Self employed and working in isolation

kat74

Downshifter - I'd not heard of enterprise nation, so I'll google them, thanks.
I'm in the Manchester area, so I'd imagine there are plenty of people in the same boat locally, it's just knowing how to find them, I suppose.

Slinky

downshifter wrote: »

My problem is space, I also work on my own but my spare room can't take all the documents I'm working on, I have boxes and boxes up to the ceiling that all need sorting. I had thought of asking around to see if anyone has a spare room or dry shed etc I could use.

Have you thought of contacting your local council to see if you can rent a garage? My neighbour does this and he says the one next door to his is full of books that somebody else is storing. Would need to make sure it's dry of course. I think my neighbour pays about £20-£30 a month.

Edit. You don't need to be a council tenant to rent a garage.

FOURCANDLES_2

Every break time and lunch time just pop your coat on and walk around the areas where you live for 30 minutes . It refreshes you and perfect for lone workers, and it costs nothing.

Horace

I am in the same boat but tend to go networking and will even network online - it helps and if I go to breakfast meetings I try and go to one a week as it gets me out of the house, meeting people and I get business from it too because of the meet, like, know, trust ethos.

I know a few people who use 4networking.biz because they have an online business forum as well as breakfast meetings which start at 8am instead of silly o'clock in the morning like some other networking groups.

I tweet, use LinkedIn, Skype (great for chatting on the internet) and even facebook - I use them all as a means to promote myself and connect with people.

pipsi_2

I know exactly how you feel, i run my own business and also work from home, when i do go out it's to see clients so the only conversation i have is work related, i'm working so much that i feel i never have face to face contact with anyone to chat about non-work stuff. When i do have spare time on weekends, most of my friends are married or live with partners so want to spend time together and my sister works shifts so she's often working at the weekend. I have gone weeks before without actually socialising with people in person, i speak to friends and family on the phone every day but it's not quite the same. i suppose i need to give myself some time off but when i look at the money i'm bringing in each week it seems silly to lose out on some of it by taking time off work. I'm starting a postgrad course at uni in October so i'm going to make a point of socialising at least once a week with people i meet at uni.

Going to a local coffee shop is a good idea, i'd be tempted to do that myself if i didn't need a wheelbarrow to carry all the paperwork i'd need. Although if i've got some documents to edit i do sometimes go to a local coffee shop or for a working pub lunch for one, which is good because it saves me time as i don't need to cook anything. Have you thought about using a local library? Many libraries aren't the silent work zones they used to be, my local city library has a coffee shop in it and seems to be a bit of a social hub, although in my opinion the changes they've made haven't been for the better - much as been automated so it's possible to search for a book, find it and check it out without even seeing a member of staff.

kat74

Good to know I'm not the only one in this situaion then!

I've been on a few of the sites that posted have mentioned and found an org called Jelly - it's something that started in America (of course!) and it's an informal thing where home workers arrange to meet up in a particular coffee shop or premises (with the coffee shop-owner's buy-in) to work with company.

There isn't one local to me (yet!), but there are a few groups in the south west, which may be of interest to some posters?

pipsi - I know what you mean...I live on my own, so there's no one at home to talk to either...I am busy most weekends, and I make a reason to leave the house every day, even if it is just for a walk locally, as fourcandles suggests. I also try to have at least 1 'social interaction' everyday - maybe just phone call. I do a night class and go to the gym sometimes too, so I do have company, I just really miss having colleagues to say 'hello' to in a morning!

It is difficult trying to get friends and family to understand my situation sometimes - often people who work 'normally' just want to veg out on the sofa at the end of the day and don't feel the need to socialise. Last week I had a meal out planned and was really looking forward to it but my friend cancelled at the last minute because they were a bit tired and didn't really feel like going out. Things like that really cause me problems, as it's hard to find a 'plan b' on a rainy week night!

sjcollett

Kat I work from home in my business so I understand what you mean. I have now started going to more networking events in my sector (property related) which has been nice and I have started doing more social media stuff online (facebook, forums, twitter etc).

Most other people I know who are in the same boat are now renting a hot desk as they have found the separation between work and home to be most helpful. These people have just googled rent a desk/ office space etc and then the location you are after. You could also look in gumtree and see if any ads/ place your own ad?

Hope this helps!

Sam

snoopy81_2

Hi Kat!

I hear where you are coming from. I was made redundant back in June, and I am finding being home alone quite numbing! I'm used to working in the City, and commuting each week day!

I did however join a women's network in the City, which aims to offer support and provide networking events! I would totally agree though with other forum members on Twitter!! I've been a member for well over 1.5 years now, and I have both a personal and more professional account! I use the professional account daily to check up on what is going on and is fantastic for generating ideas!!!

Hope you can find a solution to your office problem! I like the idea of the coffee shop concept... might try that myself! Must go here get on with my research.

Anyone here on Twitter, and thinking of starting up their own business??

norfolkheather

I was going to post about 'Jelly' the informal (and free) co-working network that's springing up all over the country - but I see that Kat has already mentioned it! For others who are interested, you can find out more by googling workatjelly - find the wiki which includes links to current Jelly venues around the UK. There is also information about starting your own.