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MATTER OF FACT. FROM HOMES IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS TO OUR COFFEE SHOPS AND OUR GROCERY STORES. INVESTMENT FIRMS AND MAJOR CORPORATIONS OWN A LOT IN THIS COUNTRY. BUT SMALL BUSINESSES DEFINED AS INDEPENDENT, WITH FEWER THAN 500 EMPLOYEES, ARE CRUCIAL FOR THE ECONOMY. FROM 1995 TO 2021, NEARLY TWO THIRDS OF NEW JOBS WERE CREATED BY SMALL BUSINESSES, AND THEY EMPLOY ALMOST HALF OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR. ENTREPRENEUR AND SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER CODIE SANCHEZ IS ON A MISSION TO BUILD ON THAT OWNERSHIP. SHE’S THE AUTHOR OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLING BOOK, MAIN STREET MILLIONAIRE. IT WALKS READERS THROUGH THE PROCESS OF BUYING A SMALL BUSINESS. OUR CORRESPONDENT JESS GOMEZ TRAVELED TO CODY’S HOMETOWN OF AUSTIN, TEXAS, FOR A FIRSTHAND LOOK AT THE EFFORTS TO BUILD WEALTH THROUGH MAIN STREET. FIRST, WE’RE GOING TO START WITH HIRING AT 930 IN EAST AUSTIN, TEXAS. 38 YEAR OLD CODIE SANCHEZ AND HER TEAM. WE REALLY WANT THEM TO GO DEEP QUICKLY. PLANNING AN EDUCATIONAL EVENT THEY WOULD LATER HOST FOR PAYING MEMBERS OF HER FINANCE AND MEDIA COMPANY, CONTRARIAN, THINKING THE GOAL WITH THE COMPANY IS OVERALL IS REALLY ONE THING. I WANT TO CREATE AS MANY OWNERS AS POSSIBLE. SANCHEZ, WHO WORKED ON WALL STREET EARNING HER MBA AT GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY, BECAME DISILLUSIONED WITH HER JOB. MY FOUR RULES FOR FINDING SMALL BUSINESSES. SO SHE STARTED BUYING SMALL BUSINESSES ON THE SIDE. I QUIT MY 500 K A YEAR JOB AND SHARING WHAT SHE LEARNED ON SOCIAL MEDIA. FIVE KEYS TO FINDING YOUR LOCATION. I REALIZED, MAN, THERE’S SO MUCH APPETITE FOR THIS BECAUSE I THINK THE WAY THAT WE WERE TAUGHT HOW TO MAKE MONEY IS SUPER FLAWED. WE WERE ACTUALLY NEVER TAUGHT HOW TO GET OWNERSHIP. SO INSTEAD, WHY DON’T I TRANSFER SOME KNOWLEDGE? HER CONTENT RESONATING. SO AS YOU CAN SEE, WE’VE GOT ALL THE DIFFERENT PLATFORMS SHE’S RACKED UP 10 MILLION FOLLOWERS SO FAR, WALKING THEM THROUGH HOW TO BUY WHAT SHE CALLS BORING BUSINESSES. AND YOU CAN MAKE A LOT OF MONEY DOING IT. WHAT ARE BORING BUSINESSES? THEY’RE SORT OF THE TRADES THAT HAVE BEEN COMPLETELY PUSHED TO THE SIDE. ROOFING COMPANIES, LANDSCAPING COMPANIES, CARPENTRY COMPANIES, COMPANIES. SANCHEZ SAYS THAT COMMUNITIES COULD SOON LOSE TO BIG INVESTMENT FIRMS. PRIVATE EQUITY COMPANIES. IN 2000 OWNED 4% OF OUR BUSINESSES IN THE US. FLASH FORWARD TO 2020. THAT’S 20%. THAT’S JUST CONTINUING TO GROW. WHAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH PRIVATE EQUITY? SCOOPING UP ALL OF THESE TRADE COMPANIES, THESE SERVICES COMPANIES? AMERICANS, WHEN WE STARTED OUT IN THIS COUNTRY, 80% OF US OWNED THINGS. WE HAD A NATION OF OWNERS. NOW 6% OF AMERICANS OWN