The Power of Delegation: How to Free Up Time and Turbocharge Your Homeschool Business
Why Delegation Matters
It’s not neccessary to have a vivid imagination to see the average homeschool business owner sitting at their desk (or kitchen table), hunched over their computer, trying to figure out how to do all.the.things. Excitement over your product or service has given way to overwhelm and burn out. There’s only one of you, after all.
The cure is delegation.
Talking with business owners, the ones who struggle with delegation, they have two common fears: the fear of losing control or compromising quality when delegating tasks. Your business is personal to you, how can you possibly delegate tasks? Who will understand your mission?
As scary as delegating can be, in order to grow and implement strategy behind your mission, partnering with someone in your business through the art of delegation is the single most important tactic you can employ.
Do it scared.
Identifying Tasks to Delegate
While you’re hunched over that desk, it can feel overwhelming just to think about what you could delegate. If you’re not yet convinced that delegation is the first key to a growth strategy, identifying the “what” to delegate might change your mind. How do we determine what we can delegate?
Assess Your Strengths: What are you uniquely qualified to do, and where can others step in?
Time-Consuming vs. High-Impact: Identify routine or repetitive tasks that eat up hours but don’t directly generate revenue.
Complexity vs. Expertise Needed: Pinpoint specialized tasks (like graphic design or bookkeeping) that may be better handled by an expert.
Choosing What to Delegate First
Delegating to a team member (or hiring your first team member to delegate to), requires specifics. What will you delegate? Get clarity here to ensure your hiring or delegation is successful.
Low-Hanging Fruit: Start with tasks that are easy to offload—like customer service emails, social media scheduling, or simple data entry.
Strategic Areas: Consider delegating more complex areas like marketing campaigns or website maintenance if you can partner with someone who has proven expertise.
Benefits of Delegation
Now, let’s create a new vision of yourself. Stand up from your desk, stretch, and take a deep breath. Think about what delegating could do for you and your family. What would this new vision of yourself do with that time gained back from delegating? Think on these valuable benefits:
Frees Up Your Time: Focus on your zone of genius—like creating new curriculum or nurturing bigger partnerships.
Better Work-Life Balance: Reduce stress and reclaim energy for strategic thinking and family time.
Room for Growth: Empower team members or freelancers to bring fresh ideas and new skill sets.
How to Delegate Effectively
Let’s talk about expectations. When delegating, clarity is queen, but expectations is king. What are you expecting of the individual you’re working with? Have you discussed hours, pay, schedule, work quality? Do you have reasonable expectations regarding these things? With each item delegated, ensure that you provide:
Clear Communication: Provide detailed instructions, deadlines, and expectations.
Support and Resources: Ensure whoever takes on the task has the tools, training, and authority they need to succeed.
Checkpoints and Feedback Loops: Establish regular touchpoints to review progress and address challenges early.
Potential Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
Delegating is a true balance of people and processes management and trust. Think about how you will handle these common pitfalls:
Micromanagement: Maintain oversight without hovering—trust your team.
Over-Delegation: Keep tabs on what’s truly beneficial to delegate. Some tasks might still require your unique touch.
Failure to Document Processes: Create clear SOPs (standard operating procedures) so tasks can be handed off smoothly.
Call to Action
List three tasks they can delegate immediately, and commit to finding the right people or tools to handle them.
Resource Download
Use this customizable planner to pinpoint which tasks you should delegate or automate in your homeschool business. Print it out or save it digitally to regularly review your progress and keep your workflow efficient. When opening the Google Sheet, you will be prompted to make a copy. After making a copy, rename.
Delegation Checklist & Planner
How to use the Delegation Checklist & Planner:
By consistently using this Delegation Checklist & Planner, you’ll free up time and mental energy to focus on what truly matters—scaling your homeschool business and delivering exceptional support to the families you serve.
1. Task Inventory
Instructions:
List your recurring tasks below. Be sure to include everything from daily customer emails to creating marketing materials or updating your bookkeeping.
2. Prioritizing Tasks
Instructions:
Give each task a priority level (High, Medium, or Low) based on how crucial it is to your homeschool business growth or revenue. Note whether it’s a high-impact activity (e.g., directly tied to sales or parent engagement) or more of a maintenance task.
3. Delegate vs. Automate Assessment
Instructions:
For each task, assess whether it’s best delegated to a person or automated using a tool/system. Consider the cost, your personal expertise, and how critical the task is to your unique role as a homeschool business owner.
4. Action & Deadlines
Instructions:
For each task you decide to delegate or automate, determine the action steps (e.g., hire a virtual assistant, set up an email autoresponder) and set a deadline.
5. Reflection & Review
Time Reclaimed: Once you delegate or automate these tasks, how many hours per week will you save?
Growth Opportunities: What strategic projects can you pursue with the time you’ve freed up? (e.g., new curriculum development, marketing campaigns)
Review Cycle: Set a reminder to revisit this planner every quarter (3 months) to keep your delegation plan aligned with your business goals.
Tips for Successful Delegation
Craft Clear SOPs: Standard Operating Procedures make handoffs seamless and reduce confusion for your team.
Train & Trust: Provide thorough training, then trust your delegate to do their job well—avoid micromanagement.
Communicate Frequently: Schedule regular check-ins and feedback loops for quality control.
Celebrate Wins: Recognize improvements in revenue growth, family engagement, or personal work-life balance.
