Of course, people vary in their tolerance for working alone. Major notes that those with a high need for affiliation—a personality trait that describes how much we want social contact and value being liked by others—are likely to miss the office community. “People with a low need for affiliation feel more comfortable working alone.”

Furthermore, some professions offer more built-in opportunities for contact than others. If you’re a consultant who’s on the phone and communicating by fax and e-mail all day, you’re less likely to feel isolated, says Major. “But contrast that with the experience of a computer programmer. Her work is much less dependent on input from others. With less need for social interaction comes greater risk of isolation.”

But no matter what you do or what kind of personality you have, you need social relationships, contact with other self-employed people and a network of professionals in your field. Following are strategies from successful entrepreneurs who have found ways to develop all three.

Make Local Contacts
NASE Member Phil McKinney and his wife, Clara, live in a log cabin on 16 acres in Hot Springs, N.C. In October 1999, McKinney, a respiratory therapist by training, and his wife started their business, MaxPatch Ink Supplies (http://www.maxpatchink.com), which sells inkjet cartridges at deep discounts throughout the United States and to APO and FPO addresses. You might think country living and working at home were a recipe for isolation, but that hasn’t been McKinney’s experience.

An outgoing, gregarious fellow, McKinney serves as vice chair of the Madison County Chamber of Commerce and teaches courses for the local SCORE office as well as an organization called Mountain Microenterprises. Naturally, he meets lots of self-employed people and entrepreneurial hopefuls through these efforts, and he hears some common refrains. “People very often feel intimidated when they’re starting out,” he says. “It’s normal to feel down. But never be embarrassed to ask for support.

“Get in touch with your local SCORE office or your chamber,” he continues. “Every community college has a Small Business Development Center you can call. These people have plenty of contacts in the community, and they’re there to help you. The best part is, it’s all free. People often don’t realize how much help is available to them for the asking.

“When you’re out on the island,” says McKinney, “you’ve got to get your rowboats in place so you can reach the mainland.”

He encourages small-business owners to network widely in order to learn more, meet people and spread the word about their company. “Networking is an excellent way to alert people to your business while offering your help to others. Volunteering your company to help local charities, for example, helps get you recognized in the community as well as find potential customers.”

Explore Online Communities
McKinney is too plugged in—literally and figuratively—to feel isolated. In addition to his myriad local contacts, he’s deeply involved in Internet networking, as well as Web-based sales. “The Internet provides the most wide-ranging opportunity to find like-minded business communities, information and expert advice. It’s available 24/7, and it’s free,” says McKinney. No matter what your field or interest, others who share it are out there. (See the sidebar for a list of helpful Web sites.)

Tax professional John Fisher of Philadelphia is another enthusiastic netizen. “I’m usually so engrossed in writing to newsgroups and forums and consulting with clients that the term ‘isolation’ is foreign to me,” he says. No wonder—he contributes to at least 60 newsgroups and forums and is a community leader on sites ranging from theWhiz.com to Quicken.com and BusinessKnowHow.com.

“There’s joy, profit—mental, moral and financial—and a certain fulfillment that comes from being able to communicate online,” says Fisher. “It offers me so much, and I enjoy being able to share with and give back to my fellow travelers.”

Besides offering mountains of free information, one of the Internet’s key advantages is that it gives us back the opportunity for instant professional feedback that we lost when we exited the corporate world. For freelance writer and copyeditor Jenny Nash of Knoxville, Tenn., “the Internet is a godsend.”

Self-employed since 1996, Nash found the transition to working alone difficult. “I’m a very social person, and on the job I managed to turn even the solitary profession of writing into a social event. If I got stumped or hit a block, I’d go to the woman across the hall, the woman down the hall, the guy in the next office,” she recalls.

Now she’s able to duplicate some of that interaction through mailing lists devoted to writing and editing issues. It’s especially important because since the birth of her second child she’s focused more on editing but has less professional experience in that area. “Copyediting isn’t something I did much in my previous job, and I have a lot of questions. I want to keep learning. That’s definitely more difficult when you’re self-employed. But e-mail lists are a really fast way to get answers to your questions.”

Nash also prizes the Internet’s ability to make the world smaller—to introduce us to people we would never otherwise encounter. “I know a few people in Knoxville who are on insulin pumps, as I am, but I can use the Internet to communicate with more than 2,000 people who subscribe to an insulin-pump list,” she says. “The Internet broadens your universe. People who say the ’net isolates people must not actually be participating because they’ve missed the point. E-mail and chat rooms and the Web are there to connect people.”

