> I was used to working in an
> "office"-type environment (as a
> university academic).... I would talk to
> people throughout the day, people would
> "drop into" my office, and I'd
> "drop into" theirs....

One possible solution would be to set a
standard "luncheon date" with another business
person in your local area. In some cities some
business people are located in "incubators"
small offices which they rent in a larger
office. But for those without the money or
who prefer to work from home they will have
to use other telecommunication tools(as suggested
by Julie in her post)

When I managed a small retail store in a
local community; many home business operators,
seniors(who also deal with this problem) and
new mothers would get out "daily" and take
a walk and come by just to chat. I was able
to connect with many jewelry craft artists
this way...

Visualize your community as one large office
building and the different store owners and
or home business owners are in "seperate
cubicles"(their homes and offices etc) and
"reach out" and commune...

What's interesting about your analogy to
the university office setting is: you still
got the work done and obviously did not spend
8 grueling lonely hours doing it. Many who
work in offices realize about 2-3 hours is
lost in "decompression time": talking to
others, taking breaks, going to lunch etc....
So my question is : when you're working from
home why not build this decompression time
into your daily work life?

Another thing: for" some" a middle ground might
be to work "part time" in a business field
and work part time from home....

For "some" it might be to realize that working
as a "solo" entrepreneur is not for you. Perhaps
enlisting the help of a friend, or becoming
a mentor to someone else interested in your
line of business is the way to go...

I guess there is no "one answer"; you have
to find your own style and what works for
you , change your production goals and or
be objective enough to assess whether being
in a "solo" business is working for you at
this point in time....

> Then, I started working from home. And I
> found.... loneliness. Somehow, a computer
> screen can't replace a friendly human face.

> My remedy was to socialize more outside of
> work hours.... But, I'd like to know - what
> do you do about this if you work from a
> home-based business? Did you encounter this
> when you first started? I've never read
> about this elsewhere - but it's a real
> phenomenon.... Maybe we can help those who
> are just starting to go into business for
> themselves....