Using Automation To Make $15k MRR On 4-Hour Workdays

Work smarter, not harder.

As a female CEO, I know how lucky I am to have a husband whose goal in life is to be a stay-at-home dad. As any parent ought to know, it’s not the same as early retirement. Raising children at home is hard work in its own right, especially in the age of the pandemic.

When the pandemic struck and daycare was no longer an option, this became a great time for my husband James to see what it would be like to work part-time while also doing daycare duty.

James’ schedule

Our son Teddy has a pretty regular schedule. He sleeps from 10 am to noon and from 3 to 5 pm.

As a result, James has 4 hours per day where he can get work done, uninterrupted. Meanwhile, I’m still on my regular 10 am to 5 pm workday, but that doesn’t mean James doesn’t hold up his end of the bargain.

James works efficiently and effectively for Lightning AI. He manages all support and communication for our mid-tier customers in our self-serve app. That means he does client relations, live chat support, and a bit of product management — all in just 4 hours a day.

It also means he’s directly responsible for about $15,000 in monthly recurring revenue (MRR) each month.

Getting it done through automation (& delegation)

Doing the amount of work that James does manually would take ages, perhaps even more than a 40-hour work week would allow. But by utilizing automation via a product that actually works, he’s able to make the most of his limited time. If we weren’t using AI, his 4-hour workday would seem like a farfetched dream.

James also crafts a ton of written documentation, including FAQ articles and how-tos for different task and product completions. This is where delegation comes in handy; when his workload fills up, he can hand these off to our account managers. This way, they can put in the time while he effectively directs them where they need to go.

Work smarter, not harder, right? That’s always been our motto at Lightning AI.

America is obsessed with ‘the hustle’ — but there’s a better way

In America, 85.8% of males and 66.5% of females work more than 40 hours per week. We’re also the only country in the world without a cap on maximum weekly work hours.

Neither my husband nor myself live up to the 40-hour standard, and for good reason. With the help of AI — and a firm belief that working excessively doesn’t make you happier — we understand that you can define your own hustle how you see fit.

For James, working for Lightning AI for 4 hours a day and working as a stay-at-home dad the rest of the time is basically his dream job. He gets to hang out with the coolest kid in town all day, and we still make money ($15,000 MRR of which comes directly from him).

At the end of the day, when we come together as a family, everyone is happy — James, Teddy and myself included. It doesn’t have to be so complex if we work on changing the iconic “hustle culture” America has long been known for.

What are your thoughts on 4-hour workdays?

We’d love to hear from you in the comments below 👏