The Founder's Guide to Letting Go (of Tasks, Not Dreams)
You started this thing. You built it with your own hands, your own late nights, your own “I’ll just do it myself” energy. And that got you here.
But “here” is also a place where you’re answering emails at 11pm, personally managing your calendar, and spending three hours on a task you could teach someone else to do in thirty minutes.
The Delegation Paradox
Here’s the cruel irony of being a founder: the same drive that made you build something from nothing is the same drive that makes you terrible at letting go. You’re not being a control freak (okay, maybe a little). You just care. A lot.
But caring about everything equally means nothing gets your best attention.
What to Let Go First
Not everything. Not all at once. Start with:
The Repeatable Stuff If you do it the same way every time, it can be documented and handed off. Invoicing, scheduling, social media posting, data entry — these are stealing hours from your week.
The Stuff You’re Bad At Controversial take: you don’t have to be good at everything. If bookkeeping makes you want to cry, that’s a sign. Let someone who enjoys it (they exist, I promise) handle it.
The Stuff That Doesn’t Need You Your clients probably don’t need you to send the meeting recap email. Your team doesn’t need you to book the restaurant for the team lunch. It’s okay.
How to Actually Do It
- Document before you delegate. Write down how you do it — even a rough version. This is your SOP. (See? SOPs everywhere.)
- Let it be 80% as good. The first time someone else does it, it won’t be exactly how you’d do it. That’s fine. 80% of your way, done by someone else, is better than 100% of your way never getting done because you’re drowning.
- Create feedback loops, not bottlenecks. Check in on the work periodically instead of approving every step. Trust, then verify.
The Goal
The goal isn’t to remove yourself from your business. It’s to remove yourself from the parts of your business that don’t need your specific genius.
When you let go of the $20/hour tasks, you make room for the $2,000/hour thinking. The strategy. The relationships. The creative work that only you can do.
Your future self will thank you. Probably from a vacation.
Ready to start delegating but not sure where to begin? I can help with that.