The First Task You Should Delegate (And Why You're Probably Waiting Too Long)
One of the most common questions I hear from business owners is:
"What should I delegate first?"
It's a great question, but I don't think it's the first question you should be asking. More often than not, the real question sounds something like this:
What if they don't do it the way I would?
Wouldn't it just be faster if I did it myself?
What if it takes longer to explain than to just do it myself?
If you've had those thoughts, you're not alone.
Delegation can feel overwhelming, especially when you've built your business from the ground up. But after working behind the scenes with service-based businesses, I've learned that most business owners don't struggle with delegation because they're unwilling to let go.
They struggle because they don't know where to begin.
Delegation Isn't About Doing Less
One of the biggest misconceptions about delegation is that it's simply about getting work off your plate. I actually think it's about something much bigger. Delegation creates capacity.
Capacity to serve your clients well.
Capacity to think strategically instead of constantly reacting.
Capacity to spend time with your family.
Capacity to take a vacation without checking your inbox every few minutes.
Capacity to build a business that supports your life, not one that consumes it.
When you start looking at delegation this way, it becomes much less about "getting rid of work" and much more about creating room for growth.
Don't Start With the Tasks You Hate
A lot of business owners assume the first things they should delegate are the tasks they dislike. Sometimes that's true, but I think there's a better place to start.
Instead of asking:
"What do I hate doing?"
Ask yourself:
"What do I do over and over again?"
The tasks that happen repeatedly are usually the easiest to hand off because you've already developed a process; you just may not have realized it yet.
Think about things like:
Responding to common emails
Scheduling appointments
Sending contracts
Client onboarding
Creating invoices
Updating your project management system
Following up with leads
These aren't necessarily difficult tasks. They're simply repetitive, and repetitive tasks are often the best place to begin.
A Simple Test for Delegation
If you're unsure whether something should be delegated, ask yourself these questions:
Does this task happen repeatedly?
Could someone else learn how to do it?
Will this task still exist next month?
Does it truly require my expertise?
Or have I simply become the person who's always done it?
If you answered "yes" to most of those questions, you've probably found a task that’s a great candidate for delegation.
Start Before You're Desperate
One mistake I see over and over again is waiting until everything feels urgent before asking for help.
By then:
Nothing is documented.
Every task feels like a priority.
Training someone feels impossible.
Delegation is much easier when you start before you're overwhelmed.
Choose one recurring task.
Write down the steps.
Create a simple checklist.
Or record a quick screen-share video walking through the process.
It doesn't have to be perfect. It just needs to exist. Five minutes spent documenting today could save you hours later.
Delegation Doesn't Mean Losing Control
One of the hardest parts of delegation isn't teaching someone else how to do the work. It's trusting them to do it differently than you would.
And honestly?
That's okay.
No one will ever care about your business exactly the way you do; it's your business, but someone else doesn't have to complete a task exactly the way you would. They simply need to achieve the same outcome. Sometimes they'll even find a better way.
That's not losing control.
That's building a business that isn't completely dependent on one person.
The Cost of Doing Everything Yourself
When business owners think about hiring help, they often focus on the financial cost.
But there's another cost that's easy to overlook.
What's the cost of continuing to do everything yourself?
Maybe it's turning away new clients because you don't have the capacity.
Maybe it's delaying a new service because you're buried in administrative work.
Maybe it's spending every evening catching up on emails.
Maybe it's working every weekend.
Or maybe it's ending every day feeling like you worked hard, but somehow never caught up.
Those costs add up too.
This Week's Challenge
For the next week, keep a simple list of every task you complete. Nothing fancy. Just write them down.
At the end of the week, highlight every task that:
Took less than 30 minutes
Was repetitive
Didn't require your expertise
Could be explained with a checklist
You don't have to delegate those tasks tomorrow. Right now, you're simply creating awareness, because awareness is the first step toward delegation. And once you understand where your time is actually going, you can start making intentional decisions about where your energy is best spent.
Continue the Conversation
If you're ready to take the next step toward creating more breathing room in your business, I'd love for you to listen to the full episode of The Virtually Faye Podcast.
In this episode, we dive deeper into why delegation feels so difficult, how to identify the first tasks to hand off, and practical ways to create more capacity in your business without feeling like you're losing control.
