Codie A. Sanchez

Contrarian Thinking

We help free minds and build bank accounts.

Founder

Opportunity is found in the disconnect between narrative and the truth. 
CT is where hundreds of thousands of investors, entrepreneurs and contrarians come to learn about unconventional ways to diversify income, generate wealth and increase their profits. 

Join here → https://contrarianthinking.co

Founder - Investor - Writer

Unconventional Acquisitions

We buy, sell and invest in small businesses and teach others how to get into the ownership seat.

Co-Founder

Entourage Effect Capital

EEC Advisory Board Member

Board Member EEC Portfolio Company Arcview Capital

EEC is one of the first Growth Equity firms in the cannabis industry, we’ve invested $150 million in cannabis since 2014

Managing Director - Partner

First Trust

I head the Latin America & US Offshore Investment Business, providing investments and market strategy to enable some of the worlds leading pensions, institutions and advisors to reach their investment goals.  We've built a business from the ground up, to one of the fastest growing firms in LatAm.

Head of Latin America Investments

State Street

Worked in Latin America and the US with Fortune 500 Companies, pensions, sovereign wealth funds, central banks, endowments, and foundations to manage their investment portfolios. We navigated some treacherous regulations and industry changes to raise billions in previously uncovered markets.

Director Institutional Sales

Goldman Sachs

Investment Associate

Vanguard

ETF Consultant & Distribution Specialist

The Arizona Republic

In-depth Investigative Reporter Mexico

On a mission to create financially free and free-thinking humans.

I founded a media company that teaches people to think critically and cashflow unconventionally with boring businesses called Contrarian Thinking.

Our newsletter has over 250,000 weekly readers, here: http://contrarianthinking.co/join.

Our Mastermind has taught 2,000+ members biz buying, biz growing, and doing deals. 

This is how I got here:

• Got my degree in PR & Journalism from ASU's Honors School (honored to be partying mostly); MBA from Georgetown University; Ph.D. from Fundacao Gestulio Vargas.

• Started as a journalist at the Mexico border. I witnessed horrors there that made me realize money = power to change the world. I wanted to speak the language of freedom ($$), so I went to finance.

• Joined Vanguard ETFs in 2008 (wild timing). Then: Goldman Sachs→ SSGA → LatAm investments for First Trust → MD/Partner at the largest cannabis private equity firms.

Then, candidly, I got tired of the rules and trappings of the traditional finance world. I went a little rogue, and not everyone always liked that.

Now, I value experience over degrees.
Betting on myself over making $$$ for other people.
Main Street over Wall Street.

My mission is less suits, more boots. Meaning: we the people holding the power… and the purse strings.

🔗Join 250,000+ others who get our free newsletter: http://contrarianthinking.co/join
🔗YouTube: @CodieSanchezCT
🔗Instagram: @codiesanchez
🔗Twitter: @Codie_Sanchez
🔗Learn how to buy a business & get support doing it: https://unconventionalacquisitions.com/ 
🔗Weekly Boring Business Brief: https://products.unconventionalacquisitions.com/newsletter

The path to working 10 hours a week. 

The "$1,000 an Hour" Rule:

Founder Contrarian Thinking + Private Equity Investor + 26 Boring Businesses

The "$1,000 an Hour" Rule

If you want to make money in a recession, ask two questions: 
↓ ↓ ↓ 
1. What do people need to spend $ on no matter what? 
2. What do rich people spend money on? 
These are the sectors you want to be in.

"No boss can fire me." 
 
That should be your goal. 
 
So unf*ckwithable you’re untouchable. 
 
You wanna know a secret that’s so fun?? Someone doesn’t like what I say on the internet? Don’t care. The job you works fires you. whatever.  
 
Why? We diversified sovereign humans... we just keep on cash flowing. 
 
If you try to cancel me... I’ll keep taking: 
- quarters in my laundromats. 
- money in my media co’s 
- dollars in my service biz's. 
- Paypal in marketing co's. 
 
That’s why you diversify. 
 
So go, own a bunch of businesses, and keep your name off ’em. 
 
- No one can “fire” you from your ownership. 
- No one can “cancel” you from your distribution checks. 
 
So, protect your house. In this crazy world, nothing is guaranteed.  
(Except for what’s in your legally binding contract.😉)

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Brex is valued at over $12.3B today, but how did they get their first customers?

Their ex-Chief Revenue Officer, Sam Blond recently shared a hack on their best-ever outbound campaign...

