AI Summary
5 min readJack Fricks makes $40,000 a month as a solopreneur, but his work schedule is anything but consistent. Some weeks he works an hour or two a day; other weeks, like when he launches a new product, he puts in ten-hour days and forgets lunch. The variability is the point. “Every week that I work is really completely different,” he says, “and it's kind of the whole reason why I got into being a founder is so I can choose to do that whenever I want.”
The Morning Anchor: Customer Support First
Fricks’s day starts between 7 and 8 a.m., depending on the previous day. After brushing his teeth, working out, showering, and making coffee, he does the same thing every morning: customer support. He does it first not because he loves it, but because it is his least favorite task. “It's hard for me to like ignore an email once I see it,” he explains. But he also believes it is the most important thing he does. Responding quickly to paying customers makes them happier and helps him fix problems faster, which in turn improves his products and retains users. By tackling the hardest, most important work immediately, he prevents it from hanging over the rest of his day.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:00) **Introduction: The Variable-Work-Week Solopreneur** - Jack Fricks introduces himself as someone making $40K/month as a solopreneur, working anywhere from 4 to 40 hours a week.
- 2 (00:46) **Why Customer Support Comes First** - Jack explains that he does customer support first thing because it's his least favorite task and the one he can't ignore.
- 3 (01:22) **The Fixed Work Environment** - Jack cannot work in cafes or move around; he needs a consistent, clean, clutter-free setup at a nice desk and chair.
- 4 (01:47) **Working in Sprints, Not Days** - Jack describes his work schedule as sprint-based, not day-based, with weeks varying from 1-2 hours a day to 8-10 hours a day.
- 5 (02:46) **Choosing What to Work On Each Day** - After customer support, Jack works on whatever feels most important or inspiring that day, whether a big bug or an exciting project.
- 6 (03:38) **The Turning Point: When Financial Security Reduced the Need to Grind** - Jack explains that as his monthly recurring revenue grew past a few thousand a month and his savings built up, he felt less need to prove anything and work a lot.
- 7 (04:44) **Every Product Comes From a Selfish Need** - Jack explains that every idea he makes is for himself first, because he wants to see it in the world.
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Guests on this episode
Show Notes
Over the past few years, Jack Friks has completely changed his life through bootstrapping and building apps on the internet. In this video, we do a deep into how he works: how he spends his time, finds ideas, and his approach to work that viewers can take and use in their daily life.
*Get our free $1M Solopreneur MVP guide:* https://clickhubspot.com/dg4j
Follow Jack: https://twitter.com/jackfriks
Check out his projects: https://www.jackfriks.com/
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Chapters:
Chapters
- 00:00:00 Meet Jack Friks
- 00:00:32 Morning routine
- 00:01:19 Doing his best work
- 00:01:47 Working in sprints
- 00:02:44 Work routine
- 00:03:33 Stress, anxiety, and work
- 00:04:39 Finding ideas
- 00:05:29 Lessons learned
- 00:06:57 Evening routine
- 00:08:34 Number 1 piece of advice for builders
- 00:08:51 Keep going!
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