Matt points out that many business owners limit delegation by only offloading small tasks to ease their workload, instead of thinking bigger. He stresses that by delegating up to half of their responsibilities—especially tasks others can do better—they free themselves to focus on income-generating work and the parts of the business they truly enjoy. This not only increases revenue but also brings greater fulfillment, as they get back to doing what inspired them to start their business in the first place.
Think you’ve only got 5 hours of work to delegate to a Support Assistant…think again!
Virtual Success Show
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Episode breakdown
In this episode, Barbara and Matt talk listeners through some honest truths when it comes to deciding just how many hours per week you ‘think’ you can delegate to a support assistant. This episode takes a look at the essential factors to bear in mind when deciding to onboard a support assistant and how, if you are truly committed, you could easily find at least 20 hours of work for a support assistant to do in your business, every single week!
- The only way to really know what to delegate is understanding where you’re spending your time
- The importance of changing your mindset to “Stop Doing” certain tasks, so you can focus on more of the things you love doing
- How putting ‘positive stress’ on yourself can help your business grow faster
- Bringing in specialists for ad-hoc tasks can also help reduce your workload, freeing up valuable time for more important, revenue-generating tasks
Don’t start selling your services, start selling your thought leadership and your integration.
In this episode
00:00 - Introduction
Barbara and Matt open the episode with a warm welcome and casual chat. They greet listeners, check in with each other, and briefly talk about the pleasant change in Sydney’s weather, noting the cooler temperatures and clear skies after weeks of rain.
00:55 – So I ‘think’ I only need 5 hours a week from my support assistant
Barbara introduces today’s topic: many potential clients ask if they can hire a support assistant for just five hours a week instead of the 20-hour minimum. She notes that while five hours feels like enough for some small businesses, most quickly realize 20 hours gets filled easily once they see how much can be delegated. Matt adds that if someone only thinks they have five hours to delegate, they’re not trying hard enough. Many “busy” tasks are low priority and could easily be outsourced. He emphasizes that even startups can delegate at least 20 hours, freeing business owners to focus on high-value “genius tasks” — the work they love, excel at, and that drives financial returns.
03:28 – If you think you’ve only got 5 hours, you’re not committed enough
Barbara shares her perspective that wanting only five support assistant hours a week often signals a lack of real commitment to the business. She recalls hiring a full-time support assistant from the very start of her first business so she could focus on networking, speaking, and content creation while her support assistant managed the website, social media, and online presence. This strong support directly drove business growth. She notes that many startups at The Virtual Hub also hire full-time support assistants immediately to scale faster, highlighting her concern that limiting to just five hours reflects a mindset barrier that holds entrepreneurs back.
04:32 – Changing your mindset to ‘stop doing’
Matt explains that to know what to delegate, business owners must first track how they spend their time. He recommends a two-week time audit to reveal distractions and tasks that can be outsourced. Many small, repetitive daily tasks (even 15 minutes each) quickly add up to more than five hours and can easily be handed to a support assistant. He stresses that entrepreneurs should value their time and focus on higher-return activities, leaving routine work to assistants. Barbara adds that many people resist this process because it requires accountability and effort to build systems and processes. Instead, they just want to offload a few hours, without realizing that proper structure is what enables them to scale effectively.
06:59 – Are you in business, or have you just created a job for yourself?
Barbara challenges listeners to reflect on whether they’re truly building a business or just creating a self-imposed job that drains them. Matt adds that real growth requires time for strategic thinking—the “important but not urgent” work Stephen Covey describes. He emphasizes how powerful a time log can be, sharing that he tracked his time for a year and saw huge gains in productivity by identifying tasks he could delegate. Barbara relates her own experience: after having her baby, she felt certain she had to manage a new lead generation project herself. But she realized this was a mindset issue and instead decided to let a team member step up, with her guidance. She highlights that letting go and trusting others is often the key. Finally, she asks Matt to explain his time log tool and how it works, since she only tracked her tasks mentally.
09:30 – How to ‘Time Log’
Matt explains his downloadable Excel-based time log tool, where users track their day in 15-minute increments to see how they spend time. He notes two common findings: lots of wasted time on tasks that could be delegated, and poor daily flow from constant task-switching. Barbara adds that she used to struggle with multitasking until she shifted to “energy batching”—grouping similar tasks like finance work into one block. This prevents the inefficiency of switching between unrelated activities. As she reflects, she realizes many of those batched tasks could actually be delegated, freeing up significant time while still achieving the same results.
11:35 – Ask yourself – “How can I stop doing?”
Barbara shares her daily habit of asking, “How can I stop doing this task?”—not because she’s too busy, but because she wants to spend more time with her daughter. For her, delegating business tasks allows her to fully embrace her role as a mother, which she doesn’t want to outsource. Matt supports this with a practical tactic: when he hired a new assistant, he kept two Post-It notes on his computer that read, “What must I stop doing today?” and “What could I get Shahani to do today?” This constant reminder quickly freed up 5–10 hours of his time, and within three months, he needed to hire again. Barbara highlights that this ties back to strategic thinking—business owners can’t think long-term or plan effectively if they stay trapped in daily tasks. Knowing your yearly, 3-year, and 5-year goals makes delegation essential for growth.
14:30 – Positive stress
Barbara explains that when skilled support assistants become available after a client cancels or pauses their account, she often hires them early—even if it wasn’t in her immediate plan. Though this can temporarily lead to being overstaffed, it accelerates growth since the resources push her to up-level faster. Matt calls this positive stress—the pressure to grow because keeping great talent motivates business expansion. Barbara adds that retaining trained support assistants avoids the costly cycle of rehiring and retraining. Sometimes clients let excellent support assistants go due to their own mindset or inability to delegate effectively, not because the support assistant wasn’t capable. When she takes these support assistants on, her business often thrives as a result.
16:43 – Shifting your focus
17:45 – Pros of committing to a full-time support assistant
Barbara emphasizes the importance of considering delegation from the support assistant’s perspective. If a client only offers a few hours per week, the support assistant will naturally prioritize larger contracts that provide stability and income. This means the client won’t get the support assistant’s full commitment or focus. To get the best results, Barbara advises business owners to truly commit to their hires—offering more hours and integrating them into the business vision—rather than expecting strong dedication from a minimal arrangement.
18:47 – Bringing in specialists for ad hoc tasks
Matt and Barbara discuss the difference between hiring for ad-hoc specialist tasks versus ongoing support assistant support. Matt shares how he outsources one-off projects (like slide presentations) to contractors on platforms like Upwork, which is cost-effective and efficient. However, both agree that for real business impact, a minimum of 20 hours per week with a support assistant is essential. Shorter contracts (like 5–10 hours) don’t work well—clients don’t get the best results, and support assistants end up overwhelmed by juggling multiple small contracts. Barbara explains that’s why The Virtual Hub avoids offering pay-as-you-go or small-hour packages: they want long-term commitments that benefit both business owners and support assistants. Ultimately, they conclude that small-hour support assistant arrangements are a lose-lose-lose situation—for the client, the support assistant, and the agency.
22:51 – Wrapping things up
Matt and Barbara close the episode by stressing that every business owner can find at least 20 hours of work per week for a support assistant if they commit and focus on identifying tasks to delegate. The key steps are recognizing where time is currently spent, where it would be better spent, and prompting yourself to hand off tasks instead of doing them all. Barbara also points listeners to Matt’s tool at stopdoing.com.au to guide this process. They encourage reviews, sharing the show, and sending in topic suggestions before signing off.