The secret?

Cheap champagne.

When Brex came out of beta in 2018, all they had was a product (a corporate card for startups) and $0 revenue.

They decided to kick off a campaign:

• Scrape a database to find every seed through Series B startup in SF that recently raised (~300 startups)
• Buy 300 bottles of Veuve Clicquot
• Mail each bottle with a handwritten note
• ~4-5 days later, they sent a follow-up on whether they wanted a demo.

This had a 75% conversion rate

In total, they spent ~$19k ($15k for Champagne, 2k for handwritten notes, 2k for TaskRabbit deliveries)

The lesson: There's magic in building a personal connection.

5 key decisions to impact long-term wealth:

5 key decisions

1. Buy a small business.  
2. Use outside $ or seller financing. 
3. Add a website, social, reviews. 
4. Raise your prices.  
5. Add a subscription option. 
6. Offer more services to same clients. 
7. Buy a competitor and repeat. 
 
Sell your business for 2-3x more in 3 years.

They say who you marry is the biggest financial decision you make...
↓ ↓ ↓

And HOW you're married is just as important. It's a constant beautiful, crazy dance of:
• Aligning priorities
• Adjusting expectations
• Remembering you're a team

Here's one simple tactic that's changed how my husband and I pick our battles:

Too Small Trigger

"I don’t have money so I can’t buy businesses so I can’t get rich."
Wrong. How to buy a biz with $0 down.
↓ ↓ ↓

...And which ones to buy (my 130 favorite boring businesses) → https://lnkd.in/epUqe-a9

Anyone who says real estate is passive income has never owned real estate. 
 
In fact, anyone who says 100% passive income is possible is trying to sell you something... 
 
What we think of as PASSIVE income, I prefer to think of as INVESTMENT income. Your money's working for you... But that doesn't mean you aren't working for it. 
 
Here are 7 unique, profit-proven investment income ideas (for those willing to do the work): 
 
1. Write a Guide 
 
Gumroad is free monthly + a 10% transaction fee... And so idiot-proof I did it myself earlier in my online career. I made ~$8,900 on a product. 
 
People want to learn the weird, niche thing you know how to do. 
 
2. Consult for Others 
 
GLG connects 1M experts to clients. 
 
I did this too for a while early on, but given how busy I am, I got annoyed having to “apply” for every job. 
 
If you have the time, apply away. (But pro-tip: don't do this work for free.)  
 
3. Get Paid to Travel 
 
• TrustedHousesitters USA 
• House Sitters America 
• MindMyHouse 
• HouseCarers 
• Nomador 
 
These are all sites where you can housesit & stay for free. 
 
Some days I fantasize about living on a European organic farm... Then I snap out of it. But maybe you should snap into it. 
 
4. Become a Sales Rep 
 
Obsessed with a brand that's small enough to respond to you? 
 
Reach out & ask to be an affiliate. 
 
Someone in our community recently did this with a biz he loved, and he put it best: 
 
“It was something I was already doing so it feels great to get paid for it.”  
 
5. Airbnb Add-ons 
 
I recommend local SMBs to my guests & get commission. 
 
• Renter gets a discount w/ my code 
• Biz makes a new sale 
• I get a cut 
 
(No Airbnb? Reach out to local hosts & offer to set this up for them) 
 
6. Fractionalized Investing 
 
Sites like Fundrise let you invest in real estate without the hassle (or $). 
 
I like Here.co best (so much, I invested in the company itself). You can invest in vacation rentals starting at $250.  
 
7. Upsell the Places You Frequent 
 
Could you improve your fav business? 
 
I fantasize about designing an email campaign for my gym: Linking new members to products they'll need, a 30-day workout plan, nutrition guide, etc. I could get paid a lump sum or rev share for $ I bring in. 
 
-- 
 
These are just 7 ideas to start making creative investment income. 
 
I wrote a guide of 29. 
 
Each idea I've either tried myself or talked to someone who did it successfully. 
 
Get it here, completely free → https://lnkd.in/eWRKz8hH 
 
I’m always on the hunt for unique ways people are making money. 
 
Follow me if you want to hear these stories, too.

Why sellers sell profitable businesses (that you can buy).

The 7 D's:

The 7 D's

Life doesn’t reward mediocrity. 
 
Life doesn’t reward great ideas. 
 
Life rewards those who have the courage to fail. 
 
It rewards those who aren’t afraid to try again, and again and again.

