Six months ago, I relocated from the suburbs of Washington, DC (the Fairfax County section of Alexandria, for those of you familiar with the area) to Lynchburg, Virginia. Lynchburg is a substantially smaller metro area where I did not have pre-existing work or client connections, so I knew that this likely meant a move to providing consulting services 100% remotely. This in itself wasn’t a dramatic change, as I was working approximately 90% of the time from home, libraries, or assorted locations of my choice. But I was concerned: Would companies only want to hire an individual close by, even if they never see them in person? All my previous clients had been located within the greater DC metro area. Would I be able to make connections in Lynchburg and central Virginia? How would my existing clients react to the move?
Thankfully, I was able to book two returning long-term clients for 2019 who were unfazed by my new address. I did, however, decline an annual in-person meet and greet with one of these clients and substitute it with a virtual strategy session. While Northern Virginia is within driving distance, I wasn’t yet ready to leave my new son overnight, but that’s a move I can likely only make once. Another client, whose contract expired right around my move date, ghosted me and my attempts to connect, debrief, and discuss any future needs. As an organization, they greatly prioritized in-person interactions and communication, so I wasn’t totally surprised, but it was disappointing for our relationship to end in that way.
Since the move, I haven’t been booking new clients at the rate I was doing so in past years. But I’m unsure if I can contribute that to having a new address: I have more recurring clients that I can depend on for work and relatively steady income for this year, so I’m not pushing as hard on new client recruitment as I have in the past. No one has directly told me that my location was an issue. Although a few have told me my price was – you get what you pay for, people!
As for making connections in Lynchburg, so far that’s a bust. But for this one, I have to attribute the lack of success to a laissez-faire attitude on my part. I’ve been prioritizing time with my son and setting up our new household to attending networking or professional development events. I’m also having to adapt to the geography – locals seem to think nothing of driving 60-70 miles to a nearby city and while that probably equates to the same amount of time it took me to metro into central DC, it feels so far! Scheduling with a baby is also a whole new ball game. Getting out the door, especially by a specific time, sometimes feels like a marathon.
I’m forever grateful for the technology that enables me to run a successful business from wherever I happen to be located, but I know I can’t coast on relationships I created before the move forever. Plus, I need more interactions with intelligent adults. We’re entering the third quarter of the fiscal year, so my resolution for the next six months is to step up my efforts at both client development and integrating into my new community. Stay tuned to hear how it goes!
