Hi @Jacqui
Honestly, it gets lonely sometimes! I’ve started working from coffee shops a few days a week just to be around people. Also joined a local small business meetup group - even though most aren’t e-commerce, we all get the entrepreneur struggle. Sometimes I’ll hop on calls with other shop owners just to chat about the day-to-day stuff. What’s helped you the most?
I make an effort to stay connected with other business owners and freelancers through online communities. Regularly chatting with peers, joining virtual meetups, or even just having a coffee break with friends helps break the isolation. It’s important to have a support network, even if it’s digital!
Hello, where do you join the group?
Running an online business can feel isolating, but the best way to handle it is by building connections with fellow entrepreneurs, joining online or offline communities, and maintaining a healthy routine like exercising or working from a co-working space. This way, you’ll stay connected, motivated, and never feel alone on your business journey.
I will choose to find a workmate and run the online business together, so that we can cooperate and discuss some details when we feel isolated.
I’ll always try to call a friend and if they come at my place it becomes a productive session.
Honestly, it can get lonely sometimes. What helped me was joining a few small founder groups and staying active in online communities where people share the same struggles. I also try to schedule calls with other entrepreneurs and work from a café or coworking space once or twice a week it really makes a difference.
Yeah this hard but it’s even harder if you’re living in another country where English isn’t widely spoken and all the support/networking is usually done in a language where you have just a basic command of. 
I teach classes to business owners on how to develop ecom websites. I have joined a group recently that gets me out sometimes. I used to travel but internet issues do hinder my work. I guess joining a hobby does work.
Hi there @Jacqui I think a lot of the strength for people in e-commerce comes from communities like the one here and on platforms like Reddit and Twitter. The mere fact that there are gatherings of many other people who have gone through your issues or something similar offers some sort of solace truthfully speaking.
My experience with remote work coincided with forced migration. In a new place, I visited a social dancing studio, hoping to connect with others. While everyone was friendly, I still felt lonely. Though they spoke to me in English, they chatted among themselves in Portuguese, leaving me isolated.
Eventually, I tried surfing, which was different. My group mainly consisted of expats who spoke English. Plus, we didn’t talk much—I found myself meditating on the waves with others, experiencing no social conflict.
isolation is a productivity killer because you lose that external perspective that keeps you motivated. building a small “mastermind” of just two or three other founders for a weekly zoom call is a game changer for staying sane without the overhead of a massive community.
For me, most replies here are sound and it is probably my fault for not getting around to meet and talk to folks. In the early days, I resort mostly to listening to podcast interview, and follow the interviewee folks that I liked on social media (Twitter).
Unfortunately social media has gotten too noisy now, especially with AI around. I am starting to try to go around my local communities, but it is hard especially being from a small town.
Hey @Jacqui Running an online business can feel isolating because most of the work is done alone. The best way to handle it is to stay connected with others through online communities, meetups, coworking spaces, or regular conversations with peers, while also keeping a balance with offline activities like exercise and hobbies.
At the same time, it helps to remember that this is a normal part of building
something on your own, and staying consistent through this stage is what leads to long-term growth and success.
Thank You ..
100000% agree with @mohnagm here. Working from a coffee shop is a great way to “socialize”. I know a few 100k+ per month ecom founders who do this on a regular basis to get out of the house and change environment.
This one hits — I just launched my first product a few weeks ago and have spent more time than I’d like to admit refreshing the analytics dashboard alone in my kitchen. The thing that’s helped most is just trading honest DMs with a couple of other founders I met in random forum threads. It doesn’t fix the isolation but it makes you feel like there are other people in the boat with you. Honestly, lurking in this community has been part of the cure — even just reading is less lonely than scrolling X all day.
The thing that worked best for me wasn’t a community or group, it was setting up one regular weekly call with another founder doing roughly the same thing. We just walk through what we shipped, what’s stuck, what’s annoying us. Hour a week, that’s it.
Group communities are nice but they’re noisy. You scroll a lot, react to other people’s wins or stress, and walk away more drained than connected. A 1-on-1 with someone whose context you actually know hits different.
If finding that one person feels hard, I’d start by replying genuinely to 2-3 people whose posts you find interesting (here, X, IH, wherever). After a few exchanges you’ll know who’s worth a call. It’s slow but the signal is much higher than joining a Discord with 5K members.
Where are you based? Sometimes a local in-person coffee with one other entrepreneur every few weeks scratches the itch even more than online.
Absolutely! Networking, going to conferences, joining workshops, and just having a good support system really helps. Whether it’s friends, family, coworkers, or just like-minded people from the industry, having the right people around you makes such a difference when you’re building/running an online business.
This is something many online business owners experience, especially when working remotely or building a store solo.
One approach that has worked well for many founders is having a regular check-in with another entrepreneur. Even a weekly conversation about goals, challenges, and progress can provide accountability and make the journey feel less isolated.
We’ve also found that occasionally working from a coworking space, coffee shop, or attending local business events can help break routine and create valuable connections.
In many cases, a small group of trusted peers ends up being more helpful than joining dozens of large online communities.
I’m curious—what has helped other store owners here stay connected while growing their businesses?