contrarianthink.com

Getting fired makes me more money.

2026-02-17 · 16:00 UTC ·Codie Sanchez ·4 min read

Brief

Codie Sanchez’s newsletter uses the threat of layoffs and AI-driven job displacement to pitch acquisition entrepreneurship as an alternative to salaried employment. Drawing on her Wall Street background, she argues that even high performers remain vulnerable to restructurings, citing layoffs at Amazon, UPS, and Dow and asserting that job searches now take about six months on average. Her core thesis is that business ownership allows people to “fire themselves” from low-value tasks by hiring bookkeepers, assistants, and operators, creating a company that can run with limited owner involvement. The piece provides little operational detail on acquisition criteria, financing, or implementation, instead functioning as a funnel into her paid three-day event, “Main Street Millionaire Live,” scheduled for February 20–22. The main concrete claims are that her most successful students operate acquired businesses in 5–10 hours per week and that one student, Erik Swift, bought a decades-old concrete business and reduced his workload to around five hours weekly.

Why it matters

Codie Sanchez frames layoffs as a reason to pursue small-business ownership, but the piece is primarily a marketing email for her February 20–22, 2026 “Main Street Millionaire Live” event.

Key details

  • The newsletter cites recent job cuts to build urgency, claiming Amazon cut 16,000 corporate jobs in January, UPS announced 30,000 cuts, and Dow eliminated 4,500 roles tied to AI replacement.
  • Sanchez argues that owning a business changes the meaning of being “fired”: delegating invoices to a bookkeeper, inbox management to an assistant, and operations to hired staff can increase owner income while reducing direct labor.
  • The offer is centered on buying “cash-flowing” small businesses and systematizing them so owners work 5–10 hours per week; Sanchez says 5,000+ students use this model.
  • As social proof, she highlights Erik Swift, described as having no prior experience before buying a 30-year-old concrete business and reducing his involvement to roughly five hours per week while the business allegedly performs better.
Cleaned source text

title: Getting fired makes me more money.

author: Codie Sanchez

content_type: newsletter

publication: contrarianthink.com

published: 2026-02-17T10:00:22-06:00

source_url: gmail://19c6c54eccabd35b

word_count: 983

Here’s how, plus how YOU can do the same. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­

Hey there, Most people are terrified of getting fired. But us? We _love_ it. It actually makes us more money. Before I tell you how, you gotta understand it wasn't always this way. See, when I was working on Wall Street, I did _everything_ right. Clocked in first. Left last. Wore every hat and over-delivered on every project. And still, this low-grade anxiety hummed in the background at all times: _‘What if they let me go?’_ The truth is… It doesn't matter how hard you work. You're still one corporate restructuring, one bad quarter, one new AI tool away from a pink slip. Don't believe me? Amazon just cut 16,000 corporate jobs in January alone… their _second_ mass layoff in three months. UPS announced 30,000 cuts. Dow slashed 4,500 roles to replace people with AI. And the year’s barely started! So if you're working a 9-to-5 reading this, I wouldn’t blame you for feeling the weight of that. Because for most people, getting fired doesn’t just mean they stop making money… It means the income that their mortgage, car, and kids' future run on _stops_. So now they’re scrambling. Hustling to find a new job in a market where it takes an average of six months to land one. And dipping into savings, the college fund, and the emergency fund that’s become an emergency in itself. Nobody deserves to live with that kind of fear hanging over their heads… And if you're feeling it, it's not because you're doing something wrong. It's because the system was never built to protect people like you and me. It was built to replace us whenever it's convenient - even if we play by the rules. That's exactly why I bought my first business. Because now, I _can't wait_ to get fired… See, getting fired means something completely different when you're the business owner. When I get _"fired"_ from handling invoices (because I hired a bookkeeper), I make _more_ money and get time back. When I get _"fired"_ from managing my inbox (because I onboarded an assistant), I never have to do work I hate again. When I get _"fired"_ from running day-to-day operations (because I installed the right systems and people)— my business runs _better_ without me. And because my layoff paranoia is now replaced with layoff excitement, I can actually be _present_ with my loved ones. That's what I want for you, there. And that’s what I’m covering at Main Street Millionaire Live — February 20–22. A three-day live event where I'm walking you through finding and buying your first cash-flowing business… Plus, how to install the exact systems that allow me and my 5000+ students to make _more_ money the _less_ we work. No, this isn’t a magic bullet. Yes, it takes a little effort up front. But once the systems are in place, managing the business takes my most successful students like 5-10 hours/week. Take Erik Swift…

He went from zero experience to buying a 30-year-old cash-flowing concrete business… That runs _better_ and makes _more money_ after firing himself from the day-to-day! Now he spends about five hours a week on the business, while spending the rest of his time outdoors with his wife and dog. So if you want the same systems that Erik and thousands of our students have already used to buy and run automated, cash-flowing businesses… Where getting fired feels like a _promotion_ instead of a panic attack… Grab your ticket to Mainstreet Millionaire Live (Feb 20-22) I'll show you how to buy your first cashflowing business step-by-step… So you can make more money, get more time back, and enjoy your life more every time you get fired! – Codie