“Buying a business is easier than being a creator,” declares Codie Sanchez, the former Wall Street executive who abandoned seven figures in finance to build a $100 million portfolio of “boring businesses.” “Being a creator is actually quite hard. If you can go buy a business and then just add a little level of creativity to your ads, you can still be a creator, but you’re not stuck in this, ‘Oh my God, I have to go viral because otherwise I make no ad sense’.”

This isn’t just contrarian thinking, it’s economic reality. While creators chase algorithmic approval and negotiate brand deals that capture minimal upside, Sanchez has built sustainable wealth by owning assets rather than renting attention. Through her company Contrarian Thinking, she’s taught over 9,000 students how to acquire small businesses while generating over 100 million monthly views across her own channels.

Sanchez’s journey from Goldman Sachs to laundromat owner to media mogul reveals a fundamental truth about creator economics that she shared with Eric Wei, cofounder of Karat Finance, on the Karat Podcast: platforms win, algorithms change, but ownership endures. After realizing that “true freedom comes through ownership,” she quietly acquired businesses like window cleaning companies and paint shops to replace her Wall Street salary, then documented the process through content that now generates more revenue than her original finance career.

For creators trapped in the endless cycle of chasing virality, optimizing for engagement, and hoping platforms don’t change their rules overnight, Sanchez offers a different path. Here are nine lessons that can transform you from algorithm-dependent creator to revenue stream owner.

Lesson ONE: Understand Why You’re Always Losing at the Creator Game

Most creators don’t realize they’re playing a rigged game. “Every business has a level to the game that is played, and one of the lowest level businesses that you can do is affiliate or brand deals,” Sanchez explains. “Why? Because your capture of the upside is the lowest.”

The mathematics are brutal: brands must generate 2x to 15x more revenue than they pay creators to make partnerships profitable. “In order for the brand to make money on paying you an influencer, they have to have quite a big percentage that is for them, and then a very small percentage that is for you,” she notes.

Meanwhile, creators bear all the execution risk. “You also have the risk trade. You have all the risk on you, which is, I’m going to put out content about it, I hope it converts, but I’m going to create this stuff. And if it doesn’t convert well then my affiliate fee might not go through.”

The data confirms what many creators suspect: brands prefer cycling through multiple small influencers rather than building long-term partnerships. “There’s a lot of data now that for creators, brands are better off doing lots of little deals with influencers than continuously doing one deal with an influencer,” Sanchez observes. “And so what does that mean? It means they sort of milk your audience early on and then they’re not going to continue to partner with you for a long time.”

The Creator Reality Check: You’re not building a sustainable business, you’re providing temporary labor to companies that will replace you the moment someone cheaper or more viral comes along.

Lesson TWO: Learn Deal Making, Not Just Content Optimization

While other creators obsess over CTRs and engagement rates, Sanchez focuses on a different skill: structuring deals that compound over time. “I really push hard on this idea that I believe that if you want to make a lot of money in life, you’ve got to understand the language of money, which in my opinion is deal making.”

This isn’t about traditional finance knowledge. “I think the real language of money is understanding all the terms that are associated with how you make deals or exchanges of money,” she explains. “The real language is how do you get somebody to accept terms for something that allows you to continue to be compensated contractually over time for the work that you’ve done.”

The same principles apply whether you’re buying a laundromat or converting an affiliate relationship into an equity partnership. “Deal making is the same. Whether you’re going to do an equity deal with a vendor that you were just going to be an affiliate with as a creator as it is, figuring out how to get a partial equity deal from a laundromat where you’re going to help them grow their revenue.”

Instead of accepting one-time payments, learn to structure ongoing compensation. Instead of promoting other people’s products for commissions, negotiate ownership stakes in businesses you can actually influence.

The Creator Application: Stop thinking like a service provider and start thinking like a business partner. Every brand relationship is an opportunity to negotiate equity, revenue sharing, or long-term partnerships that benefit from your audience’s growth.

Lesson THREE: Use Dual Metrics to Avoid Platform Dependency

Most creator advice focuses on singular metrics: followers, views, or revenue. Sanchez rejects this approach entirely. “I don’t believe in North Stars in your business. I think if you just have one North star, you’re likely to go out of business.”

