Today’s guest post is by Jeanna Pool. Jeanna is the Amazon #1 bestselling author of the book Marketing for Solos®, speaker and marketing consultant who helps solo small business owners attract more clients consistently. Visit her website www.MarketingForSolos.com now to get FREE marketing tips that will jump-start your marketing efforts and success.

Dear solo small business owner…are you suffering from too much “doing it all yourself?”

Do you feel overwhelmed with the long list of items on your never ending to-do list?

Are you not accomplishing as much as you would like to in your business?

Then it may be time to admit even life as solo sometimes means getting the help you need.

Admitting we can’t do it all as a solo is the one thing many solo small business owners have the hardest time learning, believing, admitting and acting on.

If you’re doing it all yourself, I can tell you a few facts: First, you’re losing money. Second, you’re probably facing overwhelm and burnout. Third, if you’re not there already…you are probably on the path to doing so.

Most of us start out doing it all ourselves out of necessity. Maybe you couldn’t afford to hire help when you first started your business. Maybe like me, you love being a solo and think, “I’ll just carry the load all myself.” I used to think like that too. I can tell you, that being a solo is awesome, but you also have to hire and get help, because no solo can do it all alone forever.

If you’re in the habit of working endless hours to get everything done on your own, you know what I’m talking about. You may have come to the realization that you could do everything and it seemed foolish to pay someone else to do it for you. But, there is a breaking point.

The biggest misconception solo small business owners have about hiring help is that it will cost too much. In reality, when you do it all yourself, you work many more hours than you have to, and you earn less each of the hours you work. Hiring help frees up your time so you can focus on actual money making activities in your business.

Imagine you’re in the painting business. As a painter, when do you actually make money and get paid? Yep, when you’re putting paint on walls, of course!

But, when you get the “smart idea” to teach yourself HTML to design your own website, you’re taking up time you could be spending painting. When you decide to learn Search Engine Optimization to get your website a high Google ranking, you’re spending valuable time and energy that could be spent earning money as a painter.

If you’re like most solos, you make money actually working with clients. That’s your love and passion, as well as, the way you earn your income. And so you need to get the help and support you need to do what you love and what you are great at…working with clients!

Think back to before you opened your solo small business. Remember when you had a “real” job? You and everybody in the company you worked for had a specific duty and job description. This is what made the business successful.

No business would ever succeed if CEO not only ran the company, but did handled the social media, website programming, SEO, PR efforts, networking and answering the phone.

See the problem?

The solution…admit that being a solo is awesome, but just because we are solos doesn’t mean we are all alone to do it all ourselves.

Hiring help can be as simple as going online and finding a quality virtual assistant. Or hiring specialists to manage more complex activities and tasks, such as website design, SEO, social media and marketing.

Solo who start hiring outside help are usually amazed at how affordable it actually is. The return on investment often comes very quickly, in the form of a substantial increase in income, free time and no longer burning the candle at both ends.

Once you allow yourself to actually focus on what you love and are best at…instead of trying to do everything yourself, you’ll find you earn much more and enjoy your solo business more.

If you need it, consider this your permission slip to get the help and support you need. Do so now. Then focus on your clients, and allow your “solo support system” to help you build the successful business you truly want.

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