Preventing Solopreneur Burnout

While financial problems are the biggest contributor to small business failure, burnout also plays a significant role in why many entrepreneurs give up and return to the regular workforce. An estimated 80% of small businesses have no employees; the heavy burden placed on a single individual to create a thriving business can eventually become suffocating. A poor work-life balance, workplace stress, long hours, lack of time off, social isolation, and overall exhaustion all contribute to feelings of burnout for even the most passionate individuals.

Burnout is a risk for anyone who ventures into a new business on their own. While many small businesses start out as solopreneurships, successful ones do not overestimate how much one person—no matter how driven and dedicated—can realistically handle alone.

Considering the number of businesses that are run entirely by just one industrious person, it is not surprising that burnout continues to plague budding entrepreneurs after only a few years in business.

Outsourcing helps ease the burden

Small businesses that cannot yet afford to take on employees can turn to the vast assortment of freelancers and contractors who offer expertise in just about every area a business might need: administrative assistance, marketing, sales, customer service, website design, writing, bookkeeping, data entry, event planning, and more. When a project requires tools beyond your area of expertise—or more hours than you can spare—the time is right to look for outsourced help. Bookkeeping, bill-paying, and financial account management are areas in which accuracy cannot be compromised. Good financial management is time-consuming and requires dedicated attention, so it may be beneficial for a busy small business owner to outsource the bookkeeping to a professional. Virtual bookkeepers are widely-available and some may even have industry-specific experience. Some things an outsourced bookkeeper can take off your desk:

·       Sending invoices

·       Tracking expenses

·       Recording incoming payments

·       Paying bills

·       Storing receipts

·       Reconciling accounts

·       Maintaining the budget

Technology that connects you to a virtual bookkeeper makes it possible and economical to rid your schedule of routine financial management tasks.

Automating tools save time and money

A wide array of online, cloud-based services is available to assist businesses of all sizes with many routine administrative, clerical, and bookkeeping tasks. Researching accounting software that offers the features you need—both now and in the future as the company grows—is well worth the time and can save countless hours and dollars down the line. Many programs integrate with one another to save even more time and reduce data entry and calculation errors. Data can be entered once and updated and reflected instantly across all channels in case an employee, accountant, or virtual bookkeeper needs to also access up-to-date financial data.

Online check printing keeps check payments up-to-date

Add online check printing and mailing to your financial management toolbox for seamless, streamlined bookkeeping. Checkeeper offers on-demand check printing and mailing from the convenience of your home, office, or anywhere you choose to work. Checkeeper offers:

·       Unlimited checks each month from unlimited linked accounts

·       Unlimited formats, backgrounds, and templates that can be customized to suit any check stock

·       Integration with QuickBooks Online, Square, Gusto, FreshBooks, Odoo, Xero, and many other services

·       Automatic recording of all checks issued

·       Mailing options for all your checks

·       Bank-level encryption and HIPAA compliance for added security

·       A user-friendly interface and attentive customer service

·       A risk-free trial

Whether you delegate some of the bookkeeping and bill-paying to a virtual bookkeeper or handle it all yourself, online check printing frees up valuable hours every month that can be devoted to other business tasks—or just to time off. Checkeeper offers four priority mailing options so that you don’t even have to take the time to print or mail your own checks—Checkeeper will do it for you and save you the stamps and trips to the post office so more of your time is yours again.