Many home based business owners are an army of one and therefore must contend with all of the menial and complicated tasks involved in running a business, or do they? One of the best lessons any business owner can learn is when and how to delegate to get the help they need. The answers to a few simple questions should help any owner determine whether or not its time to delegate and what tasks can be outsourced.

1. Do I understand how to accurately accomplish this task?

If you had a cavity, would you try to take care of it yourself? Of course not - you would make an appointment with a Dentist (a professional). So why would you think that just because you own your business you must personally see to tasks like; filing taxes or maintaining accounting records. Give yourself permission to seek the professional help and advice you need.

2. Is this a task that I enjoy?

Many people abhor business writing, bill paying or returning e-mails. If this is the case then the time you are spending doing something you hate is actually costing you more than the task is worth because more than likely it is taking much longer than is necessary. Think about what your time is worth per hour then multiply it by the number of hours you spend doing the tasks you don't enjoy - the number may surprise you. There are many ways to get administrative help to handle the tasks that are unappealing and it may very well be an investment worth making.

3. Is this task preventing me from growing my business?

Are you too busy working in your business to actually work ON your business? If you don't have time to answer phone calls and e-mails or attend your weekly networking groups then you are in need of some delegation. There is a fine line between controlling and delegating. A good business owner knows how to hold on to the things they need to and allow someone else to do the rest. If you have been struggling to come up with a design and copy for your website and it has become a source of stress, then it many be time to turn the task over to a professional and focus on your area of expertise.

4. No one can do it like I can!

Make a list of all the tasks that you do, prioritize them, figure out how much time you spend completing them, then figure out how much money you spend completing everything yourself. If you make $50,000 a year and worked a 40 hour work week, your hourly rate would be about $25. If you worked only 4 hours a day on tasks that could be delegated that's $100 a day, $500 a week, and $2000 a month! Take the time to train someone to do it the way you want and turn the task over.

So if you are buried under a mountain of mundane tasks and difficult projects and it is becoming detrimental to your work from home business, its time to take a long hard look at how you spend your time and consider delegating.