---
date: 2019-04-23
modified_at: 2019-04-23
tags: [entrepreneurship, philosophy, productivity]
description: Adopting a lean lifestyle as a solo entrepreneur with rules for freelancing, managing finances, and maximizing time for personal startup projects while maintaining financial security.
---
# Lean Life

A nice song to play while I'm braggin'

I'm getting more and more confidence in my own startup ideas. I'm learning
quickly and applying new things fast. I'm quite confident that I can find paying
customers for one of my projects in the coming 3 months. I have a gut feeling
that I finally know all the key ingredients.

Just two months ago I moved to Amsterdam and joined two startups. I worked 75%
and 25% of my daytime for them. I think it's great to work at two companies at
the same time, but not if you also have your own projects. In the evenings I
worked on my own stuff, so I was actually working on 5 or 6 things at the same
time. It doesn't work. It was a bit too much.

Now I'm choosing what I call 'Lean Life'. The rules are simple:

 1. Just freelance, keep things lean, even if it's for a lower rate. Don't
    promise working somewhere longer than 3 months.
 2. Just take the best hourly rate, don't take shares
 3. Keep €5000 in the piggy bank for a buffer and emergencies
 4. Start searching for a project if I'm under €4000 and try to quit a.s.a.p. if
    i'm over €8000
 5. Live as cheaply as possible until I make enough MRR to live like a king:
    Spend no more than 1337 euro's a month

These rules ensure that I've got as much time as possible for my own projects,
as soon as possible, and I can bootstrap them 100% without risk. Even if my
startups fail, I can make ends meet. Living cheaply also gives me incentive to
work harder, because it's not that comfortable. I can do this until I don't fail
anymore.

Lean life!