Stop Job Hunting.
Start Owning.
56% of workers over 35 are forced out before they’re ready to retire. Fewer than 10% ever earn as much again. This is the book for the ones who refuse to become a statistic.
56%
of workers over 50
forced out early
AARP · 2020
<10%
ever earn
as much again
AARP · 2020
1
decision separates
those who recover
Own Your Next Job
THE STORY BEHIND THE BOOK
The day the corporate ladder disappeared, and I found something better.
In the 1980s, I was living the so-called dream. This is what happened next — and what I discovered that changed everything.
Back in the ’80s, I was a vice president at a major trust company. $300,000 a year. Private office. Kids in private school. Life looked good.
THEN MY BOSS SAID…
“We’ve got a problem Johnston. You’re making more money than any other VP in the company.”
I SAID…
“Isn’t that because I’m performing better?”
That didn’t matter. The system wasn’t designed for outliers.
I figured that with my resume and results, I’d be snapped up within weeks but I was wrong.
I started consulting — helped two companies, built their strategies, wrote their plans. They paid me well. Neither wanted to hire me.
One company asked me to execute the plan I wrote. I told them “Better than that — sell me the company.” They did.
What I learned is this: People don’t like hiring someone who might outshine them. Especially not when you’re in your forties or fifties. Your experience becomes a liability in someone else’s org chart.
That decision — to buy instead of apply — was the beginning of everything. The businesses I bought, built, and sold over the decades that followed gave me a retirement no salary ever could have funded.
Own Your Next Job is the book I wish someone had handed me the day I cleared out my desk. Every hard-won lesson, every expensive mistake, every template and framework I used — it’s all in here.
WHAT’S INSIDE THE BOOK?
10 chapters.
Decades of experience.
Zero filler.
No theory. No motivation.
A real-world blueprint built from someone who lived every page of it.
01
What to Do First After Being Fired or Nicely Let Go
The first 30 days are critical. Before panic does the deciding for you, here’s the framework that changes everything.
02
You’ll Never Be Fired, But You Might Go Bankrupt
The honest risks of ownership — and how experienced professionals navigate them successfully.
03
Identifying Prime Candidates to Buy
How to find businesses with customers, cash flow, and real upside — and the red flags that save you from disaster.
04
Making the Numbers Work for You
How to avoid buying a job with a fancy logo and a side of regret. The royalty math nobody shows you in the brochure.
05
How to Make the Offer
Deal structure, negotiation tactics, and the golden rule: let the other party open with the price.
06
Franchising Pitfalls
Financial modelling, valuation principles, and the SDE multiples framework — explained without jargon.
07
How to Operate a Company
Day-one reality: hiring, managing, building systems, and leading a team you didn’t build from scratch.
08
Partnership — The Most Dangerous Word in Business
Why most partnerships fail, how to structure one that doesn’t, and the exit clauses nobody wants to talk about.
09
Buying a Second Business
When one isn’t enough — how to evaluate, fund, and integrate a second acquisition without losing control of the first.
10
Exit Strategy
How to sell for maximum value. The timing, the preparation, and the mistakes that cost sellers hundreds of thousands.
Buy the book now, and get Jamie’s Tools
“This book is for anyone who still wants to work, earn, and live with purpose — but is done doing it on someone else’s terms. It’s not too late. And you’re not alone.”
Jamie L. Johnston
Jamie L. Johnston, B.A., M.A. Economics, M.B.a.
Author · Entrepreneur · Former VP
About the Author
A retired executive with nothing left to prove — and everything to share.
Jamie L. Johnston spent decades climbing the corporate ladder — only to discover the ladder was leaning against someone else’s wall.
Fired in his prime for out-earning his peers, he turned a setback into a career in business ownership that produced more wealth, more control, and more satisfaction than any corporate role ever had.
He writes not as a motivational speaker — he’s happily retired and not interested in the spotlight — but as a man who learned through real wins and very real losses what it actually takes to own your future.
Three Degrees in Six Years
Bachelor’s, Master’s in Economics, Master’s in Business
Five Years of University Football
Competed at the highest level in Canadian University athletics
Decades of Business Acquisition
Bought, built, operated, and sold multiple businesses across Canada
50+ Year Marriage · 3 Children · 7 Grandchildren
The family context that makes the financial lessons matter
Own Your Future
Stop waiting for someone to pick you.
Pick yourself
The job market isn’t built for you anymore. But the business market? That’s a different story.
There are thousands of profitable, cash-flowing businesses owned by people looking for the right buyer. You could be that buyer.
Own Your Next Job shows you exactly how.
Reader Reviews
What People Are Saying
Jamie Johnston doesn’t just explain how to buy a business, he gives you the actual tools to do it. Real templates, real checklists, and real frameworks you can use immediately.
This isn’t theory. It’s a practical, no-nonsense blueprint from someone who has done it multiple times , and documented exactly how.
If you’re serious about business ownership, this is a resource you’ll come back to again and again.”
I appreciate the care the author has taken to discuss emotions, legacy, and other factors that affect the negotiation of a business sale. But don’t let that fool you. He’s also a master of the numbers. And he offers his personal experience in a variety of ventures, from partnerships to franchises and everything in between.
This book will guide you through every question from “Is business ownership for me?” to “How much am I comfortable investing?” to “What if I want to sell?” You might just learn some things that don’t apply to business ownership! If you’re curious, this is a must-read.