Sometimes, a startup business needs to host a meeting with a client or a potential investor but the office just isn’t the right place. Perhaps you leased the cheapest office location you could find and that fact is painfully obvious. Or, maybe you still work from home and you don’t want others intruding into your house. The coffee shop down the road isn’t going to impress anyone, so that option is out too. Instead, you need to rent a real conference room for a few hours – preferably one that has all the technology installed to help you make your presentation a success.

However, a bland meeting room at a local hotel or furnished office building doesn’t present you in the best light either. You need to do a few things to make the space your own and make your guests feel comfortable. This is smart branding. Here are a few ways to do this on a budget:

• Purchase a flower arrangement in the colors of your business brand and put them in the conference room. Also, bring in a large area rug and some wall art featuring those colors. This way, the décor of the room will appear to match your presentation materials.
• Print up lunch menus on your company letterhead if the meeting will include a food break. Hand these out during the informal greeting time before the meeting starts so everyone can check off their selections. This is much nicer than handing around a takeout restaurant menu (and there will be no prices listed, making it obvious that you are picking up the tab).
• Rent some decent task chairs if it will be a long meeting. Most conference room chairs aren’t designed for extended periods of sitting. The fact that you cared enough to make the conference room ergonomic will create a good impression and indicate that you are serious about getting work done.