online visibility