By Elizabeth Eiss
Small businesses often face unique challenges in scaling their impact while juggling limited resources such as funding, sales, customer care, talent, and time. In our previous article, Small Employers 2025: Scaling Impact on Customers, Community & Capital, we explored how small businesses can achieve sustainable growth by adopting scalable talent strategies and utilizing the PTP (Process, Tools, People) Method to optimize business operations. Now, we focus on an equally crucial factor: the strategic management of time and delegation. Time is one of the most valuable yet finite resources for business leaders, and its allocation directly influences scalability, efficiency, and long-term growth.
Recognizing the value of your time, core vs. non-core functions, and whether you’re investing vs. spending time on activities are critical principles small business leaders can leverage to scale their impact and business. However, the challenge lies in recognizing that time must be managed with the same discipline as financial resources to yield optimal results.
The Value of Time
Time is more than a conceptual limitation—it is an operational asset that dictates business success. Many entrepreneurs fall into the trap of believing they must handle every aspect of their business, but this misallocation of time often results in stagnation and exhaustion. When we work IN the business, we can lose sight of key leadership functions that enable us to work ON growing the business. The opportunity cost of engaging in non-strategic tasks is substantial, detracting from core business development initiatives.
Time is more than a conceptual limitation—it is an operational asset that dictates business success.
Numerous articles in Entrepreneur Magazine say it’s paramount to know the value of your time and systematically evaluate each activity against a time-based calculation. If a task takes an hour, and an hour of your time is worth $100, evaluate the ROI of spending that hour on that activity versus outsourcing the task to someone you pay $25 per hour, and use your hour to focus on core business strategies such as customer retention, business development or brand repositioning. The key to scalability is leveraging your time to maximize impact.
Distinguishing Core vs. Non-Core Work for Strategic Time Allocation
For solopreneurs and small business owners, time is an even scarcer resource and must invested wisely to support sustainable growth. Without the luxury of large teams, every hour spent on non-essential tasks is time taken away from revenue-generating activities and business development. To optimize time allocation, start by distinguishing core vs. non-core activities.
Core functions are activities that directly drive customer value, enhance competitive advantage, and generate revenue, such as strategic planning, business development, client engagement, and product innovation. Core roles can change and evolve as a company grows and develops. So, a periodic evaluation is advisable.
Non-core roles are the positions that support core work. These are typically essential yet non-strategic tasks that are not needed 40 hours per week and can be outsourced or automated. Some possibilities include administrative support, data processing, bookkeeping, and marketing. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking of non-core roles as unimportant. They are often valuable to quality operations but do not directly impact a customer’s perception of your business.
Core and non-core roles vary from industry to industry. Properly defining these roles before hiring ensures efficient resource allocation and maximized productivity. Moreover, businesses that proactively evaluate their operations and reassess these classifications are better equipped to pivot and scale in a competitive environment.
Effective Delegation as a Growth Lever
Once you define what your core vs. non-core activities are, it’s time to consider what and how to delegate to process, tools and (lastly) people. Finding the right mix helps you get the most value out of each of those resources.
To delegate with impact, we revisit the PTP Method:
Processes: Create repeatable, well-documented systems
- Develop processes around objectives and measurable goals that align with your long-term vision to ensure consistent value delivery.
- Review and optimize your existing processes to eliminate bottlenecks, streamline operations, and enhance productivity and consistency.
Tools: Leverage technology that complement your processes
- Automate where possible by tapping into software tools to handle repetitive administrative tasks like invoicing, scheduling, and email management.
- Embrace Artificial Intelligence (AI) to automate routine process workflows and responses, such as using bots for customer service.
- Ensure tools integrate seamlessly with your existing processes and platforms to enhance productivity.
Once these two steps are complete, it’s time to outsource to people.
People: Maximize the unique thinking capabilities of people
- Leverage freelancers and virtual assistants to take on specialized or time-consuming tasks non-core work, allowing more time for core business activities.
- Utilize human support for critical thinking, creativity, and product/service innovation.
Successful leaders transition from individual contributors to strategic orchestrators, ensuring that the right people execute the right functions to drive efficiency and scale.
Successful leaders transition from individual contributors to strategic orchestrators, ensuring that the right people execute the right functions to drive efficiency and scale. Additionally, leveraging fractional support offers access to specialized expertise without the commitment of full-time roles, providing further flexibility and scalability.
Scaling You with Intention
Business scalability is not merely a function of increased revenue or team expansion; it hinges on effective time utilization. Recognizing time as a finite strategic asset, prioritizing high-impact initiatives, delegating non-core tasks, and leveraging technology enables business leaders to create sustainable growth pathways.
Ultimately, scaling a business requires a conscious and strategic effort to maximize the most limited resource: time. By mastering time management and delegation, entrepreneurs can enhance their operational effectiveness, drive meaningful impact, and establish a scalable, resilient business model.
For further insights on strategic hiring and scaling your impact, visit ResultsResourcing.
