She Was Managing Millions . . . Then She Bought a Laundromat

Is it possible that Codie’s newsletter was the impetus for this one? Yep. (And btw, we have a great new free tool for you tonight. See below!)

In 2019, Codie Sanchez had what most people would consider a dream job.

Workig for firms like Goldman Sachs, Vanguard, and First Trust, she was managing millions in private equity investments, traveling first class, closing big deals, and helping the ultra-wealthy build more wealth.

By all accounts, she had made it, right?

Wrong, appartently.

Something was off.

The Illusion of Freedom

Here’s what Codie didn’t like: Every day, she was working for someone else and playing by someone else’s rules. She “clocked in” but had no ownership stake in the empire she was helping build.

(Clearly she was a true entrepreneur ar heart!)

Codie realized she was doing what so many others do; in essence, trading time for (a lot of) money, trading prestige for permission. She was wealth adjacent, butshe wasn’t her own boss, she was not free.

The Surprising Pivot

Codie decided something had to change.

So she did something nobody expected. She walked away from this high-gloss world of and bought . . . a laundromat?

Yep, a laundromat.

Why? Because laundromats are cash-flow rich businesses. Boring? Yes. Unsexy? Definitely.

But they can scale.

That first laundromat opened her eyes to a whole new world: The world of “boring businesses” that no one talks about, but everyone uses.

Business that rake in the dough, that canbe run by others if so desired.

Boring is Beautiful

And then she started talking about it, launching a newsletter she called “Contrarian Thinking”

Her contrarian message caught fire. She launched a media brand around it and millions followed. And suddenly, she was not just buying boring businesses, she was building a boring business empire.

Now she teaches others how

Today, Codie Sanchez runs the Contrarian Thinking brand and leads a movement around owning small, boring businesses that generate real cash flow and time freedom.

She owns over two dozen companies, leads a media and investment empire, and teaches thousands how to buy their first small business the smart way.

But it all began with a burnt-out dynamo who had come to realize that she was an entrepreneur at heart.

🛠️ Free Tool of the Week

Boring Business Blueprint – Like this idea? Ready to look for your own “boring business” to buy? Check out our custom blueprint that walks you through the process! Download the PDF here!

The Takeaway

There is so much noise in entrepreneurship these days, isn’t there? AI! Digital marketing! But sometimes, the smartest move is the least sexy one.

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Steal This Strategy!

📖 Book – Buy Then Build by Walker Deibel
The go-to book on how to acquire and grow a small business instead of starting from scratch.

🎥 Video – Why Boring Businesses Are Sexy (Codie Sanchez)
A fast, high-value explanation of her entire boring business philosophy.

🌐 Website – ContrarianThinking.co
Codie’s main platform — find her newsletter, course waitlists, deal flows, and business buying resources.

🛠️ Tool – Boring Business Blueprint
Our free downloadable worksheet to help you find and vet a boring business of your own!

About Steve

Steve Strauss is the best-selling author of The Small Business Bible (and 17 other books), Inc.’s small business columnist, a lawyer (non-practicing), and an entrepreneur. He sold his last venture, TheSelfEmployed.com to Mark Cuban & Zen Business. Need a ghostwriter or a newsletter for your business? Contact Steve!