How to Build a 6-Figure Business Working Just 25 Hours a Week with AI

18 snips

Nov 4, 2025

Tim Cortinovis, a seasoned AI expert and bestselling author, shares insights on building an automated six-figure consulting business while working just 25 hours a week. He dispels the hustle myth, explaining how AI has allowed him to streamline tasks and enhance productivity. Tim reveals his hands-free newsletter with impressive open rates and describes the AI assistant, 'Rick,' that manages customer communications. Learn how he's transformed his workflow, co-created books with AI, and maintained personal connections amidst automation!

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ANECDOTE

Automation Driven By Family Priorities

Tim began automating early because he wanted family time and split childcare 50/50 with his wife.
His background in linguistics and early AI work led him to automate marketing and sales workflows.

ADVICE

Automate To Free Strategic Time

Automate routine work so you can spend time on meaningful communication and strategy.
Invest upfront in systems to unlock long-term time savings and higher-leverage thinking.

INSIGHT

Hands‑Free Newsletter That Actually Performs

Tim automated weekly curation: Perplexity gathers 10 news items then GPT-5 writes a formatted newsletter.
The result runs hands-free and achieves ~40% open and 20–30% click rates.

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What if everything you believe about building a successful business is actually keeping you trapped? Most solopreneurs think more hours equals more money, but they're stuck in what I call the "hamster wheel of hustle" – running faster and faster while getting nowhere because they're doing everything manually. You become the bottleneck in your own business, and no matter how talented you are, there are still only 24 hours in a day.

But what if you could flip the script entirely and build a thriving 6-figure business working just 25 hours a week? Today marks our 100th episode milestone, and I've brought you someone who's living proof this isn't just possible – it's proven.

Meet Tim Cortinovis – a man who's been working with AI for 35 years and has cracked the code on anti-hustle entrepreneurship. Tim is a bestselling author of six books, including "Agentic Sales: AI and the Future of Sales," and he's recognized as a Top 10 Thought Leader in Agentic AI. But here's what makes Tim remarkable: he's built a 6-figure consulting business that runs almost entirely on autopilot, requiring just 25 hours of his time per week. His newsletter runs completely hands-free with 40% open rates, and he's created an AI assistant named "Rick" who handles all customer communications. Tim isn't just talking about the future of AI in business – he's living it every single day.

The AI Hat Podcast host Mike Allton asked Tim Cortinovis about:

✨ AI-First Mindset: Shifting from viewing AI as a tool to seeing it as your business partner and primary operating system.

✨ Automation Architecture: Creating interconnected systems that handle research, content creation, customer communications, and lead nurturing without constant oversight.

✨ Strategic Time Investment: Understanding that working fewer hours requires more upfront planning and system design, but pays exponential dividends in freedom and scalability.

Grab the free Scalability Audit and find your leaky buckets
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Explore past episodes of the The AI Hat Podcast podcast

Show Notes & Full Transcript: https://theaihat.com/how-to-build-a-6-figure-business-working-just-25-hours-a-week-with-ai/

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction: The AI Debate

02:16 Podcast Introduction and Guest Welcome

02:38 The Anti-Hustle Business Model

03:14 Meet Tim Cortinovis: AI Pioneer

04:13 Tim's Journey with AI

06:26 Automating Business Operations

10:21 AI Tools and Techniques

21:15 Maintaining Human Connection in an AI-Driven World

35:55 Challenges and Overcoming Them

40:42 Final Thoughts and Contact Information

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