You can be on Entrepreneur’s cover!

20 Ways to Create an Impressive Office Reception Area (Infographic) Beyond coffee, tea and candy. How to make a sweet first impression on potential clients, right when they set foot in your office.

By Kim Lachance Shandrow

entrepreneur daily

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

It may be a cliché, but it's true: You never get a second chance to make a good first impression. The old but wise adage rings particularly cutthroat in business.

Within milliseconds of entering your office, potential clients make up their minds about you and your company. In a glance, they instantly decide how trustworthy you are, if you're broke or in the money and, oftentimes, if you're good enough to do business with.

Related: The 9 Things People Decide Within Seconds of Meeting You

While you can't control what people think, you can pad the first impression deck in your favor – and not just with a bowl of M&Ms and a comfy padded couch in your reception area. There are countless ways you can convey the success and professionalism of your business right in your entryway.

From offering a welcoming smile (this should be a given) to sprucing your space up with lush (real, not fake!) plants, to lighting up your logo to offering free Wi-Fi, here are 20 ways you can make a positive, lasting first impression with your office reception, all neatly tucked into an infographic by U.K. interior design firm SEC Interiors.

20 Ways to Create an Impressive Office Reception Area (Infographic)

Related: 6 Tips to Overcoming a Bad First Impression

Kim Lachance Shandrow

Former West Coast Editor

Kim Lachance Shandrow is the former West Coast editor at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was a commerce columnist at Los Angeles CityBeat, a news producer at MSNBC and KNBC in Los Angeles and a frequent contributor to the Los Angeles Times. She has also written for Government Technology magazine, LA Yoga magazine, the Lowell Sun newspaper, HealthCentral.com, PsychCentral.com and the former U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Coop. Follow her on Twitter at @Lashandrow. You can also follow her on Facebook here

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Business News

James Clear Explains Why the 'Two Minute Rule' Is the Key to Long-Term Habit Building

The hardest step is usually the first one, he says. So make it short.

Side Hustle

He Took His Side Hustle Full-Time After Being Laid Off From Meta in 2023 — Now He Earns About $200,000 a Year: 'Sweet, Sweet Irony'

When Scott Goodfriend moved from Los Angeles to New York City, he became "obsessed" with the city's culinary offerings — and saw a business opportunity.

Living

Get Your Business a One-Year Sam's Club Membership for Just $14

Shop for office essentials, lunch for the team, appliances, electronics, and more.

Business News

Microsoft's New AI Can Make Photographs Sing and Talk — and It Already Has the Mona Lisa Lip-Syncing

The VASA-1 AI model was not trained on the Mona Lisa but could animate it anyway.

Leadership

You Won't Have a Strong Leadership Presence Until You Master These 5 Attributes

If you are a poor leader internally, you will be a poor leader externally.