Buy Back Your Time
by Dan Martell · 2023
Hire to buy back hours, not to grow headcount. A delegation system for drowning founders.
Worth reading? Buy Back Your Time is the most actionable delegation system for founders who still do their own admin. It beats The E-Myth on the how of buying back hours but skips the why of building systems. If you can't sign off on hires, this book is a spectator sport.
| Author | Dan Martell |
|---|---|
| Published | 2023 |
| Category | Business & Money |
The Verdict
The buyback principle is simple: audit your calendar, price every task, and delegate everything below your buyback rate, starting with an executive assistant. Martell’s playbooks (inbox, calendar, camcorder method) are specific enough to use this week. Padded in places, but the system underneath is solid.
founders and operators doing $10/hour tasks with $500/hour potential
you're an employee without hiring authority (most tactics assume you control budget)
Book Summary
Martell's core move is to price your hour, then pay someone cheaper to do everything below that line. You don't hire to grow; you hire to free your calendar for the work only you can do. The book runs on a simple audit: log a week, rank tasks by dollar value, and outsource the bottom. The scripts and SOP templates are secondary to the mindset that your attention, not your time, is the scarce resource.
Top 6 Lessons from Buy Back Your Time
- Audit one week of tasks and rank them by the dollar value of your time.
- Hire to remove $10/hour work, not to scale headcount.
- Write SOPs so a stranger could do the job in your absence.
- Your calendar, not your to-do list, is the real constraint.
- Buy back time before you buy back status or comfort.
- Delegate outcomes, not just tasks, once trust is built.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Buy Back Your Time worth reading?
Yes if you run a company and still do your own bookkeeping. Skip it if someone else controls your hiring budget.
What is the main idea of Buy Back Your Time?
Put a dollar value on your hour, then pay people less than that to do everything beneath the line so you keep the high-value work.
How long does it take to read Buy Back Your Time?
The edition runs around 250 pages; budget roughly 4 to 5 hours.
Who should read Buy Back Your Time?
Founders and operators doing $10/hour tasks with $500/hour potential. Employees without hiring authority get little they can act on.
Ready to read it?
Get Buy Back Your Time on Amazon
