The Money Expert: From $0 to Millions In 2 Years Without Any Hard Work!: Codie Sanchez

1. Master the Language of Money

Understand the language of finance, as expertise in this area leads to wealth. Financial lingo is often made complex to allow those who speak it to charge more, so learning it is a key unlock.

2. Acquire Businesses with Minimal Capital

You can buy businesses for as little as $0 by structuring deals with seller financing, where the seller acts as your loan. Most small businesses below $10 million in revenue sell with some component of seller financing, deferring the tax burden for the seller and allowing the buyer to pay over time from profits.

3. Turn Personal Expenses into Assets

Review your personal profit and loss statement to identify what you already spend money on, such as video production or ad purchasing. Consider acquiring one of these service providers to turn an expense into an asset that generates income.

4. Break Your Frame for Faster Goals

Instead of setting a three-year goal, challenge yourself to achieve it in six months by thinking radically differently. This forces you to consider out-of-the-box ideas and take smart risks you might otherwise avoid.

5. Find a “Who,” Not a “How”

Your path to financial freedom often lies in identifying a ‘who’ – a wealthy individual or business owner in your ecosystem – rather than just a ‘how.’ Offer to become their ‘hustler’ to gain experience and financial reward, as most people lack the relentless pursuit needed for massive change.

6. Leverage Time for Compounding Success

Recognize that time is the one ingredient to success that everyone has but often wastes. Focus on one thing for an extended period, as the compounding effect over decades can lead to immense wealth.

7. Play Long-Term Games

Emulate billionaires by adopting a long-term perspective in your decisions and relationships. This involves thinking years ahead and making strategic bets on potential future growth, rather than seeking immediate returns.

8. Use Content for Unfair Access & Inbound Sales

Create content to generate ‘unfair access’ and pull opportunities towards you, rather than constantly pushing through outbound sales. This strategy allows you to attract people and opportunities, making networking more efficient and sustainable.

9. Craft Thoughtful Outreach Messages

When reaching out to successful people, offer value, acknowledge their busy schedule, and demonstrate thorough research about them. This thoughtful approach shows care and respect, making your request stand out and increasing the likelihood of a positive response.

10. Target Quiet, Local Wealthy Mentors

Instead of pursuing famous individuals, seek out wealthy people who are less public, like a successful local business owner. These individuals are often more accessible, receive fewer outreach requests, and can offer more relatable, actionable advice for your specific stage of growth.

11. Provide Value Before Asking

When seeking help or mentorship, offer value upfront without being asked, rather than making immediate demands. Demonstrating initiative and capability by providing something useful is a powerful way to gain opportunities and build connections.

12. Eliminate B Players from Your Team

Actively remove ‘B players’ from your team, as their presence decreases the productivity of those around them by 30% and drives away ‘A players.’ B players are often sticky, entitled, and dangerous to company culture, making their removal crucial for overall team performance and morale.

13. Seek Growth-Oriented Social Circles

Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you and who inspire your growth, leaving situations where that is no longer the case. As you grow, some friends may naturally fall away because your progression can be uncomfortable for those who are not also striving for personal development.

14. Cultivate Curiosity, Not Envy

When you encounter someone more successful or wealthier than you, shift your mindset from envy to curiosity. Realize that their achievements indicate opportunity for you, and use their success as inspiration rather than a source of resentment.

15. Focus on Productive Assets, Not Status Symbols

Prioritize investing in assets like businesses that generate income and can be passed down, rather than spending on flashy status symbols. Publicly showcasing humble, productive assets can inspire others more effectively than displaying luxury items.

16. Address Emotional Blocks to Money

Recognize and address any negative emotional attachments or limiting stories you tell yourself about money. Many people subconsciously associate money with shame or guilt, which can prevent them from pursuing financial freedom until they believe they are capable.

17. Recognize Loved Ones’ Limiting Beliefs

Understand that loved ones often prioritize your safety and security over your true growth, inadvertently holding you back with cautious advice. Real growth happens when you take risks and realize failure isn’t fatal, even if it makes others uncomfortable.

18. Stair-Step Out of Corporate Jobs

If you’re risk-averse, avoid burning bridges and instead create a ‘soft landing’ by building a side business that can gradually replace your corporate income. This allows you to transition out of a job you dislike in a less scary, more controlled manner.

19. Scale Down Deal-Making Principles

Recognize that the fundamental principles of deal-making are similar regardless of transaction size. If you understand how large deals work, you can apply the same logic to much smaller acquisitions, making business ownership accessible with less capital.

20. Leverage Expert Operators for Deals

When buying a business, partner with someone who already has expertise in running that specific type of operation. This allows you to focus on finding and closing deals, while they handle the day-to-day management and operational risks.

21. Target Motivated Sellers (Aging Owners)

Look for small business owners who are older and ready to retire, as they are often motivated to sell even profitable businesses. These individuals may be tired of the daily grind and open to selling to someone who can continue their legacy.

