Meet and Greet We used to be jealous of the corporate types when it came to networking-but now it's the 21st century, now we have technology, and now home offices are coming together.

When Deb Haggerty ditched corporate America in 1985 to launchher own business, she didn't know she'd long for the"team" she left behind. All it took was one week for theformer career corporate citizen to realize she needed peoplearound.

"I missed the camaraderie, the give and take, the jokes andcompliments that go on in an office full of people," she says."I realized I needed to get into some networking groups tomaintain my sanity and my self-esteem."

Today, Haggerty, president of PositiveConnections, a communications skills and recruiting enhancementcompany, no longer longs for the buzz of the corporate hive.She's too busy with her own network of colleagues inprofessional and peer groups, as well as frequent interaction withclients.

Weekly, she meets with the local Orlando Chamber of Commerce.Virtually, she's involved with three Internet e-mail groups:SuperGals, a clutch of 10 businesswomen formed in July 1999 to chatonline; PowerPals, a group of 15 women who've gathered onlinesince October 1999 to discuss business issues; and CLASS Chats, aTuesday online chat group that supports authors and speakers in theChristian market.

"Phone and e-mail [contact] take the place of theface-to-face interaction I used to crave," she says."When I need face-to-face, I go to a networkingevent."

Working from home in the e-community has drawn many formercorporate professionals like Haggerty out of the city and into thesuburbs. The transition from close contact with fellow workers tothe solitude, even isolation, of the home office can be dispiritingto new and experienced at-home workers alike.

Often, setting up networking groups or online e-mail or chatgroups accomplishes multiple tasks. Not only does the effort oftenresult in decreased feelings of isolation-it helps BIZ Experiencessrebuild bridges lost when they left the corporate environment, aswell as bolster their existing skill sets and knowledge bases withthose of their peers, says Jim Rohrbach, a speaker, trainer, skillscoach and author.

"To be successful," says Rohrbach, "you need toalign yourself with organizations where there's a naturalsynergy."

Come Together

If it's synergy you're looking for, you have a lot ofgroups to choose from. Some homebased business owners have turnedto "professional" networking organizations aslead-generating and problem-solving teams. Business NetworkInternational in San Dimas, California, is a business referraland networking organization. Its members pay an annual membershipfee, then "market" each other by carrying othermembers' business cards and making referrals when theappropriate requests for service comes up.

New York City-based Let's Talk Business Network is similar to BNI inthat it offers support, camaraderie, networking and coaching. Whilethe $1,995 annual membership fee might be a bit steep for start-upenterprises, in April, LTBN will launch a new community forhomebased BIZ Experiencess, starting at $240 per year.

As "free agency" becomes more common in themarketplace, former corporate citizens are finding comfort andcamaraderie in small peer groups, says Dan Pink, awriter on free-agency employment in the new economy.

Whether they're monthly groups or online clutches that shareideas via e-mail or chat rooms, these teams brainstorm together andmeet the need for kinship. "These 'free agent nation'clubs function as part board of directors, part grouptherapy," Pink says.

Miki Saxon confesses to using networking as group therapy, asmuch for herself as for the small-business professionals aroundher. As CEO and founder of RampUp, an employee-retention and staffingconsulting firm for young companies, Saxon relies on the constantflow of e-mail from her four virtual employees, her virtualchairman and a list of clients to keep her in touch with the worldoutside her home office.

Saxon also belongs to the Forum for Women BIZ Experiencess (FWE), a group of about450 women with whom Saxon can share leads, concerns and questionsonline, via phone or in person at group meetings.

Whether it's through FWE or her other e-mail channels, Saxonsays people write or call with questions they wouldn't share inthe company of family or other professionals. "Without thatnetwork, all of us would go crazy," she says, admitting thatnetworking often moves into her personal life. "To keep oursanity, we all need somebody to commiserate with."

More Minds Are Better Than One

Mastermind groups, a concept coined by Napoleon Hill'sclassic business strategy book, Think & Grow Rich, helpsmall-business owners share ideas in a creative and confidentialenvironment. Where networking groups can vary in member attendanceand serve more as informal meetings for business leads, Mastermindgroups are a clique of a half-dozen committed members. Each bringshis or her own goals and professional insights to a regularmeeting.

In running Global Connections Speakers Bureau, Lisa Bellregularly battles isolation and motivational issues. To stave offthe loneliness, Bell attends meetings of the local chamber ofcommerce, the National Association of Women Business Owners andMeeting Professionals International.

In 1997, she went a step further, and created her own Mastermindgroup to feed her need for creative and critical input on suchprojects as marketing materials, business positioning and strategicplanning. One winter morning, Bell sat with four businesscompatriots near a pond, opened a bottle of champagne and let theideas, news, successes and concerns flow.

Their Mastermind meetings are now monthly, four-hour events.Uninterrupted, they share ideas, offer suggestions, inspire andmotivate each other, and "recharge [their] batteries,"Bell says. "It's a creative process. When you try tofigure things out, instead of one mind, you have four."

Create your own Mastermind group as a sounding board for yourideas, using these steps:

• Draft a team. Contact about six peers in noncompetingfields. Make sure they're thoughtful, trustworthy, creative andinspiring. Keep the group small; larger groups tend to losecontrol, focus and intimacy.

• Set a regular schedule. Pencil in a regular day and timeto hold the meeting-shoot for monthly at least. If the meetingsbecome too infrequent, their importance and power may be lost. Varythe location-and open with a game-to spur creative thought.

• Prepare a game plan. Since each member gets some time topresent and discuss his or her topics, bring a list of issues youneed to cover (a new marketing or business plan, your Web site orcollateral design, a new market niche you want to target,etc.).

• Act. Once you leave, don't let the meeting'spower subside. Sit down with your notes and put your partners'thoughts and ideas into action. Next time you meet, report on yoursuccess.

Find Your Place

Where can you go to network, expand your knowledge, make alliesand increase your professionalism? Try these resources:

• Read the business section. Scan your local paper tolocate meetings of networking groups, industry associations orother venues to share and learn new ideas.

• Return to your roots. Ferret out your industry'sassociations or publications, peer groups and other professionalorganizations where people of similar backgrounds or interests meetand network.

• Get academic. Call the local university extensionservice, Small Business Development Center, SBA or Service Corps ofRetired Executives office to inquire about seminars.

• Network online. Search the Internet using keywordsassociated with your industry or trade. Peruse Web sites andparticipate in discussion groups related to your area ofinterest.

Group Mentality

Want to rebuild your "corporate" camaraderie? At-homeworkers can gather a clutch of confidants and peers with whom theycan share ideas, rejoice in new assignments or lament aboutbusiness lost. And, if you can't join one, you should startone.

Here are some tips to starting a networking group of yourown:

• Start with a self-assessment. Why do you want to createa peer network? What are you looking for from the group? Whatshould your members get out of it, and what can they giveback?

• Develop your "30-second spot." Learn how toexpress what you do concisely, so others will be intrigued enoughto join your network.

• Act as if you're looking for a new job. Spin theRolodex, figure out those people you'd like to know better andbelieve you could learn from. Choose up to five you think would beinterested. Talk to them about it; ask them whether they know up tothree more who might be interested. Max out at 25 people. Meetregularly online or offline. Get enough people involved that, ifyou're meeting regularly, enough people will show up to make itworthwhile.