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.