I know the feeling, your self employed and you feel you have to do everything. You wear all the hats, whether you like it or not.  You know this crap needs to get done, so you educate yourself and make it happen.  But there is a cost of doing it all.

Lost revenue

The math is pretty simple, every hour you spend managing your business, instead of serving you constituents, directly translates to lost revenue.  Yes, those things need to be done, but they don’t need to be done by you.  Your time is the most valuable. Your time should be spent exercising that which makes you great.

Decreased personal satisfaction

Your business languishes, or even worse, ceases to exist, if you are not actively engaged in that which you love.  Your business simply will not survive if you do not retain the passion which made you start this venture in the first place.  Nowhere in “the manual” does it state that you have to do things you hate, in order to be successful.  Do what you love, and let others do the same for you.

Reduced quality

When we dread doing tasks, we procrastinate, we skimp, we rush and we generally do whatever it takes to get this stupid thing finished, so we can go back to something we enjoy.  The result suffers along with you.  Again, there is no benefit to suffering through things, when somebody else will do a better job, will do it faster, and will do it with passion.

So No, you do NOT have to do it all.  It all needs to be done, but not by you. Your income will grow, increasing the longevity of your business, and increasing the value you provide your customers.  And most importantly, you will be doing what you love. Everybody wins.

–Ken