Two people told Krysta her businesses weren't scalable. The first time, it lit a fire. The second time, it confirmed everything she already knew about building something different. In this episode, we pull back the curtain on the launch of The Spread, Krysta's new marketing agency, and why the businesses that refuse to automate human connection are the ones that will win in an AI-saturated world.
In this episode we dive into:
• Why "not scalable" might be the best business advice you never asked for
• The journalism skills that accidentally built two businesses
• How to define success on your terms instead of outsourcing it to someone else's metrics
• The specific ways AI should enhance your creativity, not replace your perspective
The Permission to Build Differently
• You're being told your industry is too saturated, which actually means you have the opportunity to stand out by doing things your way
• The obsession with automation and lean teams is making everyone sound exactly the same
• When advisors say "not scalable," they often mean "doesn't fit my definition of success"
• The clients who stay for three years, the brides who come back pregnant, the former clients still using your frameworks five years later—that's the real measure of quality
From Broadcast Journalism to Business Owner
• The 18-year-old who showed up to college with her major already declared had no idea her interviewing skills would become her marketing superpower
• Every industry expert she interviewed was giving her an education in something new, teaching her to learn quickly and find the story in everything
• The corporate banking job that felt suffocating led to managing a gym at 23, which led to complete burnout, which led to understanding exactly what it takes to run a business
• COVID forced fitness coaches online and suddenly everyone needed the skills she'd been building since college—shooting on camera, editing, telling stories that connect
Structure That Gives You Freedom
• The same way meal planning creates space for spontaneity with food, content systems create space for genuine human connection
• You didn't build your business to spend hours writing captions and chasing trends—you built it to do the actual work with clients
• The Spread exists because the part of business that takes the most time (talking about what you do) isn't the reason you started in the first place
• Using AI tools to appear on multiple platforms without extra work means intentionally repurposing content while keeping your actual voice intact
This conversation reminds us that you can't automate connection. Whether you're building a business that everyone says won't scale or trying to lose body fat without following the same plan as everyone else, this episode offers permission to define success based on what actually matters to you—not what the internet says should matter.
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