Shoestring Startup dot Net

If you work from home, or have really cheap office space like I first did, you might not want to meet clients and vendors in your office. You need to rent a conference room but you are on a tight budget. The question is, where do you hold meetings?

If you are meeting one other person, it may be an easy fix.

• You could meet over coffee at any coffee shop. (You’ll support your local entrepreneurial coffee shop right?)
• Suggest meeting at your clients office as a convenience.

But hold on. What if you are arranging a meeting between more than two people? A coffee shop may be too noisy, and meeting space can be expensive.

Here’s my list:

Top Five Not Office Space Places I’ve Used to Hold Free or Almost Free Meetings:

• A Grand Old Hotel - but not the lobby or bar. Find the nicest hotel in your area and go scope it out. Check out the little nooks and crannies that are often hidden from view. If there is a coffee shop, buy a cup and ask where you can go quietly work. They will know of small areas set aside for guests just for this purpose. If you’ve got a resort or five start hotel all the better, they probably have many spots set aside for small informal meeting places.
• A Conference Center. If you live in a large city conferences may be happening every week in your conference center. There may be small empty rooms used for afternoon breakout sessions that may be available during morning hours. You’ll also see small siting areas where conference goers can set up a laptop, take notes or use a cell phone. Grab one and meet your associates there.
• The Library. Our local library charges if you’d like to rent a meeting room, but our branch libraries have computer rooms, reading rooms, sitting areas. See if there is an area you can use without disturbing others.
• The Local Park. Ok, don’t laugh or think I’m absurd. Living in Colorado it has been pretty easy to mention the great weather and ‘a change of scenery. Clients love meeting outside for a change. I’ve never been turned down on this one. We’ve got a great lake and mountain view with picnic tables at one park. I bring waters and pretzels.
• The Non-profit I Volunteer For. Besides doing great work and offering my services, I’ve been able to use their conference room in a pinch. Remember to schedule your meeting with the admin assistant or it could be embarrassing.
• Our City Museum I found a small corner with a sofa and comfortable chairs once at the museum. Entry was free and we all sat around and ‘met’. It worked great!
• My Accountant’s Office. This worked well when I was using a small CPA firm. He was rarely using his conference room and allowed me to use it a few times per year.

So many people work from home these days it is perfectly acceptable to say that you work from home but don’t have appropriate meeting space. If you have an office but it is on the ‘wrong side of town money saving space’, then find a centralized location and use that as your excuse.

The key is to get creative.

I love to hear about the most unusual place you’ve ever held a meeting.