Headed home to Seattle from New York City after my first trip “out.” Nice, but different.

Business is taken in context these days. What seemed important in the past, such as scheduling multiple meetings a day, or accepting what others thought important is no longer as important in the context of the important things in life.

I did have three or four good meetings discussing LexBlog publishing, innovation and our new syndication work.

Syndication to third party publishers by licensing our syndication platform as a SaaS solution continues to be well received. Six meetings now with publishing partners have led to four sales and two very interested publishers.

LexBlog is a big believer in startups/innovators sharing their product idea openly, writing about it, stewing on it via online and face to face engagement and if there is an interest, jumping to selling and then, production.

Early customers are vested in your success and will help you refine your product via questions, feedback and suggestions.

In addition, you are bringing in revenue while doing product development. As opposed to investing human and financial resources in something that may not sell – or if it does, needs to be heavily.

Our syndication portal product is proof positive that there are alternative publishing models to the model of paying reporters and editors and then selling subscriptions and advertising.

Writers, reporters and columnists shouldn’t have to pay for the distribution of their stories in any business model – which they do not here. In addition, those writers, reporters and editors don’t need to be paid when they have an alternative source of revenue – think lawyers.

Nice dinner last evening with a delightful professional who is interesting in selling for LexBlog in New York City and Europe. We talked business, but more so about life and family. Felt good.

She’d light up a room, represent us so well and nurture relationships – the heart of business development. I’m hopeful.

Big kudos to the folks who gave me their ear and shoulder. It helps so much to talk about the last month, the last year and what the kids and I are feeling. I have also found the “club” of those who are grieving or have grieved to be much larger than I’d thought.

People are so different in how they respond and treat you – and I am talking of people who are well aware of what we’ve been living.

Many act like nothing’s changed, with their focus being on business and cheerily ask “how you you doing, things must be going well for you,” never mentioning the subject, presumably thinking to do so would bring you down.

Others thought of it as a short term loss – “Kevin is going to have a tough couple months.” Was glad to hear that I’d be up and at it by March.

Didn’t really begrudge these folks, just laughed it off that they didn’t know what to say or simply didn’t have a clue.

Was enjoyable to discuss with other legal professionals who have lost a spouse at a “younger age” just how some folks react to you.

For everyone who wasn’t sure how to react though, there were fifty who did. Sensitive thoughts, pulling me aside to share how bad they felt, an offer to go out for dinner just to talk. So kind. So thoughtful.

Thank you all. Onward – I guess. 😉