Take a Load Off Weighed down by a ton of duties? Maybe it's time to outsource some of that work.

During the startup phase, you wear every hat under thesun-you're president, marketing manager, maintenance crew andaccountant. As your company grows, you'll have to delegate andoutsource some of those jobs, but how do you decide when it'scost-effective to outsource some of your daily tasks?

There's no exact equation to determine the right time, saysJeff Bolton, a partner at Daszkal Bolton LLP, an accounting firm in BocaRaton, Florida. "Before [an entrepreneur] is willing toanalyze what to outsource, they need to analyze what they do best,and how much time they spend on what they do best," he says."If somebody's an outstanding technician or salesperson orcreative person, we want them to spend the most amount of time inthose areas."

It's sort of the reverse way to look at outsourcing, saysBolton, but it's key in determining the value of your time as abusiness owner. "[What if] every time you stand up to bat in asituation in your highest core competency, [you] hit it out of thepark?" asks Bolton. "What would happen to your businessif you were up to bat more often?" Two hours spent bookkeepingper day could be outsourced, giving you more time to exercisewhichever skill would bring in more revenue to your company, saysBolton. Perhaps you could make sales calls or form new strategicpartnerships for the amount of time equal to that administrativetask.

When to stop doing those time-consuming tasks is a decisionyou've got to make for yourself. "I don't thinkthere's an equation past the logical," Bolton says."I view it as the highest and best use, as opposed to 'CanI do it cheaper internally or externally?'" For instance,you may be technically saving money by doing payroll servicesyourself, but when you consider the revenue you missed out onduring those 10 hours per week, you'll end up behind."It's not a pure mathematical decision," notesBolton. "It's an opportunity cost."