The Church used two methods to collect the tithes: one was direct collection and the other was leasing; the second choice allowed private citizens to collect such incomes by paying the Church an estimate of the money in advance, in what constituted a de facto business investment. As such, it clearly opened the door to significant profits by the collector. We do not know to what extent Juan de Páez might have made a profit out of his position as steward, since before he accepted this position, he had access to this kind of business with the investments just described. However, once in possession of the stewardship, he had access to privileged information, which could mean better decision-making when it came to investing in the collection. 

He also displayed a knack for spinning one lucrative job into another. Just a year after his appointment as Guadalajara steward, he acquired the right to collect the tithes of the Tlaltenango Valley and the village of Jerez (located in the present-day state of Zacatecas).  Sharp competition soon arose over the right to collect tithes. Shortly after his appointment as steward, Juan was informed by the Ecclesiastic Town Council that it had received a higher bid. The amount offered was 1,400 pesos, prompting Juan de Páez to counter with an offer of 1,405 pesos, a difference that was ludicrously small, but enough for the clergy to turn down the other offer.  Well into the last years of his life, he continued to have access to this kind of investment, administering the collection of tithes in the Jocotepec and Cuisillos haciendas corresponding to the years of 1674 and 1675.