For decades, entrepreneurship has been sold as a glamorous pursuit. Build the next unicorn. Raise venture capital. Go viral. Become the next household name.
But according to entrepreneur, investor, founder and CEO of Contrarian Thinking and New York Times bestselling author Codie Sanchez, that narrative has distracted aspiring entrepreneurs from one of the greatest wealth-building opportunities of our generation.
The real opportunity, she says, isn’t inventing something new.
It’s owning something that already works.
While much of the business world chases startups and disruption, Sanchez has quietly built a portfolio of more than $100 million through what she famously calls “boring businesses”—the plumbing companies, laundromats, HVAC firms and service businesses most people overlook.
Her message is simple: Ownership (not hype) is where wealth begins.
Entrepreneurship Isn’t for Everyone
As more professionals contemplate leaving corporate careers, Sanchez offers advice that may surprise readers expecting encouragement to simply “take the leap.”
“I actually think one of the most underrated jobs in the world is being a really high-paid employee doing something you love, on a mission that matters, with people you really like,” she says. “Not everybody should be an entrepreneur. It’s going to really challenge you; and you’ve got to want that.”
For those who do decide to build a business, however, she believes the first mindset shift is accepting that entrepreneurship is far harder, and ultimately more rewarding, than most people imagine.
“Don’t quit,” she says. “It’s going to be harder than you think. It’s going to take longer than you want. You’re going to get pushed right past the point where you feel like giving up.”
Then she offers a perspective that has become one of her guiding philosophies.
“One of my mentors told me, ‘Of course you want to find problems in business. That’s where all the money is.’ Every time something gets difficult, I remember that. Problems aren’t something to avoid—they’re exactly where the opportunity lives.”
Success Isn’t Built on Excitement. It’s Built on Systems.
For Sanchez, entrepreneurship isn’t about constantly chasing the next idea. It’s about building repeatable systems that allow businesses to grow predictably.
“Not everyone should be a CEO. It’s often a very miserable place to be inside of most businesses,” she continues. “I think most owners get owned—they don’t own.” Which is why she penned her latest book, OWN, OR BE OWNED: Build a Business So Good It Doesn’t Need You, available on September 18th.
After advising more than 15,000 entrepreneurs, Sanchez has become convinced that business success is far less mysterious than people believe.
“Most business is just doing the same repetitive, boring work continuously until it gets better,” she says.
Instead of obsessing over inspiration, she encourages founders to obsess over processes.
“We have recipes for cooking. We have systems for learning languages. Why don’t we have playbooks for business? Instead, people learn through stories and case studies, when what they really need are systems they can keep testing and improving.”
Women Need Different Business Advice
Women are launching businesses at record rates, yet Sanchez believes many are still trying to build companies using frameworks that weren’t designed with them in mind.
“When I was growing up, I didn’t know any women who owned businesses,” she says. “I saw women who worked, but I didn’t know female CEOs. We simply haven’t had the same number of reps.”
That lack of representation matters.
“So much business advice has come from men—not because of some conspiracy but because they’ve been doing it longer.”
Today, Sanchez believes women have an opportunity to redefine entrepreneurship on their own terms.
“The number one question women should ask is: What do I actually want from my business?”
Rather than chasing someone else’s definition of success, she encourages founders to identify the kind of company they want to build.
“You might want a lifestyle business. You might want hyper growth. You might want to build something to sell one day. None of those are better than the others.”
Then comes the deeper question: “What type of owner are you?”
In her book, Sanchez has developed twelve entrepreneurial archetypes to help founders understand how their personalities influence leadership decisions.
“If you’re naturally a people pleaser,” she explains, “You probably need somebody who’s a bulldog beside you.”
Her advice for women is refreshingly straightforward. It’s based on the fact that not every business owner is the same—and shouldn’t be.
“Know what you want. Know who you are. Build a business that serves you instead of becoming a servant inside your business.”
Confidence Comes After the Plan
Many aspiring entrepreneurs believe confidence is something they must develop before taking action.
Sanchez sees it differently.
