Overcoming Isolation In Your Home Business
Article by Elena Fawkner
Like most people, when you think about what it would be like to work from home, you
probably think of the obvious benefits such as working your own hours, not having to face
a stressful, tedious commute every day, actually seeing what your garden looks like in
daylight hours, not having to
answer to a boss, being home when your children are, working in a comfortable environment
and so on. These are, of course, some of only many wonderful benefits
of working from home.
Before long, though, you may begin to think back to your previous life and realize you
actually miss those umpteen
visitors who were constantly interrupting you when you were trying to work, the walk in
the park at lunchtime with your
best work-friend, drinks on Friday night after work, and being able to run an idea past a
colleague for instant,
valuable feedback.
Now, everything is just, well, quiet. And there's no-one down the hall to go
visit who's over age four. You find
yourself checking your email constantly, wanting to connect to someone. You find
yourself wishing the phone would ring.
You! The person who, when you worked in a job, cursed constant telephone
interruptions and thought voice- and
e-mail was the greatest invention since sliced bread. Welcome to another reality of
home-based business ... home
alone.
Here are some ways to avoid the isolation trap when running a business out of your
home:
Establish a Structure
Nothing is surer to reinforce feelings of isolation as time that stretches as far as
the eye can see like a straight,
one lane highway through a flat, barren landscape. Don't start each day without a
plan of what you intend to do. You
need to structure your time so that it is not some endlessly vast terrain you must
traverse alone. So write a to-do list,
preferably at the end of the day before, so that when your work day starts you get
productive straight away, before the
isolation blues have a chance to take hold.
Reach Out
When writing your to-do list, make sure you include at least two things every day that
require you to interact with
another person. Networking is a vital skill, whether you work for someone else or
for yourself. So make contacts
with people who can add value to your business, as well as connecting you with the outside
world.
Joining a professional group or club, attending seminars and trade shows relevant to
your business are all great ways to
meet new people who have similar interests and challenges. Participate in the activities
organized by these groups and
take a good supply of business cards with you.
Establish Joint Ventures
Another way to keep the isolation blues at bay is to joint venture with other
home-based business owners. Team up with
other businesses that offer complementary services to your business. Not only will
you send additional business each
other's way in the form of referrals, you are establishing professional relationships with
your joint venture partners.
Organize Your Own Functions
Once you have joined various associations and formed joint venture partnerships, take
the initiative and organize
functions that bring you all together. These could be business-oriented networking
sessions or purely social
get-togethers such as a barbeque in the local park. Either way, you are forging a
relationship with people in your new
arena, just as you did when you were working in a corporate office. The only
difference is that now you must take the
initiative to forge these relationships. These are not people you are going to be
seeing every day at the office.
Join a Gym
You are, of course, health conscious and physically active, right? Of course you
are! So, why not kill two birds with
one stone ... stay fit and meet new people. If you establish a routine that allows
you to be at the gym at the
same time every day, you will run into many of the same people and get to know them.
Use the Internet
Making online friends is another way of staying connected with the outside world.
Be very disciplined here though.
It's way too easy to spend a lot of work time on social email exchanges and in chat rooms.
Don't fritter away your
time, but do seek out and maintain internet friendships.
Background Noise
Sometimes, it's only silence that reminds you you're alone. If you come from a
corporate environment, your workday was
punctuated by the constant background noise of telephones ringing, other people's
conversations, hysterical laughter
from the other end of the office and lunch trolley pages over the intercom system.
If you find absolute quiet
irksome, turn on the radio and have it playing in the background while you work.
Talk stations are good because
it's like having other people in the next room, but if you find yourself becoming so
engrossed with the talk topics
that you stop working and start listening, switch to a music station.
There is no avoiding the fact that making the transition from a corporate environment
to a home-based business is
just that ... a transition. Most people will have to grapple with the isolation
monster in the early days of
their work-from-home career. But, as you can see, there are many ways of keeping
isolation and loneliness at bay
just by reaching out and forming new associations. Remember, just because you work
alone doesn't mean you have
to go it alone.
