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👋 "If they're not better than you at something, they're not for you." When Wall Street veteran turned small business mogul Codie Sanchez made this hiring declaration, she wasn't promoting elitism — she was revealing how contrarian entrepreneurs systematically build wealth through strategic team assembly.

Read time: 3 minutes | 760 words

STORY 

💵 Codie Sanchez: Build Teams that Build Wealth

Codie Sanchez spent nearly two decades on Wall Street before discovering that real wealth comes from owning "boring" businesses most people overlook. Now the founder of Contrarian Thinking and author of "Main Street Millionaire," she's on a mission to create 1 million financially free humans through business ownership.

Her journey from Goldman Sachs and Vanguard to acquiring over two dozen small businesses—from laundromats to car washes—has taught her invaluable lessons about building winning teams.

Key Hiring Principles from Codie Sanchez

• Hire people better than you: "If they're not better than you at something, they're not for you"

• Create systematic onboarding: "I have a 30, 60, 90 day plan for every new hire that I bring onboard"

• Make firing decisions quickly: "If you think you should fire them, do it"

• Focus on competence over credentials: Hire people who can actually help your team grow

• Act with confidence, not fear: Build teams that complement your weaknesses

The Bottom Line

Sanchez's contrarian approach to hiring reflects her broader business philosophy: make decisions quickly and decisively. Her success formula? "I'm just dumb enough to believe in myself, and smart enough to execute"—a mindset she applies to both business acquisition and team building.

For aspiring business owners, her message is clear: success comes from building teams of people who exceed your abilities in their specialized areas.

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INSIGHT + ACTION

🧠 Lessons from the Systematic Hiring Theory

A Wall Street insider turned small business owner claims systematic hiring processes can 10x your business growth, revealing how contrarian entrepreneurs build wealth through strategic team building rather than traditional recruitment.

Separate competence from credentials - Sanchez distinguishes actual ability from resume packaging. Most business owners hire based on degrees and previous job titles, missing the core value proposition of what someone can actually do.

• Example: Don't dismiss a freelancer without a college degree who has proven results in your industry. Don't hire someone with an MBA who's never generated real revenue. Strip away credential bias to evaluate pure performance potential.

Treat hiring like venture capital investing - Apply risk-reward analysis to team building instead of following traditional HR advice. Look for asymmetric upside with systematic downside risk management through structured onboarding.

• Example: Use 30-60-90 day milestone plans to test new hires before full commitment. Start with project-based work rather than permanent positions. Measure baseline business performance, add one team member, track specific results.

Leverage contrarian opportunities in overlooked talent pools - While everyone chases the same expensive employees, smart business owners find undervalued talent hiding in plain sight. The best team members often exist where traditional businesses won't look.

• Example: Research skilled freelancers on platforms dismissed by mainstream companies but validated by performance data. Look for specialized talent used by informed entrepreneurs. Find the gap between social perception and actual capability.

Make firing decisions with specific speed metrics - "If you think you should fire them, do it" isn't emotional—it's a systematic decision framework. Make bold, quick decisions about team changes rather than dragging out poor performance.

• Example: Set measurable performance benchmarks during onboarding. Track specific KPIs rather than subjective "culture fit." Create accountability through concrete metrics and timeline-based decision points.

The Meta-Strategy: Most business owners hire through cultural narratives rather than systematic processes. The smartest ones apply investment-grade analysis to team building—they research capabilities, calculate cost-per-result ratios, and test contrarian hiring hypotheses that others avoid due to traditional thinking.

Your homework: Identify one business function you need help with but have avoided outsourcing for traditional rather than logical reasons. Research the actual cost-benefit profile and hire a skilled freelancer on Upwork to test your systematic hiring process.*

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