Hosting a Business Dinner at Your Home

A dinner party is usually demanding especially if you are the host. The situation demands a lot more when it has to do with business partners, employees and clients. It may appear stressful but the good thing is that this is a chance for you to strengthen professional relationships among the attendees. To get the best out of your business dinner party and without getting stressed, it is important you learn good tips on how to host your party.

This is an opportunity to showcase your skills of entertainment and great way to know your colleagues in a more personal way. Here are important things to do when hosting a business dinner at your home!

Try with family and friends

Prior to inviting your business partners over, host a party for your close relatives and friends. Should there be mistakes, they wouldn’t mind a lot and most importantly, they will tell you about them and how to fix them.

Don’t be obsessed with perfection

Should anything go otherwise, don’t be anxious. Exude calm and confidence going about the business of the day. Obviously, your colleagues won’t expect to have a seven-course meal from your house. Keep it calm with a sense of humor and the mess will most certainly go unnoticed.

Work with your team members

You need some of your team members to complement your client’s personality and make contributions to the conversation. If not, you can extend your invitation to other professional networks, particularly if the introduction will be of benefit to your colleague and your client.

Make necessary preparations

It is always a prudent effort to plan in advance. Do your homework well and ask your client concerning any food allergies or restrictions on diet that they might be having. Plan your menu based on that. Ensure you have enough glassware including coffee cups, drinking glasses and serving platters for all guests.

Stick to the recipes you know

This is not the time to learn and try new recipes. It is important to make sure that there are no complications and that includes the dish you will be making. In any case, you should serve dishes that are known and those that will not demand a lot of attention. Be sure it is something you can prepare without much hassle.

Stock enough ingredients

Make a good grocery list. You definitely would not want to run out of important ingredients while in the process of making dinner preparations. Ensure that you pick enough items at the grocery store. Pick all the items you will need including such essentials as sugar, salt, butter and pepper!

House cleaning

Clean up your guest restrooms before the dinner. Other places to check include the living and dining room. These should be kept tidy and sparkling clean. Set the dinner table in advance and put the candles in their place. You could even do these preparations a day before. This will keep you calm and settled as the guests start coming.

Be ready for a grand tour

Don’t disappoint should your guests want to tour your house. This should not catch you by surprise. All you need is to make sure that every part of the house is good to see. Should there be places you consider private, shut the doors leading to such places. That will be a clear indication that it is not suitable to go there.

Get Appetizers for them

Offer variety with appetizers and limit the amount of things to cook in the kitchen. Chips, crackers, cheese, dips and nuts are good options. All these can be obtained from the grocery store.

Assortment of Beverages

It is important to have a drink station with brunch drinks. You can have white and red wine and plenty of soft drinks such as water, juice and soda. Keep lemons, cocktail napkins, glasses, an ice bucket, limes and olives at hand for your guests to easily serve themselves.

Impress with good music

You can make your house more inviting by choosing music that will set the right tone for the dinner. Make sure you have a party playlist for the dinner. Have your player preset already to offer music all through the evening. Again, have unscented candles in place especially around the dinner table. They are good in projecting the right mood for the occasion. Light the candles prior to your guests arriving.

Make our business dinner at your home as fun as possible. Reduce stress by keenly observing these tips and you will reap a lot of benefits from it!

Adam Richards

About Adam Richards

Adam Richards is a semi-retired business professional originally from Bangor, Maine. He spent the majority of his career in sales and marketing where he rose to the marketing lead of a Fortune 1000 company. He then moved on to helping people as a career counselor that specifically helped bring families to self-sufficiency through finding them rewarding careers. He has now returned to Bangor for his retirement and spends his free time writing. This blog will be about everything he learned throughout his career. He'll write on career, workplace, education and technology issues as well as on trends, changes, and advice for the Maine job market and its employers.