The Hidden Costs of Being A Solopreneur

Regardless of the type of business you own, if you are a solopreneur, there are hidden costs of doing it all yourself. You may not take into account all the costs of being a solopreneur, but when you try to do it all yourself, there will be hidden costs. Both financial and personal costs can take their toll on you. Take a look at these hidden costs.

Solopreneur Costs of Doing It All

Let’s start with a definition:

No matter what industry you are in, there are costs that you probably never considered. Although you think you have plenty to give, or feel you can make it up later, many of these costs cannot be recouped later. There are solopreneur costs of trying to do it all yourself. Let’s discuss some of those costs.

These are not necessarily numbered in order; they are numbered to help you see the numerous costs to you as a solopreneur.

#1 – Hidden Timely Costs

There are time costs when you are doing it all alone. As a solopreneur, you always feel the weight of the business and all of the client’s needs on you. Often you work longer and harder than others who have help with their business.

The other cost of time is with your children (if you have them). They will not stop growing just because you are working on one more client. The cost of time is not something that you can try to make up. That school event or family project you promised to help with will not be there later (when you think you will have time).

Time is something we think we can make up, but never can. Unfortunately, neither can the hurt by not being there for our friends or family be made up.

#2 – Energy Is Costly

For me, energy is a very real factor. Having Multiple Sclerosis (MS) causes me to have low energy all the time. Some days are better than others, but I understand what having a lack of energy truly means. Being tired doesn’t always mean you have a lack of energy.

“In a personal context, energy is defined as the capacity for vigorous activity which includes physical and mental stamina, vigor, and the drive to do work. This can also refer to four key dimensions: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. A person’s energy levels are related to their overall ability to be active, productive, and resilient.” Google AI

I can remember years ago, I would say, “I’m so tired.” But, I had no idea what tired was! This lack of energy, or rather lethargy, feels like someone drugged you, and you cannot move. That is what being tired is, my friend. If you have an autoimmune disease that affects you this way, I am truly sorry you struggle in this way, too. You certainly understand what I mean.

Solopreneur, please realize that energy does not always renew. As you get older and have more stress upon you, that energy starts to wane. Energy is costly, so take time to guard it.

While you are young, you think nothing can take you down. Yet, I was only 35 years old when my MS hit me with a major flare that landed me in the hospital, unable to walk on my own. Guard your health and energy. It is not worth continuing to give to the company when you are tired and need to walk away from the computer.

In situations like these, you are not doing your company or yourself any good. In fact, most people make mistakes when they are tired and cannot focus on the task at hand. Consider in that late hour, “What am I missing?” You should also think about the consequences to your health. It all catches up to you.

#3 – Family Costs

Family events, along with children’s or grandchildren’s growing-up years, cannot be made up for either. And, they will happen whether you are there or not. So, take the time to ‘be’ with your family; they need you, and nobody can take your place.

There are so many events that come and go, and before you know it, the years have passed by. Your presence cannot be faked or video-called in. They need you, the person present and paying attention to them.

I know, if you are the main family provider, you have to work harder and longer hours, at times, to take care of clients’ needs. I also know there are times when the work can wait until the next day. Ask yourself, as the hours get late, “Can I accomplish this in the morning, or do I really need to get it done now?” Most of the time, I bet it could wait.

#4 – The Loss of Friends

This is another hard cost. Losing friends or even time with friends is very costly. We all need friends. They help us get through the difficult times as well as celebrate the good times with us.

Friends cannot wait around until your “success” one day. As with family and all relationships, they need nurturing and time. If you want to keep your friends, you have to put into the friendship as well.

How do you put into the friendship? You can put into the friendship with time, which includes calls, texts, emails, and memes (of course). If you are only sending messages over Facebook, however, that will only last so long. Believe it or not, they really want to spend some time with you face-to-face, in person. No, not just over Zoom when you have a spare minute!

By the way, it is harder as you age to make new friends, so keep the ones you have now.

#5 – Mental Energy Cost

The mental energy it costs you is another consideration. As we tire and spend long hours poring over information on our computers or phones, we can often block the little mental energy we have at that time.

“Working long hours in your business extracts a heavy mental energy costs, primarily through the development of chronic stress and burnout. This leads to diminished cognitive abilities, emotional exhaustion, and an increased risk of serious mental health issues like anxiety and depression.” –Google AI

All the stressors of building and growing your business weigh on you; it takes a toll on your mental health as well. In turn, this can cause you to make errors in your work.

As your mind wanders, your work suffers.

