You’re Not Overworked — You’re Doing the Wrong Work

Female emPOWERED Podcast with Christa Gurka

If you feel exhausted, behind, and busy all day but somehow not moving forward, this episode is for you.

In this episode of the Female emPOWERED Podcast, Christa Gurka breaks down the real reason so many boutique fitness, Pilates, and private-pay PT owners feel burned out — and it’s not because you’re lazy, bad at business, or not working hard enough.

You’re overworked because you’re doing work that no longer belongs to you.

This episode is a mindset shift and a practical wake-up call for owner-operators who are stuck in the weeds, micromanaging their teams, avoiding delegation, and confusing “busy” with actual progress.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• Why working harder isn’t the answer — and why working higher is
• The difference between operator work vs. true CEO work
• How micromanaging your team is quietly stalling your growth
• Why avoiding delegation trains your team not to think
• The hidden cost of being the bottleneck in your own business
• How “fake CEO work” (busywork) keeps you stuck
• Where boutique fitness and PT owners waste the most energy
• Why systems, structure, and financial clarity matter more than motivation
• The 5 core responsibilities of a CEO in a boutique service business
• How to reclaim 5–10 hours a week without working longer days

The 5 Core Responsibilities of a True CEO:

If you’re working outside of these five areas most of the time, that’s why you feel busy but not productive:

1. Vision & Direction – Where the business is going and why
2. Financial Oversight – Understanding revenue, profit, capacity, and pricing
3. Leadership – Right people, right seats, clear expectations
4. Systems & Structure – Designing processes (not running them)
5. Strategic Growth Decisions – When to hire, expand, cut, or say no

Answering emails, fixing schedule issues, running the front desk, and rescuing staff are not CEO work.

If This Sounds Like You…

• You’re still client-facing more than 50% of the time
• You approve every decision
• Staff come to you instead of following systems
• You “just do it yourself because it’s faster”
• You’re busy all day but unsure what actually moved the needle

…this episode will hit home.

Key Takeaway:

You don’t need another planner, another framework, or more hustle.

You need intentional structure, clearer delegation, and the courage to step out of the minutiae and into leadership — on purpose.

You don’t need to work harder.
 You need to work higher.

🎧 Listen now and start auditing where your time, energy, and focus are actually going — and what needs to change so your business can grow without burning you out.

If you want help reclaiming your time, building systems, and becoming the CEO your business actually needs, this episode is your first step.