Buy Back Your Time: How Smart Delegation Can Transform Your Business and Your Life

Written by Katharina Villanueva, CEO/COO/Founder of Olivia Professional Solutions

As a business owner, your most precious resource isn’t your product, your clients, or even your cash flow—it’s your time. Unlike money, you can’t make more of it. Every minute spent on tasks that don’t grow your business, bring you joy, or fuel your energy is a minute you can never get back.

In Buy Back Your Time, Dan Martell emphasizes a truth that changed my entire approach to entrepreneurship: “You can always make more money, but you can’t make more time.” When I first read this, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I was exhausted, juggling the demands of running two businesses—Nest & Care Home Health and Olivia Professional Solutions—all while raising three kids. I felt like I was running on a hamster wheel, constantly busy but not moving forward.

I realized that the key to breaking free wasn’t to work harder, but to work smarter. And the smartest move I ever made was to delegate effectively and buy back my time.

Why Buying Back Your Time is Essential for Business Growth

Many business owners believe that working long hours is a badge of honor. I used to think the same. But the truth is, spending your days on low-value tasks prevents you from focusing on what truly matters:

• Growing your business: High-level strategy, business development, and innovation.

• Increasing revenue: Sales, building partnerships, and creating new opportunities.

• Personal well-being: Spending time with family, recharging, and enjoying life.

When you learn to buy back your time, you stop being the bottleneck in your own business. You empower your team, streamline operations, and create a business that can thrive without you.

How to Calculate Your Buyback Rate

Dan Martell introduces a powerful concept: the Buyback Rate. This is the value of your time per hour. To calculate it, use this simple formula:

Buyback Rate=Your Monthly Income/160 Hours (Assumed Work Hours Per Month)

For example, if your business generates $10,000 per month, your buyback rate is:

This means that any task you’re doing that you could delegate for less than $62.50/hour is costing you money. Instead, you should focus on tasks that bring in more than this amount.

The Best Tasks to Delegate First

When I first started delegating, I didn’t know where to start. I made the mistake of holding on to tasks I thought were too important to delegate. Over time, I developed a system that helped me identify which tasks to hand off first.

1. Start with Low-Value Tasks

Delegate tasks that are time-consuming but not revenue-generating, such as:

• Administrative work: Email management, scheduling, data entry.

• Customer service: Responding to inquiries, managing support tickets.

• Repetitive tasks: Invoicing, social media posting, payroll processing.

  
  

For instance, at Olivia Professional Solutions, I hired a virtual assistant to handle customer service and email management. This freed up 15 hours per week, allowing me to focus on high-impact work.

2. Automate Before You Delegate

Before assigning a task to a person, ask yourself: Can this be automated?

Tools like:

• Zapier: Connects apps and automates workflows.

• Calendly: Automates scheduling.

• QuickBooks: Handles invoicing and bookkeeping.

When I automated the scheduling process for our caregivers at Nest & Care, we reduced manual work by 30%, and I gained back time for strategic planning.

3. Delegate $10, $100, $1,000, and $10,000 Tasks Strategically

Task Type	Examples	Who Should Do It?
$10 Tasks	Data entry, scheduling, email management	Virtual Assistant
$100 Tasks	Bookkeeping, social media, basic sales	Skilled VA/Freelancer/Agency/
$1,000 Tasks	Sales strategy, hiring, business development	You or a Senior Manager
$10,000 Tasks	Vision setting, scaling, high-level strategy	You Only

I realized that the $10-$100 tasks were draining my time while the $1,000-$10,000 tasks were the ones that moved the needle. So, I focused my time on strategic growth initiatives, like partnerships and new service launches.

Tips for Smart Delegation

1. 

   Document Your Processes (SOPs)

   
   

   Create Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for every task.  I like to call them My Business Playbook.  This ensures that anyone can take over the task with minimal training. I use tools like Loom to record screen walkthroughs and Google Docs to outline step-by-step instructions.

   
   

2. Hire the Right People

   
   

   When hiring, I look for team members who are not only skilled but also self-starters. At Olivia Professional Solutions, we specialize in finding virtual assistants who are trained to take ownership of tasks, not just execute instructions.

   
   

3. Set Clear Expectations

   
   

   When delegating, I always communicate:

   • The objective of the task

   • Expected outcomes

   • Deadlines

   • Resources available

     
     

4. Use the 70% Rule

   
   

   If someone can do the task at 70% of your ability, delegate it. They will improve over time, and the extra freedom will allow you to focus on more critical tasks.

   
   

5. Create a Feedback Loop

   
   

6. I hold weekly check-ins with my team to review progress, answer questions, and provide feedback. This keeps projects on track without micromanaging.

How Delegation Helped Me Reclaim My Life

Before I started buying back my time, I was working 60+ hours a week. My business felt like a ball and chain. My kids noticed my absence, and I was always too tired to enjoy time with them.

Today, I work on high-value tasks, spend quality time with my family, and even have time for self-care. My businesses have grown faster, and I feel more in control of my time.

For example, during the summer break, I took a full week off. My businesses ran smoothly, thanks to the systems and team I had built. That week, I wasn’t just buying back time—I was buying back memories with my family.

Final Thoughts: Time is Your Most Valuable Asset

As a business owner, your time should be spent on what brings the most value, not just to your business but to your life. The journey to buying back your time starts with smart delegation:

• Automate repetitive tasks.

• Delegate low-value work.

• Focus on high-impact activities.

Start today by making a list of tasks you can immediately delegate. Free up your time to focus on what truly matters—whether it’s growing your business, spending time with loved ones, or simply having the freedom to enjoy your success.

Because at the end of the day, the greatest return on investment you can make is not on money but on time.