NASE Member Janet Jordan helps make those online connections possible. The owner of twin businesses Your Virtual Assistant (http://turn.to/yourva) and Virtual Assistance U (http://www.VirtualAssistanceU.com), Jordan has been self-employed for 20 years. In January 2000 she began offering Internet-based training to others who want to become virtual assistants, and her online university offers special forums just for students to consult with professional coaches and one another. “I encourage my students to get plugged in—not to let isolation set in but to immediately establish informal and formal networks to get involved in,” she says.

Jordan practices what she preaches, taking part in a virtual assistants’ association that gathers now and then for lunch. She also relies on e-mail and online meetings at sites such as webex.com. “If you’re isolated and shut off,” she says, “you wind up becoming stagnant, and you don’t have anyone who stimulates you to find out what you know and what you don’t.”

Maintain Professional Networks
Using the Internet is a fabulous way to temper feelings of isolation, but it shouldn’t be the only trick in your bag. It’s also vital to seek face-to-face interaction. Get out of the house and spend time with friends, even if it’s only to share a quick meal or cup of coffee. No matter how tightly scheduled you are, you can’t afford to sacrifice personal relationships.

“There’s lots of research showing that social support can buffer the negative effects of stress,” explains Leslie Hammer, Ph.D., an industrial/organizational psychologist and an associate professor of psychology at Portland State University in Portland, Ore. “Having that support can really help people deal with the more stressful effects of home-based work, such as isolation. As a coping strategy, seeking social support is one of the most effective.”

While you’re cultivating relationships, don’t neglect former colleagues. NASE Member Douglas Splitstone of Murrysville, Pa., can attest to the importance of keeping in touch. A professional statistician who specializes in environmental problems, Splitstone worked in corporate America for 20-some years, building an extensive and international network of colleagues.

“It’s an informal thing,” he says. “There’s a bunch of us who can put together a virtual corporation to solve a problem, and the client pays only for principals. Most of the people in my network are contacts I established in my past life, and they extend anywhere from Stanford University to Washington, D.C., and north and south equally, up into Canada.”

He stays in touch with various members via e-mail and phone, occasionally visiting people in person when he passes through their towns. “We talk to each other when we have a problem we think the other can help out on.”

And don’t forget the importance of professional associations and trade shows. For some entrepreneurs, these are primary means of career development and inspiration.

Kathy Lindberg of Wooster, Ohio, the owner of Gift Basket Gallery (http://www.giftbasketgallery.com), takes part in national gift basket conferences and trade shows and is a member of the National Specialty Gift Association. Although she says she copes with feelings of isolation on a daily basis, the antidote is plenty of involvement. Says Lindberg, “I’m active in several networking groups locally too—the chamber of commerce, our local chapter of the National Association for Female Executives and the service organization Quota. I spend quite a lot of time networking with friends and colleagues online too.”

Adult interaction may be especially important for home-based workers who are also raising children. As Lindberg puts it, “There’s only so much time you can spend talking to a toddler about Barney without going nuts.”

No matter what your life situation or profession, the key to curing isolation is reaching out to others. If isolation is hitting you hard, take it as a wake-up call, and begin forging relationships with other entrepreneurs, new friends and the community as a whole.

“People who opt for self-employment are often seeking the chance to be more independent, but there’s a risk of going too far in the quest for independence,” says Debra Major. “Don’t burn bridges or take the attitude that ‘now that I’m working for myself I don’t need anyone else.’
“In a real sense, now you need others more than ever.”

How To Build Your Online Network

Starved for community? Visit these cyber-hangouts:

IdeaCafe.com
Explore extensive resources and lively discussion forums.
http://ideacafe.com

About.com’s small-business sites
Visit numerous sub-sites dedicated to various industries, take part in live chat, post to discussion boards.
http://home.about.com/smallbusiness

SBA Online
Learn more about government programs to help small business, and find contact information for your local SBA office, SCORE chapter and Small Business Development Center.
http://www.sba.gov

The Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE)
Get free e-mail counseling, newsletters and more.
http://www.score.org

Allbusiness.com
Investigate sections devoted to your industry, discuss your questions with experts and other members, and read success stories.
http://www.allbusiness.com

SmallOffice.com
Take part in discussions, post an online business card, buy office supplies and equipment.
http://smalloffice.com

Workz.com
Consult guest experts and gain hands-on information to help run Web-based businesses.
http://www.workz.com

Guru.com
Create an online profile, look for gigs, consult with other gurus.
http://guru.com

Mary C. Weaver is a freelance writer and editor living in Knoxville, Tenn. She writes frequently about small business and technology.