Working away in your small business can be isolating. Even if you’re not working alone, you can get tunnel vision. Joining with small-business people who work in different fields is a great way to broaden your outlook, find friendly support, and maybe build new business.

You could choose a national professional group for its publications and other resources provided to members. Maybe you’d like a local organization that holds regular meetings where you can meet other small-business people.

Sometimes you can get both rolled into one.

That’s the case with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Its nearly 3,000 local chambers across the country encompass 3 million businesses—and more than 96 percent are small businesses with fewer than 100 employees.

You can receive members-only business training, get involved in projects that raise your business prestige, or attend chamber dinners and networking functions. Odds are your community has a local chamber. Just check the phone book, or www.approvedchamber.com.

If you’re 21 to 39, you can join the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce, which focuses on building management skills, business development and community service. Check out www.usjaycees.org, or call 800-JAYCEES.

Do you have an ethnic background? You might enjoy the like-minded camaraderie and strong mission of an ethnic chamber, such as the National Black Chamber of Commerce, United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, or the U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce.

Or try one of the many national professional organizations. Some have local meetings—such as Business & Professional Women, whose 1,600 chapters promote workplace equity. Others, like the National Association for the Self-Employed, provide their support and resources online and through publications.

But maybe you get enough business at work, and although you want connections with other small-business people, you’d rather focus on something more personal. Consider organizations like Rotary International, which concentrate on community service.