Networking is a big part of being business for oneself. A lot of that networking seems to be lunch-based, at least in my area. I find a lot wrong with going out to eat. For one thing, I'm a really good cook, and there is hardly anything I find in a restaurant that is better than what I can make myself (except for Indian food). For another, it's so outrageously expensive. The fifteen to twenty dollars that it costs for two people to go out to lunch would feed me three meals a day for nearly a week. Plus, I'm a vegetarian, so most of what's available to me in many restaurants is pretty blah.
I often try to suggest an afternoon or mid-morning coffee break for networking instead (and try to get them to come to my office to have coffee from my Senseo machine that a friend gave me). I'll plead being so busy that all my lunches are booked for the forseeable future. I actually told one person (who I felt very comfortable with) that I am trying not to spend any money lunches and suggested that we each bring our lunch and meet on a park bench -- she agreed (and didn't seem offended, as we both munched on our sandwiches), so I might try that one with a few other people.
But sometimes, I just feel pressured in to going out to lunch with potential clients or contacts, and I feel like there's no escape. If I pay, part of it is a deductible expense, and if the other person pays I get a free lunch out of it, but I feel sort of resentful about the whole thing (the mediocre food, the cost), which is no way to do business.
I wonder how other people deal with the whole business lunch thing? I'm a new and growing company, so I really can't afford to snub any potential business. Any thoughts on how to get around this? Should I just suck it up and budget a certain amount per month for lunching?
