Stop Being an Employee in Your Own Business – Here’s How

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3 Ways to Escape the 'Employee Trap' and Start Thinking Like a CEO

If you feel like you’ve built yourself a job instead of a business — you’re not alone.

Most entrepreneurs start out with big dreams of financial freedom and flexible schedules. But fast-forward a few years, and you might find yourself drowning in day-to-day tasks — answering emails, fixing customer issues, chasing invoices — wondering how you got here.

It’s easy to get stuck in the weeds of your business. But you didn’t start a business to work more — you started it to create freedom. If you want to stop being an employee in your own business and start leading it like a CEO, you need to step out of the daily grind and focus on the big picture.

Here’s how to make that shift — with actionable steps you can start today.

1. Stop Working on $1 and $2 Tasks — Focus on What Matters

The Problem:

You’re spending way too much time on low-value tasks.

Scheduling social media posts, replying to routine customer service emails, managing calendars — these are $1 and $2 tasks. They keep the business running, but they don’t drive growth. Worse, they drain your energy and attention from the work that actually builds wealth and scales the business.

Think about it, if you’re stuck updating spreadsheets or troubleshooting customer issues, who’s thinking about the next growth opportunity?

The Potential:

High-performing CEOs focus on strategy, growth, and leadership — not admin work. When you step away from these low-value tasks, you create space to focus on higher-value work like securing partnerships, improving your product, and exploring new revenue streams.

Action Step:

• To a time audit. Set a 15 minute timer and everytime it goes off, write down what you did in the last 15 minutes — no filter.

• Next to each task, label it with a $, $$, $$$, or $$$$ sign. Think of these like how Google ranks the affordability of restaurants. $ is fast food whereas $$$$ is fine dining:

• Now decide if the task you performed gave you energy, was neutral, or took energy from you by highlighting it Green, Yellow, or Red.

• Take action - When there is a $ or $$ task that takes energy away from you…delegate those first. Then the low-level tasks that are natural and so on.

Example: If you’re spending 2 hours a week scheduling social media posts, hire a virtual assistant or use a scheduling tool like Buffer or Later to automate it.

2. Evaluate Processes — Keep What Works, Cut What Doesn’t

The Problem: