The Good Advice Podcast: Do Business Better with Blake Binns

#445 - #RoundTwo with Jacob Frese

·32 min·3 clips

Serial entrepreneur Jacob Fries reveals how he grew his fireworks business from 4 to 20 locations in one year.

The episode begins with host Blake Binns introducing Jacob Fries as a serial entrepreneur with businesses like Barnett's Dariette and Fries Fireworks. Jacob explains his rapid expansion from 4 to 20 fireworks locations in 2024, driven by importing containers and avoiding wholesaling. He shares the challenges of managing 20 locations across three states, including $30,000 spent on tables and driving 9,300 miles in six weeks. Jacob discusses his personality as a risk-taker, stemming from earlier interests in rock climbing and motor racing, and admits that starting new businesses is both a drive and a downfall. He reveals the loneliness and stress of entrepreneurship, working 80-100 hours a week and almost going bankrupt this year. The conversation shifts to industry insights, with Jacob describing fireworks conventions as cutthroat where competitors are tight-lipped, unlike other industries. He contrasts this with his own approach of sharing information with potential collaborators. Blake and Jacob then debate the perception of success, with Jacob noting that his business is still far from his long-term financial goals despite others seeing him as 'crushing it.' They discuss the lack of boundaries in entrepreneurship, with Blake sharing his own habit of working late hours. Jacob talks about his son's uncertain career path and his views on college, arguing that it's only necessary for specific professions like doctors and that trade schools offer better options. He references Gary Vee's message about starting businesses later in life and Benjamin Hardy's book 'Who Not How.' The episode concludes with Jacob setting a goal of 40 fireworks locations for next year and mentioning his tent and bounce house business, before Blake wraps up with show promotions.

As heard by us

A plainspoken look at the long hours and durable satisfaction behind serial entrepreneurship.

Jacob Fries's return to Good Advice frames serial entrepreneurship less as a hustle story than as a test of stamina. The episode keeps circling a practical question: what makes work feel worthwhile when the weeks can stretch to 80-plus hours, and sometimes 100?

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Why you'd press play

You get a close-up of serial entrepreneurship, from onion-ring burgers at Barnett's Dariette to a 100-hour-a-week fireworks season.

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