You started your business for freedom. Freedom to choose your schedule, work from anywhere, and build something meaningful on your terms.

But somewhere along the way, freedom turned into a different kind of prison. You’re working more hours than you ever did in your corporate job. Your business dictates your schedule, not the other way around. And the idea of taking a full week off? Laughable.

The promise was freedom. The reality is exhaustion.

Here’s what most entrepreneurs don’t realize: you can get your time back as an entrepreneur without sacrificing revenue. In fact, the most successful business owners we work with at Well Balanced Business do exactly that. They work fewer hours and make more money.

This isn’t about productivity hacks or waking up at 5 AM. It’s about fundamental shifts in how you structure your business so time freedom becomes inevitable, not impossible.

Let’s talk about the six strategies that help entrepreneurs get their time back while growing their revenue, not shrinking it.

Why Most Entrepreneurs Can’t Get Their Time Back

Before we dive into solutions, let’s identify why trying to get your time back as an entrepreneur feels so difficult.

You’re the bottleneck for everything Every decision flows through you. Every approval waits for you. Every client interaction requires you. Your business can’t move without your constant involvement.

You conflate hours with value You believe that working more hours equals more money. So stepping back feels like leaving money on the table.

You don’t trust anyone else to do it right You’ve built something special. The thought of someone else handling it makes you nervous. What if they mess it up? What if clients notice the difference?

You haven’t built infrastructure Without systems, processes, and support, taking time off means everything stops. So you don’t take time off.

You feel guilty for wanting time back Other entrepreneurs are hustling 80 hours weekly. Shouldn’t you be doing the same? Wanting time freedom feels like laziness, not success.

Here’s the truth: None of these beliefs are helping you get your time back as an entrepreneur. And all of them are keeping you stuck in a business that owns you instead of serving you.

At Well Balanced Business, serving entrepreneurs worldwide from our Des Moines, Iowa headquarters, we’ve helped hundreds of 6- and 7-figure business owners reclaim 15, 20, even 30 hours weekly. Not by working smarter or using better time management. By fundamentally restructuring how their business operates.

Strategy #1: Audit Where Your Time Actually Goes

You can’t get your time back as an entrepreneur if you don’t know where it’s going in the first place. Most entrepreneurs have no idea where their hours disappear.

How to conduct a time audit:

Week 1: Track everything For one full week, track every single task you do and how long it takes. Use a tool like Toggl, or just keep a notebook handy. Be honest and comprehensive.

Week 2: Categorize your time Group your tasks into categories:

• Revenue-generating work (sales, delivery, strategy)
• Administrative tasks (email, scheduling, data entry)
• Marketing and content (social media, writing, posting)
• Operational work (invoicing, systems, tools management)
• Meetings and communication
• Time wasters (scrolling, context switching, distractions)

Week 3: Calculate your hourly value Annual revenue ÷ 2,080 hours = Your effective hourly rate

Example: $200K revenue ÷ 2,080 hours = $96/hour

Week 4: Identify mismatched work Highlight every task you’re doing that’s worth less than your hourly rate. These are prime candidates for delegation, automation, or elimination.

What you’ll discover: Most entrepreneurs find they’re spending 15-25 hours weekly on work worth $20-40/hour while their actual value is $100-200/hour. That’s where you get your time back as an entrepreneur.

One client of Well Balanced Business, a business coach, discovered she was spending 18 hours weekly on tasks worth $30/hour. When she delegated those to a virtual assistant at $50/hour, she freed up time to take on three additional clients at $5,000 each. She paid $2,700/month for support and generated $15,000/month in additional revenue.

That’s how you get your time back as an entrepreneur without losing money. You invest time where your value is highest.

Strategy #2: Delegate the $50/Hour Work to Someone Who Costs $50/Hour

Once you know where your time goes, the next step to get your time back as an entrepreneur is strategic delegation.

Work that should be delegated immediately:

• Email management and inbox organization
• Calendar scheduling and coordination
• Social media content scheduling
• Data entry and CRM updates
• Client onboarding administration
• Invoice creation and payment tracking
• Travel booking and expense management
• Meeting preparation and note-taking
• Content formatting and publishing
• Newsletter creation and distribution

Why entrepreneurs resist delegating this work: “It’s faster if I just do it myself.” (True now, not true long-term) “No one can do it as well as I can.” (False, but also irrelevant) “I can’t afford help.” (You can’t afford NOT to get help)

The delegation ROI: If you’re worth $100/hour and you delegate 15 hours of $50/hour work to a virtual assistant, here’s the math:

Your time investment: 15 hours × $100 = $1,500 value VA cost: 15 hours × $50 = $750 Net gain: $750 per week = $39,000 annually

Plus: You get 15 hours of your life back to spend on revenue work, strategy, or actual rest.

