Why Young People in New Zealand and Australia Should Hear Codie Sanchez

Young people hear plenty about starting a business with a brilliant idea. They hear less about the quieter work that helps a business last: understanding what customers need, looking closely at the risks and taking responsibility for the decisions that follow.

That is one reason Codie Sanchez has made such an impression on me.

I have never met or spoken with Sanchez. My view comes only from the YouTube videos and public posts I have seen. To me, she communicates with confidence and common sense, and encourages people to think seriously about business ownership and the responsibility behind their choices. Those are my impressions of her public work, not claims about her private character.

A different way to think about business

Sanchez’s public work often looks at buying, building and improving small businesses. Her company describes work that includes finding and assessing businesses, due diligence, financing and scaling them. (Contrarian Thinking)

The idea I value most is the attention to business risk. I like the way her material asks people to look closely at an opportunity and think about what could go wrong before they commit. In a September 2026 interview with Inc., Sanchez acknowledged that buying a business carries risk and described how spreading risk shaped her early deals. (Inc., 23 September 2026)

That is not a promise that careful planning will make a business succeed. No one can promise that. Buying an existing business can give a person a trading history to examine, but it still takes money, judgement and hard work. What I find inspiring is the idea that ambition can include preparation: learn what you can, ask difficult questions and try to reduce avoidable risk before acting.

That way of thinking can matter whether a young person wants to own a business one day, work in one or simply make better decisions about their future. It turns entrepreneurship from a distant dream into something people can learn to examine step by step.

Confidence, with responsibility

I admire Sanchez’s confidence and communication. She makes business ideas accessible and presents a clear point of view. For young people, seeing someone explain an idea directly can be a reminder that clear communication is a skill people can develop too.

But inspiration does not mean agreeing with everything a speaker says. A good talk should invite students to think, ask questions and reach their own conclusions. They might ask: What does this business provide that people value? What risks would an owner need to understand? What happens to customers and employees when a business changes? What would I need to learn before making a decision like this?

Those questions connect ambition with responsibility. They also help students see that business is not only about making money. It involves solving real problems, serving customers and making choices that affect other people.

A talk that fits its audience

I would like schools, universities and education leaders in New Zealand and Australia to consider inviting Sanchez to speak. Her official speaking page describes talks about small-business investment and financial independence. (Contrarian Thinking: Speaking) Her wider work also includes books, events and business education, so organisers should make that context clear to students.

The talk should suit the age and interests of its audience. Younger students might take more from a conversation about initiative, confidence and learning from mistakes. Older students and university groups might enjoy a deeper discussion about buying or building a business, weighing risk and deciding what they are prepared to take responsibility for.

I do not think any one person is a perfect role model for everyone. We can admire someone’s ideas while still asking questions and deciding what fits our own lives. That is part of what makes hearing different voices valuable.

I would welcome the chance for young people here to hear Sanchez speak — not because they should copy her, but because her public work has made me think more deeply about business, risk and personal responsibility. They might leave with a wider sense of what is possible, better questions to ask and the confidence to make their own way.

Sources

• Codie Sanchez’s YouTube channel (@CodieSanchezCT)
• Penguin Random House: Codie Sanchez
• Contrarian Thinking: About
• Contrarian Thinking: Speaking
• Inc.: Codie Sanchez on buying a small business (23 September 2026)
• Codie Sanchez: Own or Be Owned