Every day, home based business is becoming a larger part of the American economy. There are roughly 35 million home offices in operation in the United States today, which means about 12% of American households are also places of business. Logically, that also means that 12% of America works in relative isolation, which has its perks but, as many are discovering, also has its setbacks.

There are many reasons that people initially enter into home based franchise business, including financial freedom, the ability to form their own schedules, the liberty to be their own bosses, and of course, the crowd favorite, being able to work in your pajamas. With all those features particular to home business, it’s no surprise that people everywhere are dropping the traditional nine-to-five in favor of working from the couch.

Virtually everything in this world has an unpleasant side, though, and work from home businesses are no exception. What millions have discovered after a few weeks or months of telecommuting is that regardless of how nice working in your pajamas is and how comfortable the couch may be, there remains something to be said for human interaction. It perhaps sounds strange to those who have never worked at home, but being alone for 8+ hours each day gets wearying after awhile. At first the silence in the house is the most liberating experience possible, but it’s not long before many people miss the mindless banter around the water cooler, the constant disruptions from that guy in the neighboring cubicle, and having a teammate to bounce ideas off of across the hall. Of course, there are business-related reasons that working with others is helpful, but above all, it’s good simply because humans are social by nature, and when the opportunity for human connection is removed, something inside us knows it’s not quite right.

It’s for all those reasons that many businesspeople who left the cubicle long ago to work at home are beginning to do something that, in a way, is incredibly ironic. They are working at home, away from home.

Organized Coworking

CNN recently ran a short article entitled "Next Phase of Working at Home: Leaving Home," in which writer Thom Patterson studied the growing trend that is coming to be known as "organized coworking." He references "coworking" groups that have sprung up in Atlanta, GA and Portland, OR, each of which rents out work space at a bar/restaurant and a warehouse (respectively), divvying the cost of the spaces between members who meet there.

Both groups began because, as one interviewee says, "it may be ironic that that you crave isolation, but you also want to be socially interactive with others like you." For awhile, most of these home based entrepreneurs who needed a dose of humanity would go to Starbucks, or other local coffeehouses, just to be around people, but as another interviewee told Patterson, "You can’t turn to the person next to you at Starbucks and say, ‘Can you look at this proposal and tell me if it looks right?’" Some group members simply say they need "the work atmosphere to get [them] in the zone."

Whatever the individual cases, every person in each of the groups has decided that working with others is a necessary part of business life, and anyone who has ever worked from home on a regular basis or operated a company singlehandedly has the potential of feeling the same way. In fact, it’s reasonable to assume that there are potentially millions more who work from home, alone, and are also craving such an opportunity for human contact in their isolated "workplace." And one of those people might be you.

What You Can Do

The question then is what to do about it. Chances are good you don’t live in Atlanta or Portland, which puts those two groups already mentioned (named "Jelly" and "Less Distracted," if you were curious) out of your field of options. But you can still take a lesson from them and create a group of your own.

Whether you’re the proud owner of a WSI Internet marketing consultancy franchise or have taken advantage of a Virtuoso Music business opportunity to help connect music instructors with clients, the easiest place to begin the search for a coworker group is with people that you already know. Simply ask friends who you know work from home and old coworkers if they would like to schedule weekly times to work in the same place, whether that be a coffee shop, someone’s home, or even a local pub: wherever you feel most comfortable.

If connections you already have don’t turn up results, head to websites like Craigslist. Scour their lists of groups and see if there is anything in your area that sounds remotely like the coworking situation you’re looking for. Then, if nothing turns up, post your own ad. There are no guarantees, but odds are pretty good that someone out there is looking for the same thing you are.

Taking advantage of home business opportunities, franchises or otherwise, comes with plenty of benefits, but everyone who does it is keenly aware of the troubles too. It’s sort of funny that the very people who wish most to work in comfortable isolation also realize how much they need the presence of others, but isn’t that just the way life is. There’s nothing wrong with wanting company: it’s pretty natural, and many pajama-wearing home business folks are finding that out the hard way. Learn from their example and seek out community opportunities before the stress of isolation begins to wear on you too.


December 15, 2008