At Well Balanced Business, our virtual assistants work at $50/hour and specialize in taking these operational and marketing tasks off entrepreneurs’ plates. They’re dedicated to one client, provide weekly reports, and handle both administrative and marketing functions.

Learn more about when to hire a virtual assistant to understand if you’re ready for this step.

Strategy #3: Implement the “If, Then” Decision Framework

One of the biggest time drains for entrepreneurs is constant decision-making. Every small decision requires mental energy and interrupts flow. To get your time back as an entrepreneur, reduce decision frequency.

How the “If, Then” framework works:

Instead of making decisions in the moment, create pre-made decisions for common scenarios.

Examples:

Client communication:

• If client asks a question covered in onboarding materials → Send link to materials
• If client requests a meeting → Send calendar link, don’t negotiate times back and forth
• If client asks for discount → Share payment plan options document

Content decisions:

• If it’s Monday → Post educational content
• If it’s Wednesday → Share client success story
• If it’s Friday → Post inspirational or personal content

Financial decisions:

• If expense is under $100 → Approve automatically
• If expense is $100-$500 → Review within 24 hours
• If expense is over $500 → Schedule decision meeting

The power of pre-decisions: When you create “If, Then” frameworks, you (and your team) can make decisions instantly without waiting for your approval. This is how you get your time back as an entrepreneur without becoming a bottleneck.

How to build your frameworks:

1. Notice which decisions you make repeatedly
2. Identify the criteria you use to decide
3. Document the decision rule
4. Share with your team and empower them to decide
5. Review quarterly and adjust as needed

Online business managers excel at building these decision frameworks. They analyze your business, identify decision patterns, and create systems that reduce your involvement.

Strategy #4: Batch Similar Tasks to Reduce Context Switching

Context switching is one of the most invisible time killers for entrepreneurs. Every time you switch from writing to email to client work to social media, your brain needs time to refocus. That transition time adds up fast.

To get your time back as an entrepreneur, batch similar tasks together.

How to batch effectively:

Content creation batching:

• Block 3 hours once weekly
• Write 4 blog posts or 20 social media captions
• Record multiple videos or podcasts in one session
• Hand off to VA for scheduling and distribution

Communication batching:

• Check email only twice daily (10 AM and 3 PM)
• Return messages and comments in designated windows
• Batch all meetings on two days per week
• Use async communication (Loom, voice notes) instead of live meetings

Administrative batching:

• Process invoices and expenses once weekly
• Review and approve deliverables in one block
• Handle bookkeeping on the same day each week

Strategic batching:

• Quarterly planning sessions instead of constant pivoting
• Monthly content planning instead of daily scrambling
• Weekly team meetings instead of daily check-ins

Why batching helps you get your time back as an entrepreneur: When you batch similar work, you eliminate transition time, enter deep focus faster, and complete tasks more efficiently. What took 6 hours scattered across the week takes 3 hours in one focused batch.

One entrepreneur we work with batched all her content creation into one 4-hour block on Fridays. Her virtual assistant then schedules everything for the following month. She went from spending 2 hours daily on content (10 hours weekly) to 4 hours weekly. That’s 6 hours back every single week.

Strategy #5: Build Systems That Run Without You

The ultimate way to get your time back as an entrepreneur is building business systems that function independently of your constant involvement.

Systems every entrepreneur needs:

• Client onboarding that runs automatically
• Content creation and distribution workflow
• Email management with filters and templates
• Financial tracking and reporting
• Project management with clear ownership
• Sales and lead nurturing sequences
• Team communication and reporting cadence

Why systems give you time freedom: Systems create predictability. When there’s a documented process for how things happen, you don’t need to be involved in every step. Your team executes the system, and you get your time back.

How to start building systems:

1. Pick one area that’s chaotic or time-consuming
2. Document the current process (even if it’s messy)
3. Identify what can be automated or templatized
4. Create the workflow and test it
5. Train your team to execute it
6. Review monthly and refine

We wrote an entire guide on business systems for entrepreneurs that breaks down the seven essential systems and how to build them without overwhelming yourself.

At Well Balanced Business, building and implementing systems is one of our core specialties. Our online business managers audit your operations, design custom systems, and ensure they’re executed consistently. This is how entrepreneurs working with us get 20+ hours back weekly.

Strategy #6: Hire Strategic Support, Not Just Task Help

The difference between getting a few hours back and getting your entire life back? The level of support you bring on.