Whether it is less effective or filled with errors, nobody wants to correct work like this. This leads to the sixth cost as a solopreneur: errors and loss of clients.

#6 – Loss of Clients

Yes, you really can lose clients because you are trying to do it all on your own.

How is this possible?

We already discussed several costs of doing business as a Solopreneur, but you probably had not considered our last two costs: Clients and Revenue. The loss of clients can come from many reasons.

• Inability to service all clients well
• Errors that are made because you are tired and doing it alone
• Missing deadlines because you are so busy doing it by yourself
• Not able to do client care

These are a few reasons you can have a loss of clients.

#7 – Loss of Revenue Can Be Costly

There is also a very real cost to your revenue as a solopreneur. Believe it or not, doing it all yourself isn’t saving you money; it is costing you money. Loss of revenue shows up in many ways, and I want to give you a real example.

I tried to do it all alone, even when I ran my digital marketing agency. Sure, I had a team, but they worked on our client work, not on my business tasks.

After years of telling my clients, “You need to allow us to do these things, so you can focus on revenue-producing tasks.” I finally got the message myself.

I began letting one of my team members, who was great with our email marketing clients, take control of mine. I didn’t realize how much time I had been spending on that task. Once I released it to her, I saw a significant rise in my productivity and eventually in my revenue as well.

Example of Social Media Manager Loss of Revenue

(Please see the “*” below about this example)

If you cannot accept new clients, for example, what is the real cost to you?

Let’s take a look at one of my favorite examples, a social media manager, and their loss of revenue when they are unable to take on any more clients (they are fully booked).

You may wonder why they will lose revenue if they are fully booked with clients?

It’s not the clients they have onboarded already, but rather the clients they are unable to onboard (because they are full), which causes them to lose revenue.

Let me show how.

For our example, we will say one of your packages is $750 for a social media manager package, as an example (not real-life pricing). You are full, in this example, and you know you cannot possibly manage one more client.

What is it costing you?

The cost of just one client is $750 (not to mention the others you have to turn away).

Now, what would happen if you added a subcontractor who could manage up to 7 social media management clients?

That would mean you can bring on the client you almost turned away in this example. That is an added $750/month.

Monthly Revenue Lost

Let’s take this further: what if you could attract a total of 7 new clients? It would mean you would make an extra $5,250* monthly ($750 x 7) in revenue that you are missing out on now.

Yearly Revenue Lost

If you want to plan, think about how much that would be yearly to add to your revenue.

Multiplying your monthly revenue out over a year, you will find that (in this example) you are missing $63,000 of revenue each year! That is a lot of revenue!

You could play this out with any online service you offer. By adding a subcontractor who can do your client’s task work, you can multiply your revenue significantly, especially if you are currently full.

*These are examples only.  It is not what you should charge for these services. The example shows how much revenue could be made IF you are attracting consistent new clients and are able to attract this number.  Adding a subcontractor alone will not add revenue.  It will only add revenue  if they begin working with new clients onboarding. Adding subcontractors alone will not increase your revenue, in fact, it will most often reduces it unless you do it properly with help from a Mentor or Coach.

Final Note and Best Solution

I’m certain we could add a lot to this list of hidden costs, including your overall health and more reasons. The point is to realize that doing it all by yourself is not a good way to do business once you’ve been up and running. I understand the need when you are just starting your online business. Once you begin adding clients, however, it is time to bring on help. You simply cannot do everything and do it well.

What Is The Solution?

In a final note, the best solution to these hidden costs is to have help in your business. You need someone who can do the client tasks that you 1) do not like doing, and 2) do not do well. Adding a subcontractor to work alongside you to service your clients is a great solution. By adding a subcontractor to help you with client work, you are MULTIPLYING your ability to serve your clients better. And most importantly, you MULTIPLY your ability to earn revenue.

Check out our Free Resource: Boost Your Growth By Outsourcing, Build Your Virtual Dream Team & Delegate The Right Tasks.

Do you realize how powerful this is? If you are attracting clients consistently, you know that having several clients may seem great as you onboard them, but the reality of providing the services they need in addition to your current client needs can be overwhelming. Consider how a subcontractor can help provide a solution for you.

Tammy S. Durden is an award-winning business coach who specializes in helping women online service providers grow a business to fit their lifestyle rather than squeeze a life around their business. This generally means she helps women build and grow an online agency or add a subcontractor to their solopreneur business.

She is also a thought leader, course creator, and speaker in the online service industry.

Tammy has established herself as an authority figure over the last 17 years while creating and growing several online service businesses.