The True ROI of Executive Support: Calculate What Your Time Is Really Worth

In the fast-paced world of business leadership, time is the ultimate non-renewable resource. Yet many entrepreneurs and executives hesitate to invest in executive support, viewing it as an expense rather than an investment. 

This perspective overlooks a crucial question: What is your time worth?

At MySigrid, we've helped countless business leaders transform their productivity by quantifying the true value of their time and strategically reallocating it. 

In this article, we'll walk you through a practical framework to calculate your own time's value and determine the real return on investment (ROI) that proper executive support can deliver.

Table of Contents

• The Hidden Math Behind Executive Support
• How to Calculate Your Hourly Value 
• The Time Audit: Where Is Your Value Being Wasted?
• The Executive Support ROI Calculator
• Beyond the Numbers: The Qualitative ROI
• Common Concerns and Objections
• Making the Transition: From Calculation to Action
• Is Executive Support Right For You?

The Hidden Math Behind Executive Support

The decision to hire executive support often comes down to simple arithmetic: does the value they create exceed their cost? However, many leaders miscalculate by focusing only on direct cost savings rather than the complete ROI equation.

The true calculation must include:

1. The monetary value of your time
2. The opportunity cost of tasks that consume your schedule
3. The quality improvement from dedicated expertise
4. The revenue impact of refocused strategic work

When all factors are considered, executive support routinely delivers returns of 2-5x the investment—sometimes considerably more for high-value executives.

How to Calculate Your Hourly Value

Before you can determine if executive support makes financial sense, you need to understand what your time is truly worth. Here's a step-by-step framework:

Method 1: The Income-Based Approach

This straightforward calculation provides a baseline value:

1. Take your annual income (including salary, bonuses, and benefits)
2. Divide by your actual working hours per year (typically 1,800-2,000 hours)

For example, an executive earning $250,000 annually who works approximately 50 hours per week (2,400 hours per year) has a baseline hourly value of $104.

However, this method only captures your cost to the company, not the value you create—which is typically much higher.

Method 2: The Value Creation Approach

This more sophisticated calculation considers the actual business impact of your work:

1. Estimate the revenue you're directly responsible for influencing annually
2. Apply a conservative attribution percentage (10-30% depending on your role)
3. Divide by your actual working hours per year

For a founder or senior executive who influences $5 million in annual revenue with a 20% attribution, the hourly value becomes:

• $5,000,000 × 20% = $1,000,000
• $1,000,000 ÷ 2,400 hours = $417 per hour

This represents a more accurate picture of your time's true worth to the business.

Method 3: The Opportunity Cost Approach

Perhaps the most powerful calculation considers what you're not doing when preoccupied with administrative tasks:

1. Identify your highest-value activities (e.g., client meetings, strategic planning, business development)
2. Estimate the potential revenue generated per hour of these activities
3. Compare with time spent on lower-value tasks that could be delegated

For example, if an hour spent on business development typically leads to $1,500 in new business, but you're spending that hour on email management instead, the opportunity cost is $1,500 per hour.

The Time Audit: Where Is Your Value Being Wasted?

To identify the highest-leverage delegation opportunities, conduct a time audit:

1. Track your activities for two typical weeks, categorizing each task
2. Assign an hourly value to each category based on your calculations above
3. Identify low-value activities that consume significant time
4. Calculate the delegation value for each task category

Our clients often discover that 30-40% of their time is spent on tasks that could be effectively delegated, freeing 15-20 hours weekly for high-impact work.

The Executive Support ROI Calculator

Now let's put everything together with practical examples based on MySigrid's subscription plans:

Scenario 1: Growth Plan

Executive Profile:

• Annual income: $300,000
• Value creation hourly rate: $500
• Current hours worked weekly: 60
• Hours spent on administrative tasks: 15

Executive Assistant Investment:

• Monthly cost: $1,500 (MySigrid Growth Plan - 60 hours/month)
• Tasks delegated: Calendar management, email triage, travel arrangements, expense reports, research, basic reporting

Monthly ROI Calculation:

• Hours freed: 15 hours/week × 4 weeks = 60 hours/month
• Value of reclaimed time: 60 hours × $500 = $30,000
• Return on investment: $30,000 ÷ $1,500 = 20x ROI

This calculation shows a 2,000% return on the investment in executive support—and that's before considering quality improvements, decreased stress, and enhanced work-life integration.

