Author Description

Most business buyers focus on the numbers. Few look at the traps hiding in plain sight. From bad leases to inflated financials, from dishonest sellers to operational headaches nobody warns you about-buying or selling a business is full of red flags that can cost you everything. In The Red Flag Playbook: Buying & Selling a Business - Don't Get Leased, Carson Jones shares the hard lessons he's learned from years in the trenches: opening restaurants, negotiating leases, drilling oil wells, brokering commercial real estate, and raising millions in capital. His message is simple: the deal on paper is never the whole story. Inside, you'll discover: Why the wrong lease can trap you in fear and wipe out your upside. The myths of business buying-and how they set up first-time buyers for failure. How to survive the "J-curve" of ownership when revenue dips and chaos hits. The top financial red flags hidden in small business books (and how to spot them). The dangers of assuming private equity or franchisors will rescue your exit. Tactical steps to negotiate fairly, protect yourself, and attract the right buyer. This is not a theory book. It's a tactical guide designed to save you years of pain, thousands of dollars in court costs, and sleepless nights worrying about liabilities you could have avoided. Whether you're buying your first HVAC company, selling a restaurant, or just exploring entrepreneurship, this playbook will show you what others won't: how to spot the traps before you step into them. Your business should bring freedom, not fear. Don't get leased.