Most small business owners fear delegation. It's hard to let go and trust someone else with your business and customers. You're full of excuses on why you can't delegate one thing or another.

Delegation doesn't have to be hard. In fact, it can be a relief. And it can help your business grow by freeing you up to, as Michael Gerber put it, work on your business, not in it.

But it takes a plan to be successful. You wouldn't start a business without a plan, and you shouldn't delegate parts of it without one either. Here are seven steps to making sure delegating to your first employee results in success.
1. Make a list of your key daily responsibilities
2. Determine what only you can do
3. Determine the key strengths of your employee
4. Train and document
5. Set clear expectations for success
6. Let go, but do check in
7. Leave room for failure, as long as they learn