North East Freelance Network

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Built for freelancers in the North East. By a freelancer in the North East.

NEFN is a membership community for people who work independently and want the support, connection, and accountability to build a business that actually works.

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North East Freelance Network Membership

We’re a regional membership community for freelancers who are done going it alone. Not a networking group with awkward small talk. Not a course you buy and never finish. A real community of people who cowork together, learn from each other, hold each other accountable, and actually show up.

Based in the North East. Built for the North East. Founded because nothing like this existed.

How it works

Sign up for £12.99/month and you’re in. Rolling monthly — cancel anytime.

Once you’re a member, you’ll get access to everything below. Most of the day-to-day community lives in our private Slack channel, and events are communicated by email and in Slack.

⚠️ Heads up: the price goes up to £19.99/month in July 2026. Join before 30th June to lock in £12.99.

Why join NEFN?

Freelancing is isolating in ways that are hard to explain to people who haven’t done it. NEFN is full of people who understand — the slow months, the difficult clients, the imposter syndrome, the weirdness of being your own boss. You don’t have to explain yourself here.

Showcase your expertise with a public directory listing and feature in our Freelancer Focus Q&A series to boost your visibility.

Our lunchtime sessions and workshops are member-driven and expert-led. Sessions on pricing, LinkedIn, client management, AI tools, getting testimonials – the stuff that actually comes up when you freelance.

A vetted directory listing, Q&A features, and a community full of people who refer work to each other. Being in the room matters.

The Freelance Forum is a small-group programme for members who want to go deeper. Every two months, a group of 8–12 people meet to tackle real challenges, set sprint commitments, and hold each other to them. It’s the bit that actually moves your business forward.

No pushy sales pitches. No cheesy networking. No content that exists to make you feel bad so you buy something. Just a canny community of freelancers in the North East, doing the work together.

Everything that's included​

🗓️ Monthly in-person coworking day A proper day of work with people around you. Good for focus, good for your head.

💻 Virtual coworking — 2nd & 4th Tuesday, 9.30–11.00 Turn up with something to work on. Leave having actually done it.

🍔 Freelance Focus lunchtime sessions — monthly, Wednesdays, 12.00–12.45. Practical. Genuinely useful.

🗝️ Freelance Reset — 1st Monday of the month, 10.00–11.00 Start the month with intention. A structured session to set your priorities and get focused.

🧠 Expert talks & practical workshops Sessions on the things freelancers actually need: pricing, marketing, client management, legal basics, and more.

💬 Private Slack community Where the honest conversations happen. Ask questions, share wins, vent about difficult clients, recommend suppliers. People actually respond.

🌟 Vetted freelance directory listing Be found by potential clients and collaborators looking for North East freelancers.

🎤 Q&A feature opportunity Get your work and story shared with the NEFN community.

The Freelance Forum — included free in 2026

The Freelance Forum is a structured peer accountability programme for NEFN members who want to go beyond showing up to sessions and actually make progress on the things that matter.

It’s a small, hand-picked group of freelancers — 6 to 8 people — who meet every month for 5 months. Each session includes hot-seat problem-solving (you bring a real challenge, the group helps you get unstuck), themed deep-dives on things like pricing, client management, and operations, and sprint commitments you set publicly and report back on.

Between sessions, you have an accountability buddy checking in at the four-week mark.

It’s not networking. It’s not a course. It’s a peer advisory board for your freelance business.

This year, it’s included in standard membership at no extra cost. It’s the first time we’ve run it, and in the spirit of transparency, I didn’t want to charge extra for something new. From 2027, the Forum will be a premium add-on — its own tier with its own price.

Choose your plan

Monthly

£12.99/month Rolling monthly — cancel anytime.

Price increases to £19.99 in July 2026. Join before 30 June to lock in this rate.

Sign up — monthly

Annual

£129.90/year 12 months for the price of 10.

Best value.

Sign up — annual

Just want a listing? Submit your profile here — free, no membership required.

FAQs

Freelancers, sole traders, the self-employed, and directors of limited companies where you’re the only employee based anywhere in North East England, including Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, County Durham, and Tees Valley. Any industry, any discipline, part-time or full-time.

Monthly in-person coworking, virtual coworking twice a month, Freelance Focus lunchtime sessions, Freelance Reset mornings, expert talks and workshops, a private Slack community, a vetted directory listing, and Q&A feature opportunities. In 2026, full membership also includes the Freelance Forum – a structured peer accountability programme – at no extra cost.

Monthly membership is £12.99/month, rolling – cancel anytime. Annual membership is £129.90 (12 months for the price of 10). The price increases to £19.99/month in July 2026 – join before 30th June to lock in the current rate.

Sign up here and you’ll receive a welcome email with everything you need to get started. Most of the day-to-day community lives in our private Slack channel. Events are communicated via email and Slack so you’ll always know what’s coming up.

Not currently. Events are for members only — the aim is to build genuine relationships over time, and that works best with a consistent community rather than one-off attendees. That said, we occasionally open lunchtime sessions to guests, so follow us on Instagram or LinkedIn to hear when that happens.

Jade Gillham – a PPC freelancer based in Gateshead, who went looking for a community for North East freelancers and built one when she couldn’t find it. She’s been self-employed for over seven years and is an active member of the community she founded. 

Read the full story of why the NEFN exists.

Email us at admin@northeastfreelancenetwork.co.uk and we’ll get back to you.

Join NEFN and find your people in the North East.

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North East Freelance Network North East Region

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