This is a segment from The Creator Economy Journal newsletter. To read more editions, subscribe.
$10+ million annual revenue. 12-person content team. 6.5M subscribers across platforms.
Codie Sanchez didn't stumble into this success by working harder. She systematically built enterprise-level operations that most creators never consider.
While most creators burn out trying to scale themselves, Codie built a business that can run without her involved in every part of the creative process.
Very different to the typical Brand Deal/AdSense split.
We spent the last few weeks analysing Codie's operational frameworks, inspired by her recent interview with Jon Youshaei, to understand what separates creators who build sustainable businesses from those who burn out.
Here are the 3 operational pillars you can steal today:
How to build bulletproof systems that eliminate single points of failure
How to create a self-provisioning team that operates without you
How to track performance across multiple platforms like an enterprise
"Most people get run by their business. They don't run their business."
There's a lot to unpack here, but I tried to make it as bite-sized as possible for you. So let's get into it.
1) Operational Infrastructure: Building Bulletproof Systems
"Growth is the Small Things magnified"
Most creators make the same mistake:
They try to scale by doing more of everything themselves.
Even when they hire, they stay too involved. Hiring should give you more time to spend on the things that matter most to your business. So how can you do it effectively?
Systematise before you scale.
Your business should not depend on specific people. But rather the roles those people fill.
The "3x3 Rule" That Changes Everything
Codie's framework is brutally simple:
If something has 3 or more steps and you've done it 3 or more times, you need a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).
No exceptions.
Record it once (literally record yourself doing it). Replicate it everywhere.
“If you can't describe what you are doing as a process, you don't know what you're doing.”
Why Physical Beats Digital (The Phone Problem)
Here's the next spot where most people get it wrong: they put their SOPs on the notes app or Notion, on their phones.
Codie prints and laminates everything.
Why? Because phones are distraction machines. You go to check your SOP, get a notification, and suddenly you're watching Italian Brain Rot on TikTok (Guilty as charged) instead of following the process.
The laminated checklist system:
Print every SOP on physical paper
Laminate for reusability
Use dry-erase markers to check off items
Team members sign off when complete
Photo gets sent to group chat for accountability
The Pilot Standard: Procedures for Everything
Codie aims to have “more SOPs than a pilot”. Pilots can't afford to forget critical steps.
Her belief is that neither can creators building enterprises.
Examples from her operation:
Podcast setup checklist (including “small things” like turning on AC before filming)
Content approval workflows
Platform-specific posting procedures
Printed out. And signed off every time.
The goal: Anyone on her team can execute at the same level by following the procedure.
2) Knowledge Management: Creating a Self-Provisioning Team
"If you want to build a boat do not teach your men to go and build planks and build rope teach them instead to yearn for the vast and Endless Sea."
The biggest bottleneck in creator businesses? The creator themselves.
Every question goes to you. Every decision waits for your input. Every piece of content needs your approval.
And of course, every piece of content needs you in it.
It’s very similar to being a tech founder when scaling. It can be difficult to give over control and decision-making.
What you need to realise is that you have to. Only the most important and needle-moving decisions (which get gradually more and more difficult as you scale).
"Organise around business functions, not people. Build systems within each business function. Let systems run the business and people run the systems. People come and go but the systems remain constant."
Codie solved this with what she calls "self-provisioning systems." Based on her belief that “every business is a people business before it's a product business, before it's a profit business.”
Notion as Your Company Brain
Codie's team can essentially “be Codie" because everything about her and the business is searchable in Notion.
What's in there:
All SOPs and playbooks
Platform-specific strategies (updated frequently)
Examples and stories from Codie’s work and life
Statistics and quotes for content
Training materials with good vs. bad examples
Everything about Codie in one place.
The key insight: Your team shouldn't need you for most decisions and workflows - if your knowledge is properly documented.
The Good vs. Bad Example Framework
Here's something most creators miss: Your team can't improve without seeing the difference between good and bad work.
