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Hey, Josh here. This framework caught my eye. Let’s dive into it!

The Boring Business Revolution: Your Guide to Codie Sanchez's Levels of Business

Why the most profitable businesses are often the least glamorous

Let's be real for a second. While everyone's chasing the next unicorn startup or trying to build the "Uber for X," there's a quiet revolution happening in the business world. And it's being led by someone who thinks laundromats are sexier than Silicon Valley darlings.

Meet Codie Sanchez – investor, entrepreneur, and the woman who's flipping the script on what it means to build wealth through business. Her "Levels of Business" framework isn't just another business theory; it's a reality check that could save you years of heartache and help you actually make money instead of just dreaming about it.

The Framework That's Making Entrepreneurs Rethink Everything

Picture this: You're at a party, and someone asks what you do. What sounds cooler – "I'm building an AI-powered blockchain solution for pet wellness" or "I own three laundromats"? Most people would go with the first one, right? But here's the plot twist: the laundromat owner is probably sleeping better at night and making more money.

That's the genius of Codie's framework. She's created a simple way to categorize businesses based on three critical factors:

Valuation Multiples – How much someone would pay for your business Profit Margins – How much you actually keep from each dollar Growth Potential – How big this thing can actually get

Think of it like dating. Some relationships are fun and exciting but crash and burn. Others might seem boring at first but turn into solid, long-term partnerships that actually make you happy. Codie's framework helps you spot the difference in business.

Level One: The Unsexy Money Makers

Level One businesses are like that reliable friend who always pays you back. They're not flashy, but they show up every single day.

The Good News: These businesses can make you money in 1-30 days. Yes, you read that right – days, not years. We're talking about:

• Consulting services (helping people solve specific problems)

• Local service businesses (think pest control, cleaning services)

• Simple e-commerce stores

• That adoption consulting service Codie mentions (helping families navigate the adoption process)

The Reality Check: You're not going to sell these for millions. Most boring businesses sell for about 3-5 times their annual profit. So if your laundromat makes $50K a year, you might sell it for $150K-250K. Not life-changing money, but not bad for something that runs itself.

Here's what makes Level One businesses brilliant: they're your business boot camp. They teach you how to handle customers, manage cash flow, and deal with all the unglamorous stuff that makes or breaks real businesses. Plus, they give you something most entrepreneurs never have – actual income while you're learning.

Higher Levels: The Long Game

Now we get to the businesses that make headlines and break hearts in equal measure. Higher-level businesses are like that attractive person who says they're "not ready for commitment" – they might be worth the wait, but you better be prepared for a long, uncertain journey.

The Timeline: We're talking 3-5 years to profitability. Sometimes longer. Amazon was public for years before making consistent profits. Uber took seven years to show a quarterly profit. Your runway needs to be long.

The Payoff: When these work, they really work. Software companies can sell for 10-20 times their annual revenue. That $10 million revenue startup? Could be worth $100-200 million if everything goes right.

The Catch: Most don't make it. The startup graveyard is filled with brilliant ideas that never found their market or ran out of money before hitting profitability.

The Million-Dollar Question: Which Level Are You?

Here's where most people mess up. They pick a business level based on what sounds cool instead of what matches their situation. Codie's framework forces you to ask some uncomfortable questions:

How much runway do you have? If you need to pay rent next month, a Level One business makes sense. If you've got a trust fund or a spouse with a steady job, maybe you can swing for the fences.

What's your risk tolerance? Some people can handle the uncertainty of a startup. Others need the security of steady cash flow. Neither is wrong – they're just different.

What are you actually good at? A brilliant software engineer might waste their time buying a laundromat, while someone with operations experience might be perfect for it.

How big do you want to go? Not everyone needs to build a billion-dollar company. Sometimes a few hundred thousand a year in passive income is exactly what you need.

The Boring Business Opportunity

Here's where it gets interesting. Codie, along with the My First Million crew (Shaan Puri and Sam Parr), spotted something huge: we're in the middle of the greatest business transfer in history.

Baby boomers are retiring. They own millions of profitable, boring businesses. And many of them don't have kids who want to take over the family plumbing company or accounting firm. This creates a massive opportunity for younger entrepreneurs who are smart enough to see the value in unsexy businesses.

Think about it – while everyone's trying to build the next TikTok, you could buy a profitable business that's been running for 20 years. It already has customers, systems, and cash flow. You just need to not screw it up.

The Content Connection

Here's a twist that shows how clever Codie really is. She doesn't just invest in boring businesses – she creates content about it. This creates what she calls a "flywheel effect":

1. She creates content about business investing

2. This builds trust and authority

3. People bring her better deals

4. She makes more money on investments

5. She has more interesting content to create

It's like being a food critic who gets invited to the best restaurants. The content and the business feed each other.

Your Level One Starter Pack

If you're sold on the Level One approach, here's how to think about it:

Start with what you know: Are you good at something people pay for? There's probably a Level One business hiding in your skills.

Look for boring industries: If it makes people yawn at parties, it might make you money. Pest control, cleaning services, basic consulting – these aren't sexy, but they're necessary.

Focus on cash flow: Can you start making money immediately? If not, you might be looking at a higher level business without realizing it.

Keep it simple: The more complicated it is to explain, the more likely it is to fail.

The Higher Level Reality Check

If you're determined to build the next big thing, Codie's framework doesn't say "don't do it." It says "know what you're signing up for."

You'll need significant capital, a long runway, and the stomach for uncertainty. You'll probably need investors, which means giving up control. You'll need to hire people, which means management headaches. You'll need to scale, which means complexity.

But if you can handle all that and you're in a market big enough to support massive growth, the rewards can be extraordinary.

The Hybrid Approach

Here's the secret sauce: you don't have to pick just one level. Codie herself owns boring businesses that generate steady cash flow and runs a higher-level media company. The boring businesses give her financial security and deal flow, while the media company has bigger upside potential.

Many successful entrepreneurs use Level One businesses as stepping stones. They generate cash and experience that can fund bigger bets later. It's like having a day job that you own.

The Bottom Line

Codie Sanchez's Levels of Business framework isn't just about categorizing businesses – it's about getting honest with yourself about what you want and what you're capable of.

If you want to build a billion-dollar company and you have the resources and temperament for it, go for it. But don't feel like you have to. There's real wealth to be built in boring businesses, and there's no shame in choosing the path that actually makes you money.

The framework forces you to ask: Do you want to be rich, or do you want to feel like an entrepreneur? Do you want steady income, or do you want to chase the dream of a massive exit? Do you want to sleep well at night, or do you want to swing for the fences?

Neither answer is wrong. But picking the wrong level for your situation is expensive.

So next time someone asks what you do for a living, and you say "I own a couple of laundromats," hold your head high. You might not be changing the world, but you're definitely changing your bank account – and you're probably having more fun than the person who's been "pre-revenue" for three years.

The boring business revolution is here. The question is: are you ready to get bored... all the way to the bank?

Want to dive deeper into Codie's approach? Check out her content at Contrarian Thinking, where she breaks down real deals and shows you exactly how boring businesses can build extraordinary wealth.