Having a home business — whether it’s in retail, financial services, consulting, or something else — has some serious perks. You can enjoy your coffee at home, skip traffic, and never feel like you’re neglecting your pet again. However, if the nature of your business involves meeting clients, you may be apprehensive about meeting clients at home. The good news: creating a professional, welcoming home office space that’s ready to impress prospects and clients alike isn’t difficult or expensive. Here are some tips to help you create a client-friendly atmosphere in the comfort of your own home.
Offer comfortable guest seating
After inviting your client inside your home office, one of the first things you’ll do is invite them to take a seat.Make sure you have comfortable seating options in your home office space. The last thing you want to do is drag in a kitchen chair for your client to sit on last-minute. Take some time to plan ahead and create a thoughtful seating plan for your guest!
If you have enough square footage to create a lounge area that’s separate from your desk, you can pair a couple of accent chairs with a side table. If your at-home office space is on the smaller side, you can add a loveseat opposite of your desk as a soft seating option for your guest. A third option would be a more collaborative at-home office with a table and a few chairs in lieu of a formal desk to allow for an active working session.
Create a snack and drink bar
After offering a comfortable seat to your client, you’ll likely ask them if they’d like something to drink. As a host at home and in the office, it’s polite to make sure your guest doesn’t feel parched during your meeting. Create a drink and snack bar right in your office by adding a bar cart. You can stock it full with drink options and pre-packaged snacks for your guests!
Ensure there’s warm, ambient lighting
Monitors and keyboards light up, so you don’t have to worry about lighting in a home office, right? Wrong. Not only do you need correct lighting for all those Zoom calls, but you’ll want excellent lighting for your in-person meetings at home.
If possible, set up your home office where you get as much natural light as possible, as that just makes everything a little bit better (because who doesn’t like sunshine?). When it’s not possible, and as a backup, buy the right kind of lamps. While overhead lighting can create a glare on your screen, task lamps with a solid shade can shine light directly wherever you point it whenever you need it. But the best option might just be indirect light with a shade that softens the glare, which takes the strain off your eyes.
Add personal, warm touches in your decor
Just because you’re creating a professional environment doesn’t mean you can’t put on some personal touches that can help to increase your emotional connection to your work — and show a different side to clients and coworkers.
That will look differently for every person. From framed pictures and a productivity-boosting plant or a personal desktop calendar to help keep you on track, add personal items that share a sneak peek at who you are. Who knows? Your decor might even spark some interesting conversations between you and your client!
Building a client-friendly at-home office space on a budget?
Creating a professional, but warm home office atmosphere doesn’t have cost a fortune. You can explore new and previously-rented office furniture including ergonomic leather chairs, guest seating, executive desks, and file cabinets at your local CORT Furniture Outlet. Browse inventory online or at your local store and take home your purchase the day you pay. No need to order furniture and wait weeks for it to arrive, like you would with a big-box retailer or online furniture store. Get what you need, when you need it with CORT Furniture Outlet!
