I Fired Myself (And You Should Too)

Is your dream business starting to feel like a never-ending to-do list? Are you drowning in emails, scrambling with admin work, and quietly questioning if you just traded one job for another—except now, you’re both the boss and the overworked employee? If this sounds familiar, Kristy Yoder’s candid solo episode of the Lazy Entrepreneur Podcast, titled “Fired Myself,” will feel like a breath of fresh air.

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In this episode, Kristy unpacks one of entrepreneurship’s biggest secrets to growth and sanity: firing yourself from all the jobs that aren’t really yours.

Let’s dive into the core lessons, actionable tips, and mindset shifts Kristy shared—so you can reclaim your time, empower your team, and finally lead your business like a true CEO.

The Burnout Trap: When Your Business Revolves Around You

Kristy’s story is strikingly relatable. Early in her entrepreneurial journey, she found herself hating Mondays, not for lack of passion, but because every week felt like Groundhog Day: overflowed inboxes, endless social media tasks, payroll, organizing lists, and much more—all in her pajamas, wondering if she’d just built herself another job.

Did I quit my job just to create another one for myself?”

The wake-up call? She realized she had unintentionally become the biggest bottleneck in her business. Every decision, approval, and task ran through her. The result was exhaustion, loss of flexibility, and the sinking realization that her company could not run without her direct involvement.

If you’re the only one who knows how to run your business, you don’t truly have a business—you have a job with “a really needy boss” (spoiler: it’s you).

The Consequences of Holding On

Many entrepreneurs wear their busyness or burnout as a badge of honor. Kristy explained how easy it is to think that if you’re not doing everything, you’re not succeeding. The truth? This path leads straight to burnout and fragility.

The minute you get sick, go on vacation, or heaven forbid, take a nap, everything falls apart. That’s not freedom, that’s fragility.”

A business that relies solely on its founder isn’t built for scale, resilience, or real freedom. You’ll never reclaim your life if you’re essential for every task.

True entrepreneurial success is building a system that operates without your constant presence. Otherwise, you’re just babysitting your own creation.

Redefining Your CEO Role

So, what should your role as CEO actually look like? Kristy lays it out:

- Setting the vision

- Creating strategy

- Building the right team

- Forging partnerships

- Making high-level decisions

The point is simple: Stop working in your business and start working on it. That’s where real growth, innovation, and leadership happen. When you stop micromanaging and start delegating, you open the door to scale, creativity, and—importantly—a life outside of work.

Your job isn’t to do everything. It’s to lead the business, build the right team, and drive strategy.

What You Should Stop Doing—Right Now

Let’s get real: certain tasks should never make it onto your to-do list as a CEO. Kristy’s advice is crystal clear:

- Sending onboarding emails: Delegate or automate.

- Designing Instagram posts: Fun, but a “time sucker.”

- Manual follow-ups on invoices: Delegate or use software.

- Adding tasks to the project management tool: Assign to a project manager or executive assistant.

- Posting to stories daily: Preschedule or outsource.

You should not be the one to send client onboarding emails... That is something you can delegate or automate.”

Holding onto these tasks isn’t noble—it’s simply unsustainable.

Stop believing you’re the only one who can do things the “right” way. Let go and empower your team (or tools) to handle the day-to-day.

The Lightbulb Moment: Making the List

Kristy’s breakthrough came after a simple but powerful exercise. Overwhelmed by doing everything (even onboarding a new team member, editing sales pages, and learning a new software at the same time), she hit a breaking point.

Her solution? She sat down and listed everything she was still doing—especially tasks she disliked. This “brain dump” became a roadmap to systematically delegate her way out of day-to-day operational overwhelm.

Awareness is the first step to change. Write down every task on your plate to see what truly* needs your attention—and what you can hand off.*

Kristy’s 5-Step Process for "Firing Yourself"

Want to follow in Kristy’s footsteps? Here’s her actionable process for getting out of your own way, one task at a time:

Brain Dump Everything

Write out every single task you do each week. Include both major responsibilities and tiny, time-sucking chores.

Categorize by Value

Assign a value to each task. Is it a $10/hr, $15/hr, $100/hr, or $1,000/hr job? Focus on keeping tasks that truly require your expertise or relationship capital (strategy, partnership, high-value networking), and look to delegate or automate the rest.

Create Simple SOPs

Record step-by-step instructions—Kristy loves using Loom video—so someone else can do the task with minimal training or follow-up.

Delegate One to Two Tasks Per Week

Don’t try to offload everything at once! Start small, with the most draining or dreaded jobs. Give clear feedback and allow your team to grow into their roles.

Trust the Process

Perfection isn’t the goal. Mistakes are part of growth—don’t snatch back tasks when it gets tough. Let your team (and your systems) adapt and improve.

Perfectionism is the enemy of freedom. Remember, done is better than done by you.”

Systematic delegation is an ongoing process. It’s less about quick relief and more about building a resilient, scalable company.

Overcoming the Fear: “But What If...?”

Worried your team will mess up? Scared your clients expect direct involvement from you? Kristy understands—you’re not alone:

If you don’t trust your team to do it 80% as well as you, then you’ve either hired the wrong people or you haven’t trained them well.”

Remember: your clients care about their results, not about hearing from you for every small update. And if your brand is well documented, your team can represent you well.

Letting go feels vulnerable, but clinging to control holds your business back.

Train well, communicate expectations, and accept “good enough” over burnout. Freedom and scale only come when you let go of perfectionism.

The Results: Growth, Freedom, and Flourishing

What happens when you finally step out of the day-to-day?

- Kristy reclaimed time for new offers and strategic growth.

- Her team grew in capability and leadership.

- She enjoyed weekends again.

- She had bandwidth to create her podcast and share more value.

The best part—the business didn’t fall apart. It flourished.”

Delegation isn’t just about reducing your workload—it’s the catalyst for unlocking growth, innovation, and freedom.

Your Challenge: Start Delegating Today

Want to embrace the Lazy Entrepreneur philosophy? Kristy’s practical challenge is a great starting point:

1. Choose one task you shouldn’t be doing.

2. Record yourself doing it (Loom works great).

3. Delegate or automate the task.

4. Resist the urge to take it back for 7 days.

5. Review the outcome and celebrate your progress.

Share your journey with Kristy on Instagram (@kristyyoder), and join a community of CEOs stepping into true leadership.

Progress starts with a single step. Even delegating one task per week builds the muscle and confidence you need to truly fire yourself from the grind.