Sometimes, even bad business trips are good. Let me explain. Amy and I attended a great managed services luncheon in Philadelphia on February 7. It was a classic road trip from New York: Amy printed directions, and I got us lost.

At one point during the day, we were 100 miles off course and nearing Hershey, Pa. — which was two-hours out of our way. Still, it was one of the best business days yet for Nine Lives Media Inc. Here’s why.

The first hint of good karma occurred around 11 a.m., when we began searching for free WiFi. We headed into a Marriott lobby and attempted to log onto their wireless network. The system required us to submit a first name and last name.

Without telling each other, we both typed “Joe Smith” as our user names. It was a startling coincidence. We laughed quite a bit and sensed it was going to be a good day. And then Amy’s mood moved from good to great. While checking email, she learned that a major distributor had agreed to sponsor The VAR Guy — our online destination for solutions providers. It was fantastic news.

The luncheon, hosted by Do IT Smarter, Xerox and MX Logic, also was fantastic. About two-dozen VARs (a.k.a. technology consultants) attended to learn about managed services. It was the perfect setting for us to hear more about the market while telling attendees a bit about MSPmentor.net, our online destination for managed service providers.

Overall, it was another great day. And despite my poor driving, we still managed to make it back to JFK International Airport in time for Amy’s evening flight back to Boston. (Ironically, Amy’s flight had been delayed just long enough for us to overcome my driving mishaps.)

Sure, we were lost for a good portion of the day. But as a business, we seem to be heading in the right direction.