Red Flag on the Play!

Red flags don’t show up to ruin your deal.
They show up to save your sanity.

You get a great lead. First meeting goes well. They’ve got a budget. The work sounds fun. But something’s off. They’ve “worked with someone before” who “didn’t do good work.”

I’ve been there. I once met a guy and we’ll call him Trevor. His brand was him. Every critique felt personal. He wanted control, not collaboration. Validation, not strategy. And even though my gut screamed otherwise, I took the job. He had energy. He had ideas. He also had a budget that didn’t match either. And I ignored every single red flag. I told myself it’d be fine. That the paycheck mattered more than the pit in my stomach. But when someone shows you how they’ll behave in a discovery call, believe them.

You don’t have to say no to every red flag. But you do need to name them. Out loud. And then decide — on purpose — if you’re willing to live with what comes next. Every time you ignore a red flag, you pay for it later — in time, stress, or sleep. Trust your gut. It’s not paranoia. It’s pattern recognition.