By David Beers
Are you using your full working circle? What I mean is, are you able to reach out in all directions from Norfolk? For work, I consider my geographic reach to be roughly a 50-mile straight-line radius from my home. Almost any location within this radius is a 1.5-hour drive or less. Anything beyond that is just too difficult.

So how far is 50 miles as the crow flies? Fifty miles in each of the cardinal directions gets you to: North Adams MA, Stafford CT, Shelton CT, Woodstock NY. Within the 50-mile radius are Hartford, Springfield, Danbury, Pittsfield, Kingston, Poughkeepsie; and just outside the radius are Albany (53 miles) and Bridgeport (56 miles).

Funny thing is, if you think like me, the NY and MA locations seem much further away than the CT locations. Albany is actually closer than Bridgeport—really, REALLY!? I am Connecticut-centric. My guess is that most folks reading this are Connecticut-centric in their geographic thinking also. This causes us to think of CT locations as closer than out-of-state locations.

I had this epiphany a few years ago when I was doing my first job in Great Barrington. On my drive home, I thought, “Why do I never work in this direction? It is a much more pleasant drive than my usual commute.” For most of my career I have been traveling south and east. If I wanted to live at the center of my work sites, I would be in Harwinton. I am sure I am not alone in this predicament. But perhaps this does not have to be the case in the future. I have a dream of traveling for work as much to the north and west as I do to the south and east.

This dream has a barrier: state borders. It is difficult to get work, clients and customers in other states. Would you contact a business in MA over a business in CT, even if the MA business were a bit closer? This is one of many reasons why political borders contribute to the flow of our town’s talent and resources in the direction of Hartford and Bridgeport. But there are ways to swim against the flow and thereby expand your geographic horizons.

First, consider opening up a post office box in Southfield MA for a cost of $64 per year. I have found it well worthwhile. The 15-minute drive up there once or twice a month to check my P.O. Box is something I look forward to, particularly seeing what is in the day-old bakery basket at the Southfield Store. The post office is a really neat one in the basement of the old Buggy Whip Factory.

Second, consider getting a phone number with a 413 area code. You can either sign up with a service that creates the number and automatically sends all calls to the phone of your choice, or you can get a dedicated cell phone. I do the former for a cost of $10 per month.

Lastly, advertise your new MA address and phone number. I have a separate MA business card to hand out to MA folks and I put the MA contact info in any advertising.

I find it very satisfying to grow in all directions, and spreading out makes life more fun.