Single-metric optimization creates predictable failure modes. “If all you care about is revenue, what are you going to do? Well, you’re going to milk your leads and your users for every dollar that they can give you, and you’re probably going to burn the mountain and you’re not going to have a top of funnel anymore.”

The inverse is equally dangerous. “If you only care about top of funnel as a creator, you’re just like virality, virality, virality. Well then you’re at some point, right? You’re just like, let’s go to the thing that I can get the most views on. But that doesn’t necessarily translate to conversion.”

Sanchez tracks complementary metrics that create productive tension. “You’ve got to have, if you’re a creator, in my opinion, revenue plus followers, those are your left and right… If you pull revenue pretty hard, you’re going to decrease followers maybe… And if you pull followers super hard, maybe you’re going to decrease revenue a little bit.”

The Creator Application: Track both audience growth and revenue per follower. When one metric pulls too hard in either direction, the tension alerts you to rebalance before you optimize yourself into a corner.

Lesson FOUR: Build Systems That Work When Algorithms Change

Platform dependency isn’t just about revenue, it’s about workflow. Most creators build their entire operations around platform-specific features that can disappear overnight. Sanchez takes a different approach, building systems that transcend any single platform.

“I struggle a lot with memory. I’m very forgetful, extremely forgetful. And so I think I had to get good at systems because I literally can’t keep it all straight,” she admits. This limitation became a superpower. “Systems actually gave me freedom and I thought of them as bumper lanes.”

Her CEO dashboard exemplifies platform-agnostic thinking: dual metrics tracking, progress indicators toward annual goals, and task management integrated with content planning. “If I don’t do that, I’m just going to forget something or I’m going to focus on something that doesn’t matter.”

The key is building systems that account for human limitations rather than demanding algorithmic perfection. When platforms change their algorithms, creators with robust systems can adapt quickly rather than scrambling to rebuild their entire workflow.

The Creator Application: Build content systems around your goals and audience needs, not platform features. Use tools that aggregate data across platforms so algorithm changes don’t blind you to what’s actually working.

Lesson FIVE: Hire Based on Outcomes, Not Tasks

Most creators struggle with delegation because they think in terms of tasks rather than results. Sanchez flips this completely: “It’s always a who, not a how. It is always you want to find a human, you don’t want to find a how.”

Her hiring process starts with identifying specific people whose work she admires, not writing generic job descriptions. “Most people just put up a job description. I’m looking for a head of marketing, I’m looking for a growth marketer, but that could mean 452 things,” she notes.

Instead, she creates detailed profiles: target companies to recruit from, specific individuals who represent ideal candidates, and gap analysis of what’s missing. “You really want to put a face on it like, oh my God, if I could hire you, I would in a second. Who else do you know like him?”

This approach led her to hire the former president of MrBeast for her media company, someone whose experience directly translated to scaling creator businesses.

The Creator Application: Instead of hiring “a video editor,” identify specific creators whose visual style you admire and find editors who’ve worked with similar creators. Focus on outcomes (engagement rates, conversion metrics) rather than technical skills alone.

Lesson SIX: Adopt Rich Owner vs. Poor Owner Thinking

Sanchez has identified specific mindset patterns that separate creators who build sustainable wealth from those who remain trapped in platform dependency. The difference isn’t talent or luck, it’s how they approach growth decisions.

“Poor owner” thinking includes phrases familiar to most creators: “Nobody else does it as good as I do,” “If I don’t get it done, then nobody will get it done,” and “I tried to outsource this, but they didn’t do it the right way.”

“Rich owner” thinking asks different questions: “What would it look like if this worked for me? Not why can’t this work for me?”

She illustrates this with a practical example: a creator making $200,000 annually faces a choice between hiring a cheap editor or increasing revenue to afford someone better. “A rich owner always goes, alright, let’s take the pain now. Let’s increase the revenue a little bit so I can hire better.”

Most creators choose the cheaper option, then complain when the quality doesn’t meet their standards. Rich owners invest in growth to afford better talent, creating an upward spiral.

The Creator Application: When facing hiring or investment decisions, calculate what revenue growth would justify the better option, then work backwards to determine if it’s achievable through your current content strategy.

