@Codie_Sanchez: I bought my first business whi...

I bought my first business while working a 9-5.

If I woke up tomorrow on a corporate salary again and wanted to become a millionaire by 2036, this is what I'd do:

Step #1: Extract every dollar from your job

Most employees treat their salary as their income ceiling.

They get the offer, sign the contract, & never touch the conversation again...

I’d treat it as my starting point to negotiate a higher pay. How?

By using the six Negotiation Levers:

1. Show your numbers - quantify how much revenue you drove, costs you cut, and time you saved for the business

2. Anchor high - say: “Based on my output and market data, I'm targeting $X.” If they push back, talk about finding the middle

3. Negotiate beyond base pay - ask for profit bonuses, milestone payouts, equity. Companies are more willing to give you upside when it's conditional

4. Make it easy to say yes - "If we hit these metrics by this date, can we agree to a comp adjustment automatically?"

5. Negotiate timing - get your next raise pre-agreed in writing and tie it to milestones: "If I hit X by Y date, comp moves to Z."

6. Ask the question nobody asks - “What have I not hit yet that's in the way of my next raise?" They'll literally tell you what to do to hit it.

Every year, I’d apply these to fight for 5% at review.

Around year 3 you'll likely max out. When it happens.. jump. One job switch gets you $10k+ faster than any annual review.

(Also, if they won't pay you more when you produce more.. that's a sign you need a different company.)

Step #2: Manage your money before it disappears

Before lifestyle inflation catches up, build a 3-6 month emergency fund and eliminate any high-interest debt (credit cards especially).

Then, automate your transfers.

A simple baseline I like to use for this is the 50/30/20 rule:

• 50% → needs (rent, car, living basics)
• 30% → wants (dinners, travel, fun)
• 20% → savings & investing

With that 20% saved up, I’d start building what I call my "FU Fund".

A war chest that gives you the power to say FU and walk away when you hate your job.

Your target: 3 years of living expenses saved up.

(That's how long it takes to pivot a career, start something from scratch, or buy a business.)

Once you get to that amount, you put it to work

Step #3: Buy a cash-flowing business

Take your savings & put:

• 10% into the stock market (index funds, ETFs)
• 10% into an account to acquire a business

One grows while you sleep, the other gets used when you find the right deal.

Here's what that looks like in practice:

Meet Jesus.

He worked a corporate job but wanted to become an entrepreneur.

Instead of quitting his 9-5, he spent 6 months learning deal structure with us, and walked out with a $4.5M acquisition on a $7M manufacturing company.

He now runs a team of 88.

Or take Bethany...

She bought a 20 year old hydroseeding business in North Carolina for mid 6 figures using an SBA loan.

Just 8 months after getting fired from her job.

Want to be next?

Jesus and Bethany are just two of the 14,000 people we’ve helped buy their first cash flowing business (most while still working their 9-5s).

If you want to learn how they did it, I'm teaching the entire process live here.

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