October is nearly over but I still have time to squeeze in an issue of our monthly round-up of interesting articles for small business owners and the self-employed. First up is “Managing Time and Tasks as a Solo Entrepreneur,” from business consultants Doug and Polly White, who answer reader questions on their blog. They offer six smart strategies in response to a question that I’m sure many of you have asked yourself: “As a small business owner with only one person (me), how do you keep up with all the tasks i.e., website development/maintenance, accounting, product development, sales, social media, etc.?”

On the “Suze Orman Show” on Saturday, she did a Halloween-fright edition in which all the calls were about the financial fears that keep people awake at night. Small business owners, of course, have our own set of things that keep us awake. In “How to Turn Your Fear into Fuel,” Gwen Moran reports on a new book by Jonathan Fields, a serial entrepreneur; the book is called Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt into Fuel for Brilliance. Moran shares three of Fields’ steps for using fear as motivation for innovation and growth. Good stuff!

Next up is “Stay the Course,” written by Pattie Simone for womencentric.com. This article offers an alphabet-long list of tips and insights to keep you going when things get tough. For example, here’s one I particularly like: “Know that even your best friends may not ‘get’ what you want or where you are going. Find one who does, you’ll need at least one shoulder to lean on when things get rough.” Several times in my two-plus decades as a solopreneur, I’ve had good friends try to steer me away from the direction I wanted to go in. Fortunately, I have a thick hide and a strong stubborn streak, so I followed my own path and have been happy with the outcome. But it sure would have been nice to have someone who “got it” to talk to at these times.

Finally, I recommend you read “Fearless and Fulfilled: 7 Steps to Finding Business Success and Happiness” by Martin Zwilling, founder and CEO of Startup Professionals. He provides a seven-step path to finding fulfillment in your work, which is often the key goal many of us are striving for when we kiss corporate life goodbye to start our own businesses.