22. Use Small Businesses as Gateway Deals

Start by acquiring small businesses, even if they aren’t your ideal long-term venture, to learn the process of deal-making. These ‘gateway drug businesses’ teach you how to buy, operate, and eventually sell, changing your entire perspective on ownership.

23. Focus on Deal Structure, Not Industry Expertise

When acquiring a business, prioritize understanding the deal’s financials (balance sheet, profit and loss) and knowing how to find people with industry answers, rather than having deep expertise in the industry itself. This broadens your acquisition opportunities.

24. Access Industry Knowledge via Consults

If you lack industry knowledge for a business you want to acquire, leverage online platforms like Reddit to find local experts. Pay them for an hour of consultation to quickly gain insights into running the business, overcoming the fear of the unknown.

25. Seek Win-Win Deal Structures

Approach deal-making as a non-zero-sum game where both parties can benefit. Structure agreements with incentives, like increased payments for hitting certain metrics, to ensure it’s a win-win for both buyer and seller.

26. Sales is Discovery, Not Persuasion

Instead of trying to persuade someone, view sales as a process of discovering if they are already predisposed to want what you’re offering. Focus on asking questions to understand their needs and trigger moments, then position yourself as the enabler of their existing desires.

27. Prove Your Capability as a Shepherd

When acquiring a business, you must convince the seller that you will be a good ‘shepherd’ who can successfully run and grow their legacy. Demonstrate your ability to take care of the business, ensuring their retirement plan is secure.

28. Apprentice to Aging Business Owners

Identify older business owners who may be looking to retire and become their apprentice. By showing genuine interest and learning about their business, you can position yourself as a potential successor, offering to buy the business using future profits and preserving their legacy.

29. Choose Your Influences Wisely

Recognize that humans often defer to the paths they’ve seen before them, following in family footsteps. Use the internet’s power to consciously choose your influences and the ‘family footsteps’ you want to follow, rather than passively adopting pre-existing paths.

30. Make Wealth-Building Entertaining

Strive to make conversations and content about building wealth as engaging and entertaining as content about things that cost money. This approach can shift cultural narratives and inspire more people to pursue financial ownership.

31. Seek Information by Shadowing

To gain invaluable insights into how successful people operate, actively seek opportunities to ‘get behind the curtain’ by shadowing them. Even if it means taking a menial job for a short period, the information gained can be transformative.

32. Pursue Holistic Strength (Mind, Body, Wealth)

Aim to be a ’third-degree human’ who possesses a strong mind, a strong bank account, and a strong body. True success involves cultivating all three areas, as many financially successful individuals neglect their health or adventurous spirit.

33. Demonstrate Hunger and Action

To attract help and mentorship from successful individuals, actively demonstrate hunger and a willingness to take action. People who are genuinely hungry and follow through on hard things are rare, making them attractive to those who want to help others succeed.

34. Embrace Identity Pivots for Growth

Be willing to shed old identities, jobs, relationships, and social circles that no longer align with your evolving self. While challenging, making significant identity pivots is often necessary to create the life you truly desire and achieve profound personal growth.

35. Accept the “Exit Tax” for Freedom

Understand that pursuing freedom often comes with an ’exit tax’ – a physical, emotional, or financial cost for leaving an unhealthy situation. View this as a necessary payment for what lies on the other side, which is often far better than staying in an unfulfilling life.

36. Create a Personal Sanctuary Space

When going through a major life change, such as a divorce, establish a small, personal sanctuary space that is entirely your own. This private place allows you to decompress, avoid compromise, and recreate yourself from a foundation of safety and autonomy.

37. Set Deadlines for Major Life Changes

For significant life decisions, set a firm ‘drop-dead date’ on your calendar to commit to a resolution or change. This deadline creates psychological pressure, making it easier to work backward and take necessary actions that you might otherwise procrastinate on.

38. Provide Skin in the Game for Employees

Ensure all employees, from entry-level to leadership, have ‘skin in the game’ through ownership or performance-based incentives. This aligns their financial success directly with the company’s, motivating them to contribute more and fostering a sense of ownership.

39. Earn Your Way to Wealth

Adopt the philosophy that true wealth is built through earning, not merely saving. While saving is important, focus your efforts on increasing your income and creating value, as this is the primary driver of financial freedom.

40. Embrace Imperfection in Your Journey

Normalize the fact that even successful people are flawed, make mistakes, and have unproductive days. Don’t strive for perfection; recognize that being human means you will mess up, and it’s okay to learn and continue your journey despite imperfections.

41. Choose Your Mountains Wisely

Not every fear or challenge needs to be confronted; strategically choose which ‘mountains’ are worth climbing. Reflect on whether the desired outcome truly aligns with your goals and values, rather than pursuing difficult tasks merely to prove something or please others.

42. Avoid Low-Effort Outreach

When contacting successful individuals, avoid generic, low-effort messages that demonstrate a lack of research or initiative. Such messages immediately signal a lack of seriousness and will likely be ignored, missing opportunities for valuable connections.