This topic comes up so often in my coaching practice that I wanted to reach out to my experts to get their feedback and give you ideas of how to overcome the feelings of loneliness you might feel as a solopreneur.
Let's face it, we all spend most of our time either on line, on the phone, designing a new product, managing our employees, or strategizing our next move. When doing this all-lone all of the time, it can raise questions of doubt and fear, which can lead to indecisiveness and procrastination!
What I have found, is that the general consensus of my experts suggestions below, is to get out of the office; go to Starbucks, walk your dog, join a mastermind group, find a networking group, bring on a Board of Directors, or advisory board, find a mentor, get on Face book or Twitter……or just pick up the phone and connect with someone.
While finding time to interact, we also must remember to joys of being alone when that works for you, the joy of being your own boss, working in your pj's if that turns you on, and all the millions of reasons you became an entrepreneur!
[…] week Sarah Shaw of Entreprenette asked, “As a solopreneur, what are your best solutions for combatting loneliness?” What a great topic and something that I believe women, being naturally social creatures, […]
As a Solopreneur I have found various ways to ensure human interaction every day. I network and market my consulting practice by attending a variety of networking meetings, noon and nighttime, set coffee and ‘cocktail hour’ follow up dates and make a rash of phone calls to friends who are also Solopreneurs that gives me the ‘human interaction’ fix. The best is the interaction with my clients as it gives me the greatest way to feel involved, connected and of value during the work week.
I’m happy to be one of your virtual coworkers, Katy of SouthPaw!! 😀
Hugs,
Celeste (Crickets)
Thank you for the wonderful tips.
I to am a solopreneur. My business is my husband and I, but I feel many time I am on my own, and feel related to a lot of the posts.
I did join a mompreneur group here in the north-bay (S.F. area)
And it does help, I am going to bring this whole article to our next meeting to share it with everyone.
THANKS SO MUCH!
Sarah you rock and Happy New Year =)
can anyone give me an advice how to add my picture on my post?
tks!
Connie
Woh! its so heart warming to read the thoughts, of another 99 solopreneurs.
that was such a great great topic sarah!
Join The Back of The House and become part of a solopreneur community!
Back of The House is the first and only service that provides turnkey business back office support to solopreneurs. We start by setting you up in business, provide you with an LLC and a Personal Business Advisor (not a call center, but a real person!) who handles all your day to day operations, taxes, financial reporting, legal, and gets you great health and retirement benefits.
Your LLC comes with a hosted and encrypted workplace in the clouds, your IT infrastructure with Microsoft 2010 Office & website is maintained by Back of The House.
Lonely as a solopreneur? Well, you don’t get to see your accountant and your tax man that often, (cost savings!) but now you have a colleague – your PA/COO – you can rely on, you have a workspace in the clouds for collaborating on projects. Best of all, Back Of The House is exclusively serving solopreneurs, so are joining a community of like minded people.
What a great bunch of folks and all with great coping suggestions. I enjoy creating so much that I don’t even realize I’m all alone until HOURS have passed!!! It’s when I’m *not* sewing or thinking of sewing that I realize I’m in it by myself. But, for the most part, there are always projects in the machine & 5-6 projects floating in my head, and I’m always in the forums & bulletin boards for my craft, so I hardly ever notice.
But, when I do, like so many others, I get out & do community service, attend dances, walk the puppy, or just chat with friends & family. After 20+ years of being responsible to others & having others responsible to me, and phones ringing constantly, I wouldn’t have it any other way!!
This is an awesome list. Well I have been working from home for a while now and I believe that the Internet provides numerous platforms to run a successfully business. For me I wouldn’t have made it without remote access and establishment of virtual offices to collaborate on a multinational scale as I do now.
Thanks, Elinor Stutz, for tweeting this post; what a great collaboration of minds. Fresh air and a walk, some down time and Facebook are the ways I take a break.
I do believe you should consider this before starting your business. If you’re a homebody, this is not going to be an issue for you and many solopreneurs are introverted. However if you’re very gregarious, you’ll want to outline ways you can solve this problem BEFORE you start your business, as once you’re in the fray, you may find there’s not much time for socializing, however if you set up a standing girls/guys night or lunch out ahead of time, you’re more likely to incorporate this into your business schedule/hours.
[…] A tip I submitted on beating the entrepreneur lonelies was included in Sara Shaw’s Entreprenette Gazette. […]
I notice nearly all your experts told people to get out of the house, and one of them mentioned joining a coworking space.
The easiest way to find a coworking space is to use http://www.deskwanted.com.
Joining a coworking space is the best way to overcome isolation! Give it a try.
This is one of the most awesome and encouraging articles i’ve read in relation to home business. I’m in the process of starting a home/online biz. Due to some health problems, i am not able to work outside the house full time right now. Running my own biz allows me to set my own schedule, pace myself, and stay close to an available bed and bathroom. As mentioned, there are pros and cons to home and outside work. While i am a people person, i also work better independently to think up creative ideas. I can rearrange the hours easily and even take it on the road, if need be, but loneliness is still a problem. Congratz to all the awesome and forward thinking solopreneurs and their encouraging tips!!
I highly recommend joining and becoming active in a trade organization that is related to your profession. This will give you access to like-minded people that often act as co-workers in times that you need advice or a helping hand with a project. It is also a great way to expand your network and make lots of new friends.
[…] entrepreneur, even when you are just a one-man-or-woman-show does not mean that you have to go it alone — it pays to have a business buddy. In fact, achieving a the level of successful financial, […]
Very helpful list – thank you very much Sarah.
But it’s disappointing that there are still women who seek women only networks, which are, by definition, exclusive.
Equality and non-discrimination at work should be omni-directional.
Men don’t seek out men only work-related networks (and would probably be branded dinosaurs for suggesting the idea).
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