Yesterday, there was a major event for the local startup scene hosted by a publication that covers all things startups and early stage companies in the Triangle. It was an all-day affair. This was the sort of event that mixes people wanting to start businesses, people working in new businesses, people looking to invest in businesses, and people who provide services to new businesses. There were even keynotes from people who built and successfully sold some larger businesses. The event was about a six minute walk from my apartment. And… I only attended a few of the panels during the morning and chose to skip out on the afternoon to attend other meetings. I didn’t make any new connections; my heart just wasn’t in it.

Also yesterday, before I even ate breakfast, I had a meeting with a prospective client in Singapore and had another meeting with a prospective client in Dubai. Both of these meetings were through referrals from other people in the growing network of service providers facilitating the purchase and sale of digital businesses, and I have a verifiable expertise in guiding clients through exactly the sort of transactions that these prospects are pursuing.

Somehow, both of those things are part of my normal working life. As I’ve quipped on more than one occasion, we’ve had more clients in Australia than in North Carolina at Barlow & Williams. That was never part of my vision when I imagined my work life, but that’s the reality based on the practice we’ve built so far. It’s a reality that has its benefits—I can work from anywhere with an internet connection and increasingly wherever I go in the world I can reach out to someone I’ve worked with for local recommendations. It has also come with costs. It’s been almost five years now since I had coworkers in the same physical space, for example, and water cooler talk doesn’t work as well over zoom.

I haven’t entirely given up on working with startups and founders locally. It may never be in a paid capacity, but I have still contemplated posting up at the coworking space and hosting in-person, impromptu office hours. Or formalizing it more and having the coworking space implement signups. I should probably just try it one afternoon a week for a couple of weeks and see what happens. It could be an exercise in frustration and futility, or maybe I’ll make genuine connections and help a few people along the way.