Small business owners wear many hats, from accounting to marketing and more

Many regard the entrepreneurial spirit as a quintessential element of the American identity. The idea of finding one's passion and striking out to blaze one's own path to prosperity is what drives small business owners to do what they do.

Darrin Johnson, owner and president of Ultimate Flooring and Paint in Cape Girardeau, says being self-employed is fulfilling, but in order to make a small business work, the extra duties often fall to him.

"You can't afford to hire a marketing team," he says. "So you become the marketing team. You also become the accounting department, human resources director and the janitor."

He says many of the skills he now needs to keep all the bases covered are learned simply by doing it and figuring it out.

"I've been able to go to conferences and seminars to learn some things, especially in terms of the marketing aspect," he says. "But a lot of it is self-taught."

Denise East, owner of Cape Ultimate Skincare, says the key to success when you're your own boss is commitment.

"You have to be committed 110 percent to be an entrepreneur. It's one of those sink or swim situations," she says. "I'm the first one that comes in in the morning and I'm the last one to leave the shop."

Denise L. East is owner of Cape Ultimate Skincare in Cape Girardeau. (Fred Lynch)

She learned the skincare business working as an office coordinator at another location before the opportunity to start her own business presented itself. She learned how to run a business on the fly working 65 hours per week or more.

"I have to make sure all my notes are charted, all my bills are documented and everything is done for the day," she says. "Then I have to get everything ready for tomorrow."

Johnson says one of the most useful pieces of advice he's ever received came from a seminar he attended that stressed the importance of hiring good employees.

"You can't do everything yourself," he explains. "If you hire really good people who can take some of the weight off of you, that helps. You have to be able to work on your business, not at your business."

The ability to delegate effectively can be more important than classes and seminars, but to East, there's nothing so reliable as bullheaded productivity.

"I'm a very determined person. I think it comes from my upbringing," she says. "Only giving half doesn't cut it. I love what I do and I have a passion for it."

Which is why she doesn't mind the long hours.

"You have so many people out there who go to their jobs Monday through Friday and when they get home they don't have anything left," she explains, but adds that since she is so passionate about what she does, it's not so draining.

One thing's for sure, though. The fruits of being self-employed are well worth the toils to small business owners. For Denise East, it's the only way to go.

"Would I go back to being employed by someone else?" she wonders. "Not unless I have to."