JB JIM BLAKELEARN · SHARE · BUILD
Simple Businesses. Better Lives.

Build a better business. Create a better life.

Grow your business without giving up your life. I built a company, sold it at 40, and I write about how.

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Jim Blake, entrepreneur, speaker and writer, smiling in a navy blazer
Recognized by & spoken at
  • Inc.5000
  • clio
  • GrowFL
  • Two Comma Club
  • Estate Planning & Elder Law Marketing Summit
  • BAMBIZ

Your business shouldn't cost you your life.

Revenue grows. So do the hours, the decisions, and the late-night emails.

A lot of owners build something that only works when they're in the room. Every question lands on their desk. Every client wants them personally. Vacations come with a laptop.

It usually happens slowly. You say yes to one more service, one more kind of client, one more tool. Before long the business is complicated, and complicated businesses need their owner all the time.

It doesn't have to work that way. Clear systems, a tighter focus, and simpler decisions can build something valuable that also gives you your time back.

Jim and Andrea Blake holding the Inc. 5000 award at the gala
With my wife, Andrea, at the Inc. 5000 gala

I know that feeling. I lived it for years.

I started Bambiz in 2017 as a marketing agency for one kind of client: elder law and estate planning attorneys. Saying no to everyone else felt risky. It turned out to be the best decision I made.

Narrowing down made everything easier to run, easier to hand off, and eventually easier to sell. I sold the company in 2026, at 40. Now I share the lessons, the mistakes included, so other owners can get there with less pain.

2017Founded Bambiz
#1,3312026 Inc. 5000, America's fastest-growing private companies
40Age when I sold the business
Named a GrowFL Florida Company to Watch, recognizing standout second-stage companies.

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Simple Businesses Win

Stories, lessons, and better questions about business and life.

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Weekly business lessons and personal reflections, written for owners who want growth and a life outside the business.

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Jim presenting to a full conference room of business owners
Jim smiling mid-talk on stage
Jim speaking on a GrowFL panel

Keynotes · Panels · Podcasts · Classrooms

Practical lessons from building, scaling, and selling a business.

I enjoy sharing what I've learned with entrepreneurs, business leaders, and students. My talks are built on real examples from running an agency, so people leave with something they can use on Monday.

  • Entrepreneurship & niching down Owners, founders
  • Marketing for professional firms Law & service firms
  • Leadership & simple systems Teams, managers
  • AI & emerging technology Practical, no hype
  • Personal finance & life after an exit Students, owners
Book a call about an event
I think Jim's session was the best I've attended at any Clio event, including three ClioCons.
Attendee, Clio Estate Planning Event
Outstanding presentation. The best and most useful one on marketing I've experienced.
Estate planning attorney
Jim was excellent. Gave clear, practical examples of the strategies and techniques he discussed. Far and away the best presentation of the day.
Event attendee
My story

From building a business to building a life.

I grew up in the Midwest and spent my early career in corporate America. In 2017 I started Bambiz and spent nearly a decade building it from the ground up.

Along the way I learned that more growth wasn't always the answer. Some of my best decisions were about simplifying, handing things off, and recognizing when enough was enough.

These days I'm writing, speaking, teaching, and spending more time with my family. I've also finished all seven World Marathon Majors, and Cape Town, the newest, is on the calendar for 2027. When I'm not running, you'll find me on a tennis or pickleball court or at the beach near Jacksonville, Florida.

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Jim holding his finisher medal in front of the Sydney Opera House
Sydney 2025, my seventh World Marathon Major
  1. EarlyCorporate AmericaLearned how big organizations run, and what I'd do differently.
  2. 2017Founded BambizA niche agency serving elder law and estate planning firms.
  3. 2025Inc. 5000 & GrowFLYears of steady growth led to a spot on the 2026 Inc. 5000 and recognition as a GrowFL Florida Company to Watch.
  4. 2026Sold the company at 40Moved on to the next chapter by choice.
  5. NowLearn · Share · BuildWriting Simple Businesses Win, speaking, and teaching.
Imagine this

A business that runs well and leaves room for your life.

Fewer fires. Clearer priorities. A team that doesn't need you for every answer. That's what Simple Businesses Win is about.

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Simple Businesses Win

Real lessons from building and selling a business at 40, with one idea you can use each week.