Buy, Who, How (Rich vs Poor Problem Solving)
When you hit a problem, ask what you can buy before you ask how to build.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~ongoing to results
- Steps
- 3
- Confidence
- 82%
Sanchez frames three tiers of problem solving. Poor people ask 'how do I fix this problem?' and try to do it themselves. Relatively wealthy people ask 'who could fix this for me?' Rich people ask 'how could I buy an almost-guaranteed solution to this problem?' The discipline is to pause when a problem arises — don't jump to how, don't even jump to who — and first ask what you could buy or integrate. Buying beats building because a purchased product is already validated by customers, whereas a new product is a guess. She admits she still reverts to 'how' constantly and has to consciously obsess on 'buy'.
Origin
A mindset distinction Sanchez has been 'obsessing on lately,' contrasting how wealthy operators grow through acquisition rather than organic building.
Core principles
- 01Poor thinking asks 'how do I fix this?'
- 02Wealthy thinking asks 'who could fix this for me?'
- 03Rich thinking asks 'what could I buy that already solves this?'
- 04Buying a proven solution beats building an unproven one
How to run it
- 1
Pause at the problem
When a problem appears, deliberately stop before defaulting to figuring out how to build the fix yourself.
Pro tip The reflex to jump to 'how' is the poor-thinking trap; catch it.
- 2
Skip past 'who' to 'buy'
Rather than just delegating to who can solve it, ask what existing product or company you could buy that already solves it.
- 3
Integrate the proven solution
Acquire or integrate the validated product into your revenue line instead of guessing at a new build with unknown demand and no fulfillment.
Pro tip You already know it works because people are already buying it and you may already use it.
In the wild
Sanchez poses a business needing more revenue: instead of inventing a brand-new product to sell, ask whether something already in the market your audience loves could be acquired and folded into your revenue line.
→ The owner adds a validated revenue stream without the risk of building an unproven product.
Common mistakes
Reverting to 'how'
Even Sanchez admits she constantly defaults to building rather than buying; the fix is to consciously obsess on the buy option.
Is it for you?
Best for
Business owners facing a revenue, product, or capacity gap.
Not ideal for
Situations where no acquirable solution exists and building is the only path.
From the transcript
“rich people think I have a problem how could I buy an almost-guaranteed solution to this problem buy who how”
“I forget my own homework all the time I revert back to the how constantly and I should obsess on the buy more often too”
From the episode
Codie Sanchez: How to Make Extraordinary Wealth Buying Boring Businesses
Codie Sanchez