A freelance field trip

Sorry — again — about not blogging much. I've been so busy lately, and my blogs are definitely suffering some neglect because of it.

Anyway, today is just gorgeous. After weeks of afternoon thunderstorms, it's finally getting up into the lower 80s. (I didn't think I'd ever be happy about that...) Since I was up early today, I was able to fully appreciate the cheerful weather, and I decided it would be best enjoyed from a table on the patio at my local Starbucks.

(Our dog Emma didn't think very highly of that decision. She wanted to go out and sunbathe, and instead I left her standing in the mud room, looking rather surprised and disappointed. I still feel guilty about that one...)

Anyway, while I was waiting for my drink, I saw three guys in business suits walk in. They looked like they would be staying for a while. Lori Widmer's blog post on treating coffee shops as a networking opportunity is always on my mind when I come here, and here was my grand opportunity!

I wouldn't ever walk right up to them, but I knew that by pulling out my laptop and getting to work inside, I could probably set myself up to have the proper questions asked. But it was cold inside, and there was this perfect little table on the patio that had the table top in shade but the chair partially in the sun (to warm me up). I looked uncertainly from that table back to the comfy armchair I would sit in if I stayed inside.

In the end, shyness won. I grabbed my drink and my computer and bolted outside to the patio. I really need to work uninterrupted, was what I told myself. Oh, and there was the They'll only think I'm a college student, anyway excuse. But what it comes down to is that I'm still a little bit shy when it comes to face-to-face networking.

I'm curious if my fellow freelancers ever have attacks of shyness thata could potentially rob them of a new client. Or is it just me who balks at the thought of having to sell myself to someone's face.