I just read a Reddit post on someone's $25k/year wedding side hustle. 
 
Here's how they did it: 
 
• The gig: Renting wedding arches 
• Average revenue per job: $521 
• Time commitment: ~1 hour per job 
 
The Reddit post was made by u/jimmy2tents. 
 
We'll just call him Jimmy. 
 
Jimmy noticed that less than 22% of all weddings take place indoors anymore. This means there's a hot market for mobile marriage supplies... 
 
So he started looking into the numbers: 
• ~$2200 to purchase the tents 
• Gigs were ~$500 - could be paid back after 4 installations 
• The tents would last roughly 5 (fabric) to 10 (wooden frame) years 
 
He launched and quickly found the beauty of the business: 
• ~15 mins to 1 hour to set up 
• Upsells (flowers, decor) were easy (people will pay $$$$ to make their wedding look picturesque) 
• Building relationships with local event planners + wedding venues reduced ad spend 
 
Here's the financial breakdown of last year's operation: 
• 46 jobs 
• $24k total revenue 
• $521 average revenue per job  
 
But it's not all smooth sailing: 
• Engaged couples have high expectations, you need to stand firm on what your offers are and not offer insane customizability 
• You can't just operate 1 generic offer. Jimmy has around 25 tents (sourced from Etsy) with different looks. 
 
I see a ton of opportunity here. A few ideas: 
 
• Leverage Google Local Search Ads to dominate more remote suburbs 
 
• Identify common offers (ie. Jewish weddings, Indian weddings) 
 
• Verticalize upsells (ie. tent setup, flower delivery, etc.) 
 
↓ ↓ ↓ 
 
Like stories like this? You’ll love Contrarian Thinking. 
 
Weekly breakdowns sharing the ingenious ways people make, save, and invest money. 
 
Get it free, weekly here → https://lnkd.in/eEGK25hY

Your team needs to know 3 things.

Here's how we cover this weekly:

Howard Marks is worth $2.2B.

His 7 investing principles:

7 semi-controversial beliefs that led to my first $10M:

Semi Controversial Beliefs

"You’ll own nothing, and you’ll like it." 
 
An odd battle cry from a group of humans who in fact own much. 
 
A bit Buddha, a bit Marx, a lot offbeat. 
 
Perhaps they guessed the mood wrong. In an age of minimalism, they thought they’d hit their mark. But we humans have long needed a small nest of “our own.” A place to tend to, a garden to grow, a home. 
 
Unlike herds on the plains of Africa, we are not great stewards for land unowned. There is a word for this truth, created all the way back in 1933:  
 
The tragedy of the commons. 
 
An economic phrase that means when all have access and none have ownership, things tend to get depleted and fall apart. 
 
You need look no further than our oceans in international waters, housing projects, or public bathrooms for a real visual. 
 
So if you believe one thing in all the many things I tell you I hope it's this…  
 
Ownership is in fact the most important thing you can have. 
 
It need not be in companies or land but it needs to be in something. Something that works even when you are not, something that gives even when you don’t. 
 
Remember, SOMEONE must own. I trust you more than them. 
 
↓ ↓ ↓ 
 
Are you ready to take a step toward ownership? 
 
Join my free, live masterclass this week: 
 
10 Steps to Buying a Business that Cashflows → https://lnkd.in/evc47YmX

Saturday "get you some" thought: 
 
↓ ↓ ↓ 
 
I used to work at Goldman and in private equity. Dude recently on Twitter said I “must have been a secretary.” Too unbelievable that I could, ya know… be smart on finance. 
 
So I did the reasonable thing… made a giant desk sign that said Madam Secretary. 
 
No front row seats for those who paid for nosebleeds. 
 
Go find humans who get motivated by your wins. 
 
And give a good ole Texan “Bless your heart” to anyone that doesn’t.

10,000 boomers retire a day. 
8-10% own a small business. 
 
Their kids want to be influencers, not take over a plumbing company. 
 
Here lies our opportunity... 
 
↓ ↓ ↓ 
 
Want to buy one of these small businesses? 
 
I'm hosting a free, LIVE masterclass breaking down the exact 10 steps I've used to buy 20+ cashflowing businesses. 
 
Spots are limited though, so reserve yours now here → https://lnkd.in/evc47YmX

3 businesses I would NEVER buy... 
 
Restaurants, hotels, retail. Here's why:

We learn more from failure than success...

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