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BigDeal by Codie Sanchez

How to Build a $10M+ Online Empire (feat. Joshua Weissman)

My new book Own Or Be Owned launches September 18. More profit, less pain, and a business that runs without you — this book is a how-to manual.

Joshua WeissmanguestCodie Sanchezhost

Aug 7, 20241h 24mWatch on YouTube

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CHAPTERS

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Chapter summaries

Intro and Are People Happier Today?
Codie introduces Joshua Weissman and the episode's themes of food, attention and differentiation. She then asks whether people are happier than when he started on YouTube, and he says probably not, pointing to socioeconomic pressures and an "age of the hater."
- •Weissman says people are probably not happier than nine years ago
- •He cites post-COVID socioeconomic pressure, inflation and confusion
- •He describes a negativity-heavy social media environment
- •Codie says his videos engage the senses and counter social media's mood effects
Food as Fleeting Art
Codie reads a Weissman quote about the effort behind a plate, and he compares food to other art forms that last. Codie adds the "I, Pencil" essay to talk about the interconnectedness behind being served a meal.
- •Weissman calls food the culinary art
- •Painting, music and books persist, but food is made to be destroyed right away
- •Codie wonders at someone choosing to spend their life feeding others
- •The "I, Pencil" essay illustrates hidden complexity and interconnectedness
Why He Loved Working in Restaurants
Codie notes that most people view restaurant work negatively, but Weissman looks back on it fondly. He describes the passion, suffering for the craft and camaraderie of the kitchen.
- •Weissman pushes back on the all-negative restaurant narrative
- •People keep choosing restaurant work because of passion
- •He chose to work in places that weren't too toxic
- •He loved the camaraderie and clear sense of identity in a kitchen
Leaving the Kitchen for YouTube
Codie asks how he decided to leave a restaurant job to become a YouTuber. Weissman explains that he was frustrated with food entertainment, slept two or three hours a night for nearly a year, and was already out-earning his cook's salary when he left.
- •He says he was bothered by food entertainment made by people who don't care about food
- •He slept two to three hours a night for almost a year while doing both jobs
- •He was making around 40K a month on YouTube versus $11 an hour
- •Coworkers teased him before he left but understood once he did
Thick Skin: Bullying, Hate and Handling Feelings
Asked whether he ignores mockery, Weissman explains how being bullied as an overweight kid gave him thick skin. He shares a framework of feeling emotions without reacting to them.
- •He lost about 140 pounds around age 16 after being bullied
- •He filters criticism for what might be true versus nonsense
- •He says feelings are out of your control but your actions are not
- •He recommends waiting a day or more before responding to hurtful messages
The Gastrique Fire and Kitchen Discipline
Codie asks whether anyone ever made him cry in a restaurant, and Weissman tells the story of a gastrique that caught fire while he led a team. They then discuss how kitchens act like a gym for feedback and discipline.
- •He cried only when called out as a bad practitioner, never from meanness
- •A forgotten sugar-and-vinegar sauce erupted into flames and the VP of the group scolded him
- •The VP later apologized and was kind about it
- •Codie says chefs take harshness beyond even finance
- •Weissman says discipline can't be hidden in a restaurant
Food Media Moves from TV to the Internet
Codie asks whether the best-known chefs are moving online. Weissman contrasts television-era names with today's diffuse attention, and Codie mentions streamers weighing user-generated content.
- •Weissman names Gordon Ramsay and Anthony Bourdain as his inspirations
- •He says the internet is where people consume food media now
- •Consumption modes have fragmented from TV or movies to many options
- •Codie relays that streaming services are considering first-person and user-generated content
Signature Moves, Taglines and Viral Quirks
Codie raises creators' taglines and signature moves, and Weissman says his are unintentional. He tells stories about the "Papa" nickname, the back video and an accidental viral TikTok clip.
- •He says his signature moves are unintentional tics the audience picked up on
- •The "Papa" joke grew out of voiceovers
- •He was among the first to make food content on TikTok
- •An accidentally left-in clip got about eight million views quickly
Formula, Authenticity and Keeping Content Creative
Codie asks about ASMR and a formula for cooking videos. Weissman says presence matters and he follows timed cuts, and he advises newcomers to be themselves rather than invent a character, then discusses running a production company.
- •Presence and name recognition drive views as much as formula
- •He is formulaic about attention span per cut
- •Newcomers should reflect who they are rather than create a character
- •Creators should treat viral results unemotionally and rinse and repeat
- •The studio doors say "Honor the audience"
Competing for Attention and the Law of Reps
Codie describes content as the most competitive game with no moat. Weissman says he fights for necessity over glamour, and they agree that volume and relentless repetition lead to quality.
- •Codie says attention is the most expensive commodity and anyone can compete
- •Weissman says he is not competing with anyone and wants to do this forever
- •Fighting for glamour eventually runs out of energy
- •Codie's "law of more" cites Picasso and Taylor Swift
- •Weissman says restaurants taught him anyone can be great with enough reps
Launching a Bestselling Cookbook Without Ads
Codie asks how he sold hundreds of thousands of copies and drew 3,000 people to a signing without ads. Weissman says he treated promos as entertaining content, citing the toilet-paper video and "don't buy my book" campaigns.
- •A free $200,000 Pinterest ad allotment produced under 1% of sales
- •He wouldn't promote the book with boring, disruptive promos
- •Value comes first, then the book
- •The video where he wipes with a book page sold about 60,000 copies in a day
- •He treats book ads exactly like content, with a creative or story
Unchanged Goals, Risk and Losing Money on Videos
Codie asks how his goals have changed. Weissman says his vision is the same, rooted in watching Gordon Ramsay at 11 or 12, but he is now more analytical and taking more risk, including six-figure video losses.
- •He says success was not an accident and his big goal hasn't changed
- •He approaches things more analytically and less emotionally
- •He says he is taking on more risk for the next step
- •Codie relays an investor's view that never failing means not risking enough
- •He has lost up to about 75,000 on one video, and multiple six figures overall, though he sees it as investment
Cooking for Others, and Impressing a Date
Codie asks whether he prefers cooking for himself or others, and he says others. They then discuss cooking as an advantage with partners and the dishes he suggests for a beginner.
- •He prefers cooking for others after days on a dish
- •He calls cooking an advantage and says it was one with his wife
- •Learn about the person first, including whether they're vegan
- •Suggestions: a beef dish, an easy-win dessert like chocolate chip cookies, and a starch like mashed potatoes
- •Going too fancy gives only a 10 to 20% added advantage
Cooking, Community and Being Fit
Codie and Weissman discuss the dinner table as community and the benefits people overlook in cooking. They then cover balancing fitness with loving food, and Weissman's advice to seek out one good eating experience.
- •Weissman says people focus on cooking's inefficiencies, not its benefits like patience and focus
- •Codie describes her nightly dinner ritual with her husband
- •Weissman says hyper-efficient people can still spend time on a meal
- •Healthy eating means balancing lighter and looser meals
- •His closing advice is to seek out one special eating experience
Takeaways and Deal of the Week: Restaurants and Chefluencers
Codie summarizes Weissman's relentless attention to detail, then presents the deal of the week on why restaurants are hard businesses. She closes with chef-influencer Thomas Straker and All Things Butter.
- •Codie's takeaway is that relentless attention to detail is hard to beat
- •Restaurants average about $198,000 in sale price, and 60% fail in the first year
- •Net margins run 3 to 5% in a crowded red ocean market
- •Thomas Straker built All Things Butter from viral short videos
- •The company raised $500,000 and later $2.2 million

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