The “I can do it all” instinct is where a lot of entrepreneurs get stuck, and their business growth gets stuck along with them, says Candice Clark, who leads HR consultancy The Agile Talent Company. As a business grows, so does the workload, and delegating or outsourcing tasks becomes necessary just to keep up.
Step 1: Understand how you actually spend your time
Track your time honestly for a few weeks. Then be direct with yourself about what you find: how much of it genuinely goes toward cash, candidates, and clients, the activities that actually grow and run the business, versus everything else.
Step 2: Decide what only you should keep doing
Start with what you absolutely must retain, a handful of key clients, critical financial oversight, or the parts of the business only you can do well. Then add what you are genuinely good at and enjoy, provided it is still income-generating. Everything left over, once you have been honest about it, is a candidate for delegation.
Step 3: Choose the right person for the job
Look for someone who is both skilled at the task and who genuinely wants to do it. Passion combined with skill consistently outperforms either alone. Be specific about the requirements so you can identify the right fit quickly, whether that person joins full-time, part-time, or as a contractor.
Step 4: Set your replacement up to succeed
Give any new hire or contractor a proper onboarding period, with a clear plan for their first two weeks and regular time set aside to build the working relationship. People perform better for managers who show genuine interest in their progress.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know what to delegate first?
Track your time for a few weeks, then identify what does not directly generate cash, does not require your specific expertise, and is not something only you enjoy doing. That is your starting list.
Should I hire full-time staff or use contractors when I start delegating?
Either can work. The right choice depends on the volume and consistency of the work and what your budget currently supports, not a fixed rule.
What is the most common reason delegation fails?
Skipping proper onboarding. Handing a task over without a clear plan for the person’s first weeks tends to produce poor results that then get blamed on the delegation itself.
Letting go is a skill, not a risk
Delegating effectively is uncomfortable at first, but it is what allows a business, and its owner, to keep growing past what one person can manage alone.
Further reading: How Entrepreneurs Can Delegate Effectively and Grow Their Business | Department of Trade, Industry and Competition for official small business support information
Originally published in June 2019. Updated September 2026 to tighten this delegation framework from HR consultant Candice Clark. The four-step approach remains sound.
