Loneliness as a Solo business-person....

Sandy, thanks for the article. A very good one which I'll print and save.

To answer Dien's question, I find working from home can be very lonely, but even more so when your partner or spouse does not share your ideas, and to put it bluntly, has little interest in doing business on the internet. Day trading, yes, but marketing on the net, no.

This can create some challenges in a marriage when two people don't share the same vision. E.g. my ex. and I always supported one another's businesss ideas, and we worked well as a team.

When I worked in a corporate environment, my former boss used to be my mentor and coach so we were constantly bouncing ideas off one another. I really miss this and the lack of a network of friends to brainstorm with.

I think just like in any new job, if we all had buddies to work with, we'd be much happier and motivated to do better. And quite frankly, there are days when I wish I could go back to being a 9-5 salaried employee. I often envy my friends who have the security of their jobs and the daily interaction of colleagues and teams to work on.

We need a rent-a-buddy system to get some of us moving and staying on the right path. And quite honestly, I never thought I'd admit this, but I'm developing friendships on the net, some of whom have helped me cope with the loneliness of working alone.

Regards,
Eliz.