A BUSINESS. IT’S THAT THE FEW ARE OWNING EVERYTHING. WE HAVE A LOT OF PAINTERS, MANAGERS, WINDOW CLEANERS, STEPHEN MONTGOMERY, A FORMER PAINTER, IS THE FOUNDER OF AUSTIN BASED RESIBRANDS, WHICH SANCHEZ NOW CO-OWNS. IT’S THE PARENT COMPANY OF FIVE RESIDENTIAL HOME SERVICES FRANCHISES, WHICH COLLECTIVELY GROSS ABOUT $100 MILLION ANNUALLY. THE YOUNGER GENERATION IS ALREADY SEEING TRADES AND BLUE COLLAR WORK AS A LEGITIMATE OPTION AGAIN. I IS MORE QUICKLY GOING TO REPLACE MARKETING JOBS AND ADMINISTRATIVE JOBS THAN BLUE COLLAR JOBS. AND SO I THINK PEOPLE ARE SEEING IT AS A LEGITIMATE THING. WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT TODAY IS REALLY TACTICAL AND SPECIFIC. AMONG THE FRANCHISES, PINK’S WINDOW SERVICES. SANCHEZ HELPING CO-FOUNDERS BRANDON DOWNER AND CARTER SMITH. NATURALLY, YOU GUYS START A CLEANING COMPANY. FLIP THE SCRIPT ON BLUE COLLAR WORK. WE’VE HAD ALL THESE LEADS COME IN, PEOPLE SUPER INTERESTED IN THE TRADES, INTERESTED IN WINDOW CLEANING, INTERESTED IN PINKS AND BRINGING PINKS TO THEIR CITY. WHAT’S UP SANCHEZ THOUGH NOT WITHOUT HER CRITICS, WHO SAY HER BUSINESS, COMMUNITY AND COURSES ARE TOO EXPENSIVE AND SHE MINIMIZES THE COSTS AND RISKS OF BUYING A BUSINESS. DO YOU STRUGGLE WITH TRYING TO GIVE A REALISTIC VIEW TO PEOPLE, WHILE ALSO TRYING TO KIND OF REEL THEM IN TO YOUR COMMUNITY? THERE IS A NOTORIOUS HAND-OFF, AND ESPECIALLY NOW THAT WE HAVE ALL THESE WRITERS AND THIS THIS BIGGER MEDIA COMPANY, I DON’T LIKE PEOPLE SAYING, THIS IS A FOUR HOUR WORK WEEK, BECAUSE I DON’T THINK THAT’S TRUE. WE SHOULD BE THOUGHTFUL ABOUT THE FACT THAT IT’S NOT EASY. I’VE NEVER HAD ANOTHER JOB. I’VE NEVER DONE ANYTHING ELSE. ALEX RAMONE, A PROFESSIONAL MAGICIAN ON TOUR, WENT TO ONE OF SANCHEZ’S CONFERENCES AND BOUGHT IN. SHE TOLD ME SOMETHING THAT WAS SO SMART. MAYBE. LOOK AT YOUR BANK STATEMENTS. SEE WHAT YOU’RE SPENDING THE MOST MONEY ON, AND THEN ACQUIRE SOMETHING WITHIN THAT REALM. YOU WERE SPENDING A LOT OF MONEY ON THE SWAG. ABSOLUTELY. I WAS SPENDING TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS A YEAR. SO LAST YEAR, RAMONE BOUGHT A SCREEN PRINTING AND EMBROIDERY BUSINESS IN HIS HOMETOWN, EARNING EXTRA INCOME AND REDUCING HIS MERCHANDISE COSTS. YES, THERE ARE HIGHS AND LOWS OF BUSINESS OWNERSHIP, BUT THAT’S LIKE LIFE. THE FEELING YOU GET FROM BEING AN OWNER AND CONTRIBUTING TO YOUR COMMUNITY. THERE’S NOTHING BETTER THAN WE GOT THAT EVENT THIS WEEKEND. ARE YOU GOING TO COME? IT’S STORIES LIKE THOSE. SANCHEZ SAYS THAT KEEP HER AND HER HUSBAND, CHRIS, WHO RUNS ONE OF THEIR COMPANIES, FOCUSED ON THE PATH AHEAD. IT FEELS LIKE WE’RE ACTUALLY MAKING A REAL DIFFERENCE. WE’RE NOT JUST ENTERTAINMENT FOR PEOPLE. IT FEELS LIKE, MAN, I ACTUALLY I HELPED YOU DO SOMETHING TO MATERIALLY AFFECT YOUR FUTURE. THAT’S INCREDIBLE. MAYBE IT WAS ALL WORTH IT. THEN.