Codie shows her team specific examples of both.
Her copywriting training includes:
Bad example: Boring, wordy, obvious corporate speak
Good example: Fun, uses "YOU," hits emotions, includes action words
Codie’s meta instructions on her own writing principles.
Why this works: Nothing is good, nothing is bad. Except by comparison and by example.
Platform Playbooks That Regularly Get Updated
Most creator "playbooks" gather digital dust. If they get created at all.
Most times, knowledge is stored in the heads of the creator and their team. Problem is: what happens when they leave or you’re not available?
Codie's get updated frequently because they're living documents that get shared internally to drive real impact.
3) Performance Management: Growth Tracking That Actually Works
Codie sets weekly growth goals (both at the platform level and aggregated) and tracks them religiously.
She treats her growth like a startup would. Week-on-Week.
Growth Scorecards Across All Platforms
Every week, Codie's team reviews performance across every platform with specific targets.
What they track:
Subscriber growth
Platform-specific follower targets
CTRs
AVD
Process goals (content scheduled in advance, thumbnails ready a week before…)
And much more (see image below)
Nothing like a lovely formatted Google Sheet (or is that just me?).
The power: They can quickly spot what's working, what's not, and where to double down.
The Aggregate vs. Platform View
Codie tracks two levels:
Individual platform performance (Is YouTube hitting its weekly growth target?)
Aggregate business performance (Are we hitting overall growth goals?)
Giving her a better perspective of her content and business as a whole.
What Gets Measured Gets Optimised
The scorecard isn't just tracking. It's decision-making.
"If you have the big core goals and metrics set in your business all the little pebbles don't really matter"
Examples of optimisation decisions:
Which platforms deserve more content investment
When to shift resources between channels
Which content formats drive the best business outcomes
Where the team should focus extra effort
The bottom line: If you're not measuring business impact, you're just creating content, not building a business.
Your Next Steps
The transformation from creator to enterprise operator requires systematic thinking, not just creative talent.
Audit your current operations:
How many times do you repeat the same tasks without documented procedures? (i.e. winging it from memory)
How often does your team need to ask you questions that could be answered by a system?
Are you tracking AND regularly reviewing content performance?
Start building your infrastructure:
Pick your first SOP: Choose one task you do repeatedly and document every step.
Create your knowledge hub: Start a Notion workspace with your key processes, information, stories, and examples.
Design your scorecard: Identify 3-5 metrics that actually drive your business forward.
“I kind of see businesses as widget factories. It's all the same game. You have sales, you have marketing, you have operations, you have admin, and you have some sort of distribution... almost all businesses run really similarly.”
The most successful creators aren't the most “naturally” creative. They're the ones who enable their creativity to thrive.
Some of my favorite content I found on the internet this week:
Kajabi surpasses $10B in total creator payouts: Creator Monetisation Platform, Kajabi, recently hit the milestone - leading the way for educational-creator businesses using online courses, coaching, and digital products as core revenue streams.
Brands like Unilever are doubling down on creator collaborations: On recent earnings calls, top CEOs described creators as the “newest media channel,” with Unilever citing award-winning creator-driven campaigns and Publicis projecting U.S. creator ad spend to eclipse $59B (surpassing traditional TV) within three years. This signals growing opportunities for strategic, enterprise-scale creator-brand partnerships.
Amazon dismantles Wondery’s podcast studio and CEO Jen Sargent departs, as part of a major restructure to focus on video-forward, creator-led content: Over 110 staff were laid off, while Wondery's narrative shows move to Audible and its creator-led video podcasts (like "New Heights" and "Armchair Expert") join a new Amazon Creator Services division, designed to scale creator partnerships and multi-platform distribution.
We are creating a source of truth for fair compensation in the creator economy with an anonymous survey.
If you work for a creator, or know someone who does, please share this with them.
If you are a creator or studio owner, share it with your team.
It will help create a more sustainable Creator Economy as it professionalises.
