Allen Terrell Gregory

Most small business owners -- in this instance, self-employed people -- make a critical mistake in the early years of their business.

They become the "chief cook and bottle washer" early on and refuse to let go of the reigns because "nobody does it like I do it."

Once you get your first few customers, it's time to start hiring people. Everyone has their opinion of who you should hire first, so I won't delve into that. The point is... get some help.

Being a solopreneur is not cool. You're not special because you can do everything in your business.

On the contrary, you are the bottleneck and the reason your "business" -- which is really just a job -- isn't getting bigger or better.

Sure, you might make a few dollars; even a significant amount of them. But until you bring other people along for the ride, you aren't doing anything special.