Lesson SEVEN: Your Creativity Isn’t Your Most Scalable Asset

This lesson challenges core creator identity. Most creators cling to technical execution because it feels like their unique value. Sanchez pushes back: “Your biggest skill on a go forward basis is not going to be your editing. It’s your creativity writ large.”

The economics are clear: “If you don’t have a VA but you’re making over a hundred thousand dollars a year, you don’t value your own time at less than minimum wage.”

But delegation requires reframing what you actually do. “It doesn’t mean you can’t oversee the editing. It doesn’t mean you can’t prompt the editing, but it might mean that you shouldn’t be doing the hours and hours of downloading that video takes every single time.”

Your scalable asset isn’t your ability to execute tasks, it’s your ability to make creative decisions, build relationships, and identify opportunities that others miss.

The Creator Application: Audit your weekly hours. Any task that doesn’t require your unique creative judgment or relationship-building ability should be systematized for others to execute under your direction.

Lesson EIGHT: Layer Creativity on Top of Cash Flow, Not Vice Versa

The biggest creator trap is trying to monetize creativity directly. Sanchez advocates the opposite: use creative skills to enhance businesses that already generate cash flow.

“If instead they can go and they can get capital to buy a business that is already profitable using the profits of the business to buy it, well then they’ve got a money machine and then that money machine allows them to layer on top of it this creative pursuit.”

Her example is practical: “So if you’re a chef and you actually love creating videos online about food, and you go and you buy a company that is… a bakery, you buy a small coffee shop… and you layer your creativity on top of the thing that already makes you money, then you just have a lot more stability.”

This approach appears throughout her portfolio. Pink’s Window Cleaning, with 130 franchise locations, attracts young owners who are “really good at distribution” and use content to position themselves as “the next generation of window cleaning.”

The Creator Application: Instead of trying to monetize your content directly, identify businesses in your niche that you could acquire or partner with. Use your content skills to grow existing revenue streams rather than creating new ones from scratch.

Lesson NINE: Recognize That Platforms Keep You as Digital Sharecroppers

Sanchez’s most provocative insight addresses the structural relationship between creators and platforms. “My conspiracy theory is that it’s much better for the big corporations and intermediaries if we all are creators,” she argues.

The reasoning is economic: “Because we actually rent their platforms and we go and we provide excellent places for the big corporations to go make a lot of money and advertise on. So creators are actually workers and we’re workers at below minimum wage by and large on these platforms.”

Meanwhile, platforms actively discourage the knowledge that would liberate creators: “You know what? We don’t want to teach people how to buy businesses without intermediaries, and we don’t want to teach people how to do what Wall Street does or what private equity does or what big corporations do, which is acquisitions.”

Every algorithm change, every platform policy update, every shift in advertising rates reinforces this dynamic. Platforms capture the majority of value created by creator labor while creators compete against each other for scraps.

The Creator Application: Recognize that platform dependency is a structural trap, not a temporary challenge. Building real wealth requires owning assets that generate revenue independently of algorithmic approval.

The Path Forward: From Algorithm Dependent to Asset Owner

The creator economy’s dirty secret is that most creators aren’t building businesses, they’re optimizing to be more efficient employees for platform owners. Sanchez offers a different model: use content creation skills as a tool for acquiring and growing real assets.

“Creators, you have an incredible piece of leverage,” she acknowledges. But leverage only creates wealth when applied to ownership rather than employment.

Her ultimate vision extends beyond individual creator success to systemic change: “Our goal at Contrarian Thinking… is we’re creating a nation of owners.” Through MSM Academy and BSC Scout, her business marketplace with 56,000 listings, she’s building infrastructure for creators to transition from platform dependence to asset ownership.

The transition isn’t easy, but the alternative, permanent algorithm dependency, offers even less security. Platforms will continue degrading creator economics because their business model requires it. Algorithm changes will continue disrupting creator incomes because unpredictability keeps creators competing harder for attention.

“The most important part is that if you’re obsessed with telling stories and if you’re obsessed with telling stories, you can grow insanely,” Sanchez concludes. The question facing every creator is simple: will you use that storytelling ability to build someone else’s empire, or your own?

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