Just as the temperature has shifted in the triad, we decided it was time to make a trip out west for our business. To start things off, neither Summer or I had ever been on a business trip before. Her career as an accountant doesn’t warrant it given their headquarters are in Charlotte, and my firm doesn’t use me as a partner or project manager so my travel is the last thing from their minds usually. This entire process was new to us, and we identified heavily with nerves of other new business partners in the local sector.

First off, we had a lot of questions. What exactly do we need to prep for besides going over their finances from the past year? We already discussed how to expound on new projects with them via email, so how could we make those ideas more presentable via word of mouth rather than typing them from behind a laptop screen? What if my ideas of the realm of finance were viewed as lacking and they didn’t like me (obviously this was me)? What if they just don’t like me and think I’m lame (even more obviously Summer)? In preparation for this visit, we took weeks. Weeks of time to coach ourselves on our strengths and weaknesses. Weeks of showing me remotely how Quickbooks worked and how to reconcile. Weeks of coaching Summer on how to schmooze and wine and dine her colleagues. After all that prep, we finally decided to go with the original plan. Summer would talk statistics and numbers, and I would talk payment and wooing.

So here we were. Getting on a plane to California. Newport Beach of all places. Thirty minutes from Laguna. An hour from Los Angeles. Full of intimidation but eager to get on with it, we finally landed and started doing our thing. Although the trip was a short turnaround with only a handful of full days there, we managed to spend an entire day getting to know several of our clients. And let me tell you, it was one of the most exhilarating experiences I’ve probably had. People are interesting, complex, and different. Seeing the people we both talk to daily face to face was gratifying to say the least, and they were every bit as charming as I had imagined. Summer said she felt the same way.

This is a reflection on a new business in its early phases, as well as on ourselves. It’s easy for new business owners to get into the mindset of believing they’re not making a difference or seeing any growth or change, but putting a face to a name and spending a day in the life changed my opinion of that. Real people need real solutions, and we are providing them. I can’t begin to explain my gratitude, appreciation, or respect for these folks. We were both blown away. Be seen, and be heard. We were reminded of this on this trip. And now, back to the grind.