Fast food restaurants might be a good place for your team to come together, but are they good for business meetings? The casual atmosphere, casual approach, and “lunch” setting may make your team feel relaxed and open to new ideas, but will they be able to focus or will distractions keep them from paying attention? Join me on a journey into unusual meeting ideas.

Usually, planning a business meeting is easy. You have your team, your agenda, and your goals in hand when your people join another company upgrade, but what about those working in the field? Or what if you want to shake up your team a bit to help them think outside the box? Are fast food restaurants a good place to hold your business meeting instead of the main office?

Obviously, fast food restaurants exist for a reason: to serve fast food so that hunger is quickly satisfied. The cuisine is not too refined and the price is quite cheap. Table service is not always an option and the setting reflects a universal company theme. The atmosphere is relaxed but not too cold and they don’t want you to stay too long. There is usually canned music of questionable quality and often a family atmosphere. For a fast food franchise owner, faster turnover equals faster profits.

So are fast food restaurants good for business meetings?

1) If you’re in a mainstream business and planning to push some boundaries or offload new concepts onto your staff, a fast food restaurant might be to your advantage. You can eliminate the ‘traditional’ business meeting mode and help your staff engage in the meeting with an appropriate icebreaker.

Here are some tips to help with the productivity of business meetings:

* Choose a location away from competitors! You don’t want to give them a bird’s-eye view of your plans.

* Choose the quietest period. E.g. Wait until the kids are in school and the moms are in the shops!

* Let the manager know in advance if your team is large. Make sure there are vegetarian options on offer.

* Find the furthest place from the evil music!

* Use the franchise model and environment to make comparisons with your new concepts.

* Thank the manager for the use of the facilities, especially if you want to return.

* Enjoy the event! Be sure to bring all the necessary equipment (agenda, pens, paper, etc.) so that the meeting can start on time and end on time.

2) If you are a home business owner or MLM affiliate and time is of the essence, fast food restaurants are an ideal place to host a quick and informal business meeting to catch up with your team. Choose a location that is easily accessible by your team and local schools to facilitate a quick getaway. Make sure you’ve collected all new products and information so that conversations can start quickly and end immediately. Enjoy the event!

Business meetings are an inevitable part of business life, but who said they have to be dull and boring? The trick is to find different places to turn them into enjoyable events! To achieve this, build up your skill base to leave the ‘boring’ behind. Learn new methods and strategies that will take your business out of the everyday league and even help you achieve multiple streams of income. That way, you won’t be dependent on a single business idea. I hope that “Fast Food Restaurants: Are They Good for Business Meetings?” be useful.