Scenario 2: Startup Plan

Entrepreneur Profile:

• Annual income: $180,000
• Value creation hourly rate: $250
• Current hours worked weekly: 55
• Hours spent on administrative tasks: 10

Executive Assistant Investment:

• Monthly cost: $850 (MySigrid Startup Plan - 30 hours/month)
• Tasks delegated: Email management, scheduling, research, basic client communications

Monthly ROI Calculation:

• Hours freed: 7.5 hours/week × 4 weeks = 30 hours/month
• Value of reclaimed time: 30 hours × $250 = $7,500
• Return on investment: $7,500 ÷ $850 = 8.8x ROI

Even with a more modest value calculation, the ROI remains compelling at nearly 900% return on investment.

Scenario 3: Personal Plan

Solopreneur Profile:

• Annual income: $120,000
• Value creation hourly rate: $150
• Current hours worked weekly: 50
• Hours spent on administrative tasks: 8

Executive Assistant Investment:

• Monthly cost: $450 (MySigrid Personal Plan - 15 hours/month)
• Tasks delegated: Calendar management, email triage, basic research

Monthly ROI Calculation:

• Hours freed: 4 hours/week × 4 weeks = 16 hours/month (slightly more than plan coverage)
• Value of reclaimed time: 16 hours × $150 = $2,400
• Return on investment: $2,400 ÷ $450 = 5.3x ROI

Even at the entry-level plan, the return on investment exceeds 500%, demonstrating that executive support makes financial sense at various business stages.

Beyond the Numbers: The Qualitative ROI

While the financial analysis makes a compelling case, the full ROI extends beyond calculable metrics:

For Business Growth:

• Increased strategic focus and planning
• More time for client relationships and business development
• Enhanced decision quality due to better-researched information
• Improved execution of key initiatives

For Personal Well-being:

• Reduced stress and cognitive load
• Better work-life integration
• Decreased decision fatigue
• Improved presence and focus during important activities

For Team Performance:

• More consistent communication
• Better preparation for meetings and presentations
• Enhanced alignment across the organization
• Improved responsiveness to opportunities and challenges

Common Concerns and Objections

Many executives hesitate to invest in support despite the compelling ROI. Let's address the most common objections:

"I can't afford it"
This perspective usually ignores opportunity cost. If your time is worth $300+ per hour and you're performing $25/hour tasks, you're already paying—just in a less visible way.

"Nobody can do these tasks as well as I can"
While you might excel at these tasks, the question isn't whether someone can do them exactly as you would—it's whether they can be done adequately while you focus on work only you can do.

"I don't want to lose touch with the details"
Effective delegation doesn't mean disconnection. A good executive assistant keeps you informed without requiring your direct involvement in every process.

"I don't have time to train someone"
The initial time investment in onboarding support is quickly repaid. Modern services like MySigrid minimize this investment with proven systems and pre-trained professionals.

Making the Transition: From Calculation to Action

If the ROI analysis shows that executive support makes financial sense, here are the next steps to implement this insight:

Is Executive Support Right For You?

The ROI framework we've outlined provides a clear decision-making tool. If your calculations show a positive return, the decision becomes straightforward from a financial perspective.

For most executives and entrepreneurs leading growing businesses, the math is compelling: professional executive support doesn't cost money—it makes money by unlocking your highest-value contributions.

Finding Your Ideal Support Level

MySigrid offers multiple subscription plans designed to match your needs at different business stages:

• Personal Plan ($450/month): Ideal for solopreneurs and professionals needing 15 hours of monthly support for core administrative tasks.
• Startup Plan ($850/month): Perfect for growing businesses requiring 30 hours of monthly support with multiple user access.
• Growth Plan ($1,500/month): Designed for established businesses needing 60 hours of dedicated monthly support.
• Enterprise Plan ($2,400/month): Comprehensive solution providing 120 hours of monthly support with unlimited users.

The right plan depends not just on your budget, but on your time value calculation and the opportunity cost of your current task allocation.

Ready to discover the true ROI potential of executive support for your specific situation? Schedule a consultation with our team to receive a personalized value assessment and explore how strategic delegation could transform your productivity and work-life integration.