Summary5 min read

F.I.R.E.D UP with Krista Mashore

Episode 965 — The Number One Mistake Why Your Business Is Not Scaling!

September 16, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Krista Mashore tackles the most common reason entrepreneurs struggle to grow their businesses: maintaining an "employee mindset" instead of thinking and acting as a CEO. Krista candidly shares her own experiences, the traps business owners fall into, and lays out a clear path for making the necessary mental and operational shifts to actively scale a business. The tone is direct, motivational, and action-oriented, with a focus on practical changes any entrepreneur can make to break free from stagnation.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Spotting the Stagnation Trap

Timestamp: 00:00–01:03

Many entrepreneurs work hard yet notice their income and business size plateauing year after year.
The host asserts that the reason isn’t necessarily effort, but mindset: “The number one mistake is why your business is not scaling… If you’ve been working your butt off but your revenue has plateaued… this video is going to be for you.” (Krista, 00:00)

2. Employee vs. CEO Mindset

Timestamp: 01:03–05:40

Employee Mindset:
- Focus on day-to-day tasks, fulfillment, and client work.
- Belief that only you can “do it right,” leading to reluctance to delegate.
- Fear of investing in help or tools, viewing them as expenses not investments.
CEO Mindset:
- Shift focus to high-level, growth-oriented activities.
- Build systems and processes so the business operates without you.
- Delegate tasks, elevate yourself to strategy and business development.
- "When you shift to a CEO mindset, everything starts to change. You focus on revenue generating activities… you build systems and processes… and you delegate and elevate." (Krista, 02:40)

3. Example: Investments vs. Expenses

Timestamp: 03:10–04:10

Krista shares a real-life example: Her CFO suggests cutting costs after a low-profit month, but Krista identifies the increased spending (new sales manager, dialer software) as investments that will drive future growth.
Notable Quote: “I said to her, hey, these aren't really expenses, these are investments because this is going to build the company money. And sometimes things have to go down before they can go up.” (Krista, 03:55)

4. The High Cost of the Employee Mindset

Timestamp: 04:10–06:10

Working in the business, not on it, caps your earnings—there are only so many hours in a day.
The business becomes dependent on your presence; if you’re absent, income halts.
Opportunity cost: doing $15/hour work means missing out on $500/hour growth opportunities.
"Your business only depends upon you entirely. If you get sick, or you go on vacation, or you want to take a break, your income stops. That is not a business. That's a job that you created for yourself." (Krista, 05:35)

5. Krista’s Personal Story

Timestamp: 05:45–06:30

Krista admits she used to do everything herself and saw no growth until she made the CEO shift.
"I learned this lesson the hard way in my early years. I was doing everything… And you know what? My business stayed exactly the same size for a while." (Krista, 06:00)

6. The Five-Step Shift from Employee to CEO

Timestamp: 06:35–10:15

Step 1: Identify Your Highest Value Activities

Make a list of all tasks, assign a dollar value, and identify what truly moves the business forward.
“Like for me, my highest level thing… is creating content, doing training videos and being face to face with people. It’s not doing things like answering emails.” (Krista, 07:10)

Step 2: Track Your Time

Spend at least one week meticulously tracking where your time goes.
Realization often follows: much time is spent on low-value tasks.

Step 3: Calculate the Real Cost of Doing Everything Yourself

If you want a high annual income, your hourly rate is significant—don’t spend it on tasks others can do for less.
“Are you really going to spend that $250 per hour on doing data entry or responding to basic customer service emails… The math just doesn’t add up.” (Krista, 08:05)

Step 4: Start Small with Delegation

Outsource one area first, such as graphic design or customer service, to get comfortable with releasing control.

Step 5: Reinvest Freed Time in Growth

Fill your newly available hours with business development, content creation, and strategy.
“As you free up time from low value tasks, immediately reinvest that time in high value activities.” (Krista, 09:35)

7. Final Encouragement & Event Invitation

Timestamp: 10:15–End

Krista urges listeners to rewatch the episode, write down the steps, and honestly evaluate their current mindset.
Mentions ongoing free three-day business events covering sales, marketing, lead generation, and fulfillment.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

"There’s a massive difference between owning a business and actually running it like a CEO. When you’re acting like an employee in your own business, you’re focused on doing the work. When you’re actually like a CEO, you’re focused on growing the business." — Krista (01:15)
"Be careful that while you’re doing the busy work a $15 an hour employee can do, you’re missing out on the $500 an hour opportunity that can explode your business." — Krista (05:10)
"If there’s anything else that I’m doing that does not involve that [my superpower], I should not be doing it, and you need to know what that is for you." — Krista (07:20)
"The math just doesn’t add up." — Krista (08:05)

Important Timestamps

[00:00] — Addressing the scaling problem and the episode’s core purpose
[01:03] — Krista’s background and framing the CEO vs. employee mindset
[03:10] — Investments vs. expenses in business growth
[05:35] — The real costs of an employee mindset
[06:35] — The five key steps to shifting your mindset and business
[10:15] — Invitation to upcoming events and episode conclusion

This episode delivers a powerful, no-nonsense blueprint for every entrepreneur feeling stuck. Krista Mashore breaks down the mental shift from worker to strategist and offers a step-by-step approach to scaling beyond self-imposed limits. The blend of tough love, real anecdotes, and actionable advice makes it essential listening—and reading—for anyone serious about growing their business.

