Woody Allen once said, "80% of Success is Showing Up." While I think he was speaking of personal matters, I think this applies in business as well.

I was chatting with a friend about his latest startup, and he was telling me about his hope that a potential new distributor in Australia would be his ticket to gaining some real traction. His is a Cybersecurity startup, so I wasn't surprised that early traction was coming from Down Under. It's happened for me with Cybersecurity products quite a few times over the years.

What I was surprised by was his plan to let the distributor drive an upcoming trade show event by themselves. Even today, when the tools are so good for remote work, this is one of those situations where it pays to show up.

There is nothing like being there in person to see the distributor in action with real customers and to help one-on-one. Helping them target and sell to their top customers will help them, and help us. The process will help scope the realities of the business opportunities in the region and provide real-world feedback on our go-to-market strategy.

All in all, showing up is a good investment, I'd say