Task-based support (helpful but limited):

• Virtual assistant executes specific tasks you assign
• You still manage, direct, and oversee everything
• Saves time but doesn’t remove your involvement

Strategic support (transformational):

• Online business manager owns outcomes, not just tasks
• They proactively identify problems and implement solutions
• You step back while operations run smoothly
• This is how you truly get your time back as an entrepreneur

What strategic support looks like: Instead of saying “Post this to Instagram,” you say “Manage our social media presence” and they handle strategy, creation, scheduling, and analytics.

Instead of saying “Send this invoice,” you say “Manage our financial operations” and they handle invoicing, expense tracking, and monthly reporting.

Instead of micromanaging every task, you focus on vision and growth while your team handles execution.

The ROI of strategic support: When you invest in strategic support through an online business manager or dedicated virtual assistant, you’re not just buying back hours. You’re buying back mental space, creative energy, and the freedom to actually lead your business instead of being buried in it.

Learn about the difference between virtual assistant and online business manager support to understand which level makes sense for your business stage.

How Much Time Can You Actually Get Back?

Let’s talk real numbers. How much time can you realistically get your time back as an entrepreneur?

With a virtual assistant (10-15 hours weekly):

• Email management: 5-8 hours back
• Calendar and scheduling: 2-3 hours back
• Social media and content: 4-6 hours back
• Administrative tasks: 2-4 hours back

With an online business manager (20-30 hours weekly):

• All of the above, plus:
• Project management: 5-8 hours back
• Team coordination: 3-5 hours back
• Systems building: 4-6 hours back
• Strategic planning: 3-5 hours back

Real client example:

Jessica, a consultant doing $350K annually, was working 55 hours weekly. She hired a Well Balanced Business virtual assistant for 15 hours weekly and an online business manager for 10 hours weekly.

Before support:

• 55 hours weekly working
• Stressed, exhausted, considering quitting
• Revenue plateaued at $350K
• No time for family or rest

After 6 months with strategic support:

• 30 hours weekly working (25 hours back!)
• Energized, excited, growing the business
• Revenue increased to $480K
• Takes full weekends off and went on 2 vacations

Her investment: $5,000/month in support Her return: $130K more in annual revenue + 25 hours weekly back + sustainable lifestyle

This is what it looks like to truly get your time back as an entrepreneur.

Common Mistakes When Trying to Get Your Time Back

Avoid these pitfalls that prevent entrepreneurs from reclaiming their time:

Mistake #1: Trying to do it all alone You can’t get your time back by being more efficient. You need support, systems, or both.

Mistake #2: Delegating without training Handing off tasks without clear expectations wastes time. Invest upfront in training.

Mistake #3: Staying in the weeds If you’re still approving every social media post, you haven’t truly delegated. Trust and release control.

Mistake #4: Not tracking where time goes You can’t reclaim time you can’t see. Audit first, then act.

Mistake #5: Guilt about working less Working fewer hours while making more money isn’t lazy. It’s strategic. Release the guilt.

Mistake #6: Waiting until you’re “ready” You’ll never feel 100% ready to delegate or invest in support. Start before you’re ready.

Your Action Plan to Get Your Time Back as an Entrepreneur

Ready to reclaim your time? Here’s your step-by-step plan:

This week:

• Complete a time audit (track every hour for 5 days)
• Calculate your effective hourly rate
• Identify 10-15 hours of work below your rate

Next week:

• Decide what to delegate first
• Choose whether you need VA or OBM support
• Research options or apply for Well Balanced Business support

Within 30 days:

• Bring on support and begin delegation
• Build one key system (start with email or content)
• Batch at least one category of work

Within 90 days:

• Reclaim 10-20 hours weekly
• Reinvest that time in revenue-generating work
• Enjoy the freedom you built your business to create

You don’t have to do this alone. At Well Balanced Business, we specialize in helping entrepreneurs get their time back while growing revenue. Our virtual assistants and online business managers take operational and strategic work off your plate so you can lead instead of labor.

Apply for strategic support here and let’s create a plan to get your time back without sacrificing the business you’ve worked so hard to build.

Get Your Time Back as an Entrepreneur: It’s Not Just Possible, It’s Essential

Getting your time back as an entrepreneur isn’t a luxury. It’s a necessity for sustainable business growth and a life you actually want to live.

The entrepreneurs who scale successfully aren’t the ones working the most hours. They’re the ones who build businesses that function without consuming their entire existence.

You started your business for freedom. It’s time to actually claim it.

Start with one strategy this week. Audit your time. Delegate one task. Batch your content creation. Build one system.

Each step gets you closer to the freedom you deserve. And you don’t have to figure it out alone.

Related Reading:

• When to Hire a Virtual Assistant: 7 Signs Your Business Is Ready
• Virtual Assistant vs Online Business Manager: Which Does Your Business Need?
• How to Delegate When You’re a Control-Freak Entrepreneur
• Business Systems Every Entrepreneur Needs to Scale