“The appendix alone is worth the price of this book. 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.”
ARC Reader
Own Your Next Job.
How to Buy a Business Instead of Searching for Work
56% of workers over 50 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
pushed out ahead of schedule
AARP · 2020
<10%
ever climb back
to their old income
AARP · 2020
One
decision separates
those who recover
Own Your Next Job
The Story Behind the Book
The day the corporate ladder
disappeared — 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.
My boss
“We’ve got a problem. You’re making more money than any other VP in the company.”
Me
“Isn’t that because I’m performing better?”
That didn’t matter. The system wasn’t designed for outliers. I refused to take a pay cut. I was fired.
I figured that with my resume and results, I’d be snapped up within weeks. 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
From finding the right business to structuring the deal, running it, building wealth and eventually selling, Own Your Next Job walks you through the full ownership journey.
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.
You’ll Never Be Fired, But You Might Go Bankrupt
The honest risks of ownership — and how experienced professionals navigate them successfully.
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.
Franchising Pitfalls
How to avoid buying a job with a fancy logo and a side of regret. The royalty math nobody shows you in the brochure.
How to Make the Offer
Deal structure, negotiation tactics, and the golden rule: let the other party open with the price.
Making the Numbers Work for You
Financial modelling, valuation principles, and the SDE multiples framework — explained without jargon.
How to Operate a Company
Day-one reality: hiring, managing, building systems, and leading a team you didn’t build from scratch.
Accumulating Wealth, Saving Taxes, Building Assets
The wealth strategies that make a business more than income — they make it a retirement vehicle.
When Is It Time to Sell Your Business?
The signals, the timing, and how to position for maximum value before you go to market.
Life After Selling
What it looks like, how to design it, and why the best exits aren’t the end — they’re the beginning.
Appendix Resources
Tools you can actually use.
The appendix gives you practical templates and reference tools to help you evaluate, structure and move through a real acquisition.
01
NDA Template
Protect sensitive information before serious discussions begin.
02
Letter of Intent Template
Put the key terms of a potential deal in writing.
03
Due Diligence Checklist
Know what to investigate before you commit.
04
SDE Multiples Reference Guide
Assess whether the asking price makes sense.
05
Financial Statement Framework
Understand what the numbers are telling you.
06
Recommended Reading
Go deeper on the skills and ideas that matter most.
Buy the book and get the appendix in digital format.
GET THE BOOKReader Reviews
What readers are saying
“The approach to this book isn’t ‘all business.’ I appreciate the care the author has taken to discuss emotions, legacy, and other factors that affect the negotiation of a business sale. If you’re curious, this is a must-read.”
ARC Reader
“Jamie Johnston doesn’t deal in theory — he shares a clear, no-nonsense blueprint for turning experience into ownership, backed by real deals, real numbers, and hard-earned lessons.”
ARC Reader
Own Your Future
Stop waiting for
someone to pick you.
Pick yourself.
The job market may no longer reward your experience. Business ownership can. Own Your Next Job shows you how to find the right opportunity, structure the deal, and build your next chapter on your own terms.