Bloomberg reports that Kevin Hart's media company Heartbeat is shrinking fast, with layoffs and stalled projects — bad news for its staff and a warning about star-run businesses.

• Heartbeat has gone through multiple rounds of cuts, firing about a quarter of its staff before Thanksgiving, plus more workers tied to podcasts and scripted TV.
• The trouble grew after Hart's January deal with Authentic Brands Group, which gave him money to buy out his private equity partners and handed his endorsement business to Authentic.
• Hart reportedly stepped back from daily operations to focus on movies, and changed his phone number after the layoffs to make himself less reachable.
• This looks like a repeat: he reportedly did the same disappearing act after an earlier restaurant went bankrupt.
• The lesson pushed here: talented performers like Hart should own a slice of a business and let real operators run it — the way The Rock, LeBron James, and Logan Paul's Prime drink do.

Outlook: Heartbeat looks set to keep shrinking, and Hart is likely to lean back toward films while others handle the fallout.