“I don’t think you’re missing confidence,” she says. “I think you’re missing a plan.”
Rather than relying on motivational quotes or affirmations, she encourages entrepreneurs to study businesses that already work.
“Steal other people’s homework.” She laughs before continuing. “If you have a banana bread recipe, you don’t stand there wondering whether it’s going to work. You trust the recipe.”
Business, she believes, can be approached much the same way.
“First diagnose what’s wrong. Then develop a strategy. Then score how close you are to that strategy. Then build a system you follow every day.”
Only then, she says, does confidence naturally emerge.
Why “Boring Businesses” Make Extraordinary Money
Five years ago, Sanchez says people laughed when she talked about buying laundromats and plumbing companies.
Today, investors are rushing toward exactly those businesses.
“We’re all driven by mimetic desire,” she says. “We want what we see other people wanting.”
Social media celebrates startup founders and influencers. Rarely does it celebrate the owner of a successful waste management company.
“But if you look at the data,” Sanchez says, “That’s where the money is.”
She points to entrepreneurs like Jeff Bezos, who started with online books, and Wayne Huizenga, who built his fortune through garbage collection before buying professional sports teams.
“The billionaire playbook usually starts with boring.”
Her advice?
“Stop looking for what’s sexy. Start looking for what makes money.”
Before AI, Pick Up the Phone
Artificial intelligence may dominate headlines, but Sanchez believes many entrepreneurs are distracted by technology while ignoring fundamentals.
She recalls calling the owner of an HVAC company during one of her advisory sessions.
Nobody answered.
Instead, she reached an elaborate AI-generated voicemail greeting.
“I asked him how long it took to create that greeting.”
The answer?
About ten hours.
“My response was simple,” Sanchez says. “‘How much money would you make if someone actually answered the phone instead?’”
She believes too many entrepreneurs optimize for what’s new instead of what’s necessary.
“So much of small business is just responding faster than everybody else.”
Before investing heavily in AI, she recommends mastering the basics.
“Pick up the phone.”
Then she offers one of the interview’s most memorable observations.
“AI is like money. It simply accelerates who you already are.”
“If you’re a great writer, AI will make you faster. If you’re a sloppy writer, AI will help you produce more sloppy writing.”
Sales Before Scale
Another hard truth?
Without sales, nothing else matters.
“If you don’t make sales,” Sanchez says, “You don’t have a business; you have a hobby.”
She encourages entrepreneurs to launch with the smallest version of their product possible.
“You don’t even need a website. You need something simple enough that someone will give you their credit card.”
If founders can’t convince three to five people to buy? “The product isn’t ready—or your sales skills aren’t.”
For Sanchez, sales isn’t one department within a company. It’s leadership itself.
“If you’re the CEO,” she says, “You’re also the Chief Sales Officer.”
Leadership Is Earned
Having built companies, advised thousands of entrepreneurs and invested in dozens more, Sanchez says her understanding of leadership has evolved dramatically.
“Systems can be stolen,” she says. “However, leadership has to be experienced.”
No amount of reading can replace difficult conversations, hard decisions and time spent in the trenches with a team.
Leadership, like entrepreneurship itself, isn’t theoretical. It’s earned.
The Ownership Mindset
Perhaps the most powerful lesson Sanchez leaves entrepreneurs with have very little to do with acquisitions or investment strategies. It’s about taking ownership of your life.
For professionals contemplating a leap into entrepreneurship, she offers one final reminder.
“It’s going to be harder than you think,” she says. “But if you keep solving problems, keep improving your systems and keep showing up, you’ll eventually realize those challenges weren’t obstacles. They were the opportunity all along.”
At the end of the day, Sanchez stands by the idea that your value is derived by how much revenue you make, quickly. You’ve got to be cash flow positive.
“Most business owners optimize for what’s new as opposed to what’s needed. That’s a big mistake.”
Although this sounds like common sense, a lot of people don’t do it.
In fact, she wrote an entire chapter in her new book on sales—because if you don’t make money in your business, you just have a hobby.
Featured image provided courtesy of Codie Sanchez