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Transcript3 lines

[00:00]
A
The number one mistake is why your business is not scaling. And I see this all the time with entrepreneurs who are stuck at the same income level year after year. If you've been working your butt off but your revenue has plateaued, if you feel like you're constantly busy but you're not seeing the growth that you want, or you're wondering why the businesses and experts and consultants explode while you're still seeing the same size, this video is going to be for you. Let's get you fired up.
[00:25]
B
Financially independent, retire early. If you're a small business, professional or entrepreneur and you're looking for a way to stand out amongst your competition, then this is the podcast for you. We focus on relevant digital marketing strategies and tools to help you stand out in your industry and become the market leader in your profession. Hey, we don't hold back on this podcast. We say it like it is. And sometimes you may not like what you're hearing, but I guarantee you, you'll know the information given is truly what you need to do to take your business to the next level. So hang tight because you're about to be fired up with me, Krista Mesher.
[01:03]
A
I'm Krist and I have brought an online business from zero to just under $70 million the time of this video. And I started with no list. Nobody knew me. I was a local person where I had great notoriety, but not nationally. And I've built my authority using this exact system. So what is the number one mistake? Well, it's this. You're still treating your business like an employee, like you're an employee, instead of acting like you're a CEO. Now, I know what you might be thinking, but Krista, I am the CEO. It's my business. But hear me out. Here's why. Because there's a massive difference between owning a business and actually running it like a CEO. When you're acting like an employee in your own business, you're focused on doing the work. When you're actually like a CEO, you're focused on growing the business. And that distinction is everything when it comes to scaling. So let me break this down for you. When you have an employee mindset in your own business, here's what happens. You're trading your time for money. You're the one that's doing all the client work, all the fulfillment and all the customer service. And if you don't work, you don't make money. You're working in your business, not on it. You're so busy handling the day to day tasks that you Never actually step back to work on strategy, systems and growth. You think you're the only one who can actually do it right? Like that's what you think. You believe it if you want something done correctly that you have to do it yourself. You're afraid to invest in help. You think that maybe hiring people or investing in tools is an expense rather than an investment in your growth. But when you shift to a CEO mindset, everything starts to change. You focus on revenue generating activities, you spend your time on things that actually move the needle in your business and you build systems and processes. You create repeatable processes that can run without you and you delegate and elevate. You hand off tasks to others so that you can focus on higher level strategies. You invest in growth and you see spending money on the right people and tools as investments that's going to multiply your returns. Let me give you an example. Today I was going over my P and L with my CFO and she says, Kristen, we've got to cut down on some of these expenses. Like we didn't make as much, you know, profit this month. And I says, well, hold on, let's take a look. Well, we just hired a brand new sales manager. We just invested in an a new dialer. So I said to her, hey, these aren't really expensive, these expenses, these are investments because this is going to build the company money. And sometimes things have to go down before they can go up. I know that investing in a sales manager and who's going to train a team to reach out to leads that have never been contacted, I don't see that as an expense. I see that as an investment. And that's the way that you have to think too. So this is what this employee mindset is really costing you. And I want you to think about this like, seriously, you're in canvas, capped. If you're doing everything yourself, you can only make as much as the hours that you can actually work. There are only 24 hours in a day and you have to sleep, right? So you cannot scale your time. You'll get burnt out, Right? Right now you're working more hours, but you're not seeing proportional growth in your income because you're like on a transfer wheel. Your business only depends upon you entirely. If you get sick or you go on vacation or you want to take a break, your income stops. That is not a business. That's a job that you created for yourself. So you're missing opportunities. Be careful that while you're doing the busy work, a $15 an hour employee can do. You're missing out on the $500 an hour opportunity that can explode your business. I learned this lesson the hard way in my early years. I was doing everything. I was answering every email, handling every client personally. I was doing like my own bookkeeping. I was doing it all. And you know what? My business stayed exactly the same size for a while. And it wasn't until I made the mental shift from employee to CEO that everything finally changed. So how do you make this shift? Here are the key steps. Number one, you've got to identify your highest value activities. Make a list of everything that you do in your business and assign each task a dollar value. What activities are actually generating revenue? What activities only you can do? Those are your CEO activities. Like for example, for me, my highest level thing that I could be doing is creating content, doing training videos and being face to face with people. It's not doing things like answering emails, it's creating content. Right? Teaching and coaching content and high education. That is my superpower. And I know that night of that when I do those things, the company makes the most amount of. So if there's anything else that I'm, that I'm doing that does not involve that I should not be doing it, and you need to know what that is for you. Those are CEO activities. Everything else needs to be delegated or eliminated. The second thing is you need to start tracking your time for at least one week. Track. Track how you spend every minute of your time and I guarantee you that you're going to be shocked at how much time you actually spend on low value activities that someone else could be doing for a fraction of what your time is worth. The third thing is calculate the cost of doing everything yourself. If your goal is to make $500,000 a year, that's roughly $250 per hour. Are you really going to spend that $250 per hour on doing data entry or responding to basic customer service emails or doing social media posts that somebody else can do? The math just doesn't add up. And then step four is to start small with delegation. You don't have to hire a full team overnight. Start by outsourcing one task. Maybe it's graphic design, maybe it's a social media management, maybe it's a customer service answering phones. Get comfortable with letting go of control in small areas first. That'll help you. And step five, reinvest your time in growth activities. As you free up time from low value tasks, immediately reinvest that time in high value activities. Strategy, business development, relationship building, creating new streams of income. When you do those five things that's going to be turn your business from employee to CEO. Go back and rewatch this, write it down and really truthfully be honest with yourself. So hope that was helpful. If you found this video helpful, make sure you subscribe so you're notified when more content comes out. And then I have a three day event every single month. We go over everything from the whole entire sales cycle from marketing, lead generation, lead nurture, conversion, and even fulfillment and delivery. So if you are somebody who's looking for that, just look down in the comments and you can sign up and show up for our next free event. I'm Kristen Mesher. Appreciate your time. Be sure to watch next video and I'll see you soon.