How Much Is Your Time Worth? A Simple Formula for Business Owners
A simple formula (and free calculator) to put a number on your hour, then use it to decide what you should stop doing yourself.
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Key takeaways
- If a task is repeatable, can be explained and doesn’t need your judgement, it can probably be delegated.
- Admin, scheduling, follow-ups, content and reporting are the fastest wins for most owners.
- Keep vision, key relationships, hiring decisions, final financial approvals and brand direction.
As a business owner, your time is the most limited resource in the company. Every hour you spend on tasks someone else could do is an hour not spent on sales, strategy or the work only you can do. Here’s a practical list of tasks to delegate as a business owner, and the few you should keep.
Administrative tasks
- Email inbox management. Sorting, filtering, drafting routine replies and flagging what needs you.
- Calendar and meeting scheduling. Booking, rescheduling and sending reminders.
- Data entry. Updating spreadsheets, CRMs and records.
- File and document organization. Keeping shared folders tidy and versions clear.
- Travel and event logistics. Bookings, itineraries and confirmations.
Finance support tasks
- Invoice preparation. Creating and sending invoices from templates.
- Payment follow-ups. Polite, consistent reminders for overdue invoices.
- Expense tracking. Collecting receipts and categorizing expenses for your accountant.
Marketing tasks
- Social media scheduling. Planning and publishing posts on a content calendar.
- Graphic design from templates. Social graphics, simple flyers and presentations.
- Blog and newsletter production. Formatting, uploading and scheduling.
- Content repurposing. Turning one piece of content into posts, emails and snippets.
- Basic SEO updates. Meta descriptions, alt text and keeping listings current.
Website tasks
- Content updates. Changing text, images, prices and products.
- Landing pages. Building pages for offers or campaigns.
- Website health checks. Finding broken links, outdated pages and form issues.
Customer communication
- Responding to enquiries. First replies to common questions.
- Lead and customer follow-ups. Making sure no message goes unanswered.
- Review requests. Asking happy customers for feedback.
- FAQ and help content. Keeping answers to common questions up to date.
Research, reporting and operations
- Market and competitor research. Summaries you can act on.
- Weekly or monthly reports. Pulling numbers together in one view.
- SOP documentation. Writing down how recurring tasks are done.
- Lead list building. Researching prospects that fit your ideal customer.
- CRM updates. Keeping your pipeline accurate.
See your own numbers: our free Delegation Calculator lets you tick these tasks, add your hours and instantly see how much time you could get back each week.
5 things you shouldn’t delegate
Delegation isn’t about handing off everything. Keep these close:
- Vision and strategy. Where the business is going and why.
- Key relationships. Your most important customers, partners and investors.
- Hiring and culture decisions. Who joins and how the team works.
- Final financial approvals. Others can prepare; you approve.
- Brand direction. Others can execute the brand; you define it.
How to decide what to delegate first
Score each task you do on two questions:
- How much time does it take each week?
- Does it truly need you? Rate it as only me, me with guidance, or anyone with instructions.
The tasks with the most hours that “anyone with instructions” could do are your first delegation wins. Then follow a structured hand-off process. Our 7-step delegation framework shows exactly how.
Delegating without adding management work
A common worry is that delegating creates a new job: managing the people you delegate to. With Fitma, you share your requirements and we keep you updated, so you get the time back without the extra management burden. Explore what we support or chat with us on WhatsApp.
Frequently asked questions
What should a small business owner delegate first?
Email management, scheduling and customer follow-ups. They’re frequent, time-consuming and easy to document, which makes them low-risk, high-reward first steps.
How do I know a task is ready to delegate?
If you can explain how to do it and what a good result looks like, it’s ready. If you can’t, spend 15 minutes writing down the steps first.
Is it expensive to delegate?
Compare the cost of support with the value of your own time. If your time is worth more per hour than it costs to delegate a task, delegating pays for itself. Our article on how much your time is worth shows how to calculate it.
Written by the Fitma team
Fitma is a founder-led digital business support company helping startups and growing businesses with operations, marketing, websites and more. About us
