Running a home business is a great way to manage your career. Not only can you make money from home in your own time, but you can build an empire out of your own living room or office without having to make many moves elsewhere – what could be better?
However, the day might come in which you contact a prospective client and they ask to meet. In this situation, where are you going to take them? If there are no external meeting places nearby, it’ll have to be your own home! So to that effect, here are some tips on making your home look client-ready.
It’s All in the Seating
Comfortable chairs to sit in during the meeting is the top priority here. It’ll be hard to go an hour in a hard chair you can’t relax in, especially if you’re trying to have an informal, casual chat about work. It’ll give the wrong impression entirely! So, when you go shopping through sites like andrews office furniture make sure you keep this in mind. What they look like is only one thing – the cushioning and the back support should also be considered!
Make it Easy to Close the Door
Closing the door is easy, as long as you’ve got a door to close. However, we’re talking about the general privacy aspect here; if you’ve got an open plan home and your office is part of another room, you need to be able to close it off. This can be done through room dividers or strategically placed furniture such as bookshelves. Using the latter method can even create a ‘book nook’ you can comfortably get to work in!
Keep it Neat and Tidy
In general, home design tends to look good. We want our homes to be reflections of our personality, and that means they’re decorated in a pleasing style. And that’s all fine, you’ve done most of the hard work already! But if you’ve got a client coming over, you’ll need to focus on tidying up and giving off a more ‘organised’ impression. Use desk/cable tidies, dust down shelves, make sure your chair is clean – these are all good jobs to do before someone pops over for a business chat.
Design with Your ‘Brand’ in Mind
Of course, even when your home feels like you, you might have a whole different brand feel to your business. Maybe you want to be taken seriously, and you market in a formal tone, even though your home is decorated in a ‘fun’ style? If so, make sure your office area reflects this instead. In this kind of scenario you’d decorate with more ‘sleek’ colours like silver, black, and white, and you might want to invest in some minimal furniture too. Get the impression right and you’ve cracked it!
Creating a client meeting space shouldn’t be hard, and you don’t have to be embarrassed about your own home either! Just polish it up a little and it’ll look great.
