Many times when people are on a business trip to a meeting or a convention they will sit in their rooms during the off time watching television.

The Small Biz Trends blog has five things you can do to combat loneliness while you are traveling.

However I am going to focus on one of the suggestions and that is getting out of the hotel and doing some due diligence. Instead of doing nothing, why don't you go out and see what your competitors are doing in the market you are in.

For example of you have a small retail store go see what comparable retail stores are doing in the market you are visiting. Talk to the owners of they are available or the manager. You can tell them you run a similar type store in another market and just wanted to see what great ideas they have.

Since you are from outside the area they will often open up and start talking about their operation. You can find some great ideas on what you can do in your own market to bring in new business. They may have found a unique way to advertise or a different way to build loyalty among their customers.

Not only that, but you can build a relationship that could last beyond your first visit. You can keep in contact with them and you can exchange ideas whenever something comes along that works for you or them. In fact you could build a nice network of people that are not in your market that could be great sources of information.

Remember that opportunity may not come knocking, you need to go out and find it.