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We had the inaugural meetup of ‘Seattle Solos’ last night — my attempt at getting fellow ex-corporate soloists in the area out from behind our screens and actually interacting with each other in real life.

I mentioned to some attendees that I had one binary success metric for the evening: whether or not people would show up.

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And boy did they. Twenty-three people, to be exact.

Now that might not sound like a large number, but it was certainly enough of a critical mass for both familiar faces and serendipitous introductions among solo consultants, coaches, freelancers and designers from a broad cross-section of our city.

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Reflecting this morning, another metric came into focus: turn-up rate.

Typically with free online webinars/trainings, you can generally expect ~30% of RSVPs to actually show up.

Last night, we had an 88% turn-up rate.

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Yes, 88% of those who RSVP’d actually put on something warm & presentable, crawled out of their homes, got in the car or boarded a bus, and showed up in-person — 3x the rate of an online event where all you’d have to do is click a button to join.

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And once there, on top of noticing some true connections being discovered among the attendees, you could feel the real, human energy…

...that excited / awkward / nervous / friendly / all-of-the-above type energy that just doesn’t surface in sterile, scheduled, 30-min 1:1 Zoom blocks on your calendar.

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This email isn’t a promo for Seattle Solos.

(Though if you’re in the area, you can join the list here)

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Nor is it a call to set up something similar in your city.

(Though I’ll keep you abreast on how the group evolves.)

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Rather, it’s just a reminder that while much of our businesses may be conveniently conducted through our screens, there’s still an overwhelming appetite for the logistically inconvenient option:

• the shared cup of coffee with a local mentor
• the walk-and-talk with a peer
• the one-off day of co-working with other remotes
• the small group dinner with your nearby circle

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People do turn up.

We’re human, and we crave it.

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💡

-Wes