Growth Consultant & Fractional CMO
Ambitious founders hire me to help them win
Tell me if this sounds familiar to you:
Your company has great growth potential, but something’s not clicking yet.
You’ve been personally directing marketing efforts because you don’t have anyone else to delegate it to, but you know you’re not the right person to do it.
You’ve hired some marketing staff or contractors, but they keep looking to you for direction when you were hoping they would provide that.
It’d be nice to hire an experienced marketing executive to take it over, but your revenue doesn’t yet support another full-time executive salary.
That situation is exactly where companies bring me in. I deliver all the expertise of a veteran Chief Marketing Officer, but on a part-time basis.
Having worked with hundreds of small businesses over the years, I’ve probably seen and solved your exact situation dozens of times before. I’ll assess the issues, explain the solutions, and then hit the ground running implementing them.
Strategy, budgeting, staffing, deployment, management, reporting—I can take care of all of it, freeing you up to do everything else you need to focus on.
I know what your company needs to get to the next level, and I’ll build the systems to make it actually happen.
If that sounds interesting, we should talk.
“James’s unique approach differs from most, but proves time and time again to give us that distinctive advantage we need.”
—Chuck Reynolds (Partner, Vuurr)
This is Like My 724th Rodeo
I’ve been in C-level executive positions (CEO, CMO, CTO, and CPO) for more than two decades.
I founded and ran a successful boutique marketing agency for 12 years before exiting in an acquisition by a larger international agency.
I’ve worked on client projects for multiple Fortune 500 companies, including Disney, Walmart, Microsoft, Motorola, Yahoo, and Monster.
I was the CMO of a tech company for six years and helped take them from zero to millions of dollars a year.
Whatever you’re dealing with, I’ve probably done it before.
Real Stories from Companies Like Yours
After launching a non-profit’s new website, they received more online donations than they had in a decade.
After launching a new resort website, they received more monthly online bookings than they’d had in 15 years.
A home services company asked to stop their video campaign because they couldn’t handle all the incoming business.
A B2B service company doubled revenue through an automated outbound email marketing campaign.
Took a hardware/software technology company from zero to $2 million+ and being well known in their niche.
Achieved 98% reduction in lead acquisition cost for a tech company by identifying and eliminating wasteful targeting.
Oversaw an ecommerce site interface redesign that created a 400% increase in sales compared to prior results.
Managed rebranding a $1B+ company after their merger, including culture alignment and new digital experience.
Key Areas of Marketing Expertise
I ran a marketing agency for 12 years so I can do just about anything related to marketing, but these are the areas in which I have an unfair advantage over others.
Content Marketing
I’ve been doing hands-on content marketing for nearly two decades, so you’ll have a hard time finding anyone more experienced.
Digital advertising
I’ve been running PPC campaigns on various platforms since Google first launched AdWords and AdSense in in the early 2000s.
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
I’ve been doing SEO since the days when you’d put “Britney Spears” in your meta keywords to rank higher on Altavista.
Social Media Marketing
I’ve been using social media for personal and business use since the days of LiveJournal, Friendster, MySpace, and Orkut.
video marketing
I’ve been using video to promote businesses for the past 16 years, and have been an avid YouTuber for the past 14 years.
Web design & development
I’ve been designing and building for the web since 1996, and have always been an early adopter of new trends and technologies.
marketing automation
I have extensive hands-on experience with platforms like HubSpot, including building custom automation platforms.
Customer/user experience
I’ve done customer and user experience design since the mid 1990s, and have spoken on those topics at many conferences.
branding & positioning
I’ve been doing hands-on content marketing for nearly two decades, so you’ll have a hard time finding anyone more experienced.
Projects I've Worked on Have Been Covered by...
Key Growth Principles I've Learned the Hard Way
A few important things I’ve picked up over the decades
Forget what you think you know. Most marketing advice is based on outdated tactics instead of real insight, so the first step to effective marketing is challenging your assumptions.
Psychology crushes technology every time. It’s important understand what people are using, but it’s even more important to understand why they’re using it.
Your blind spots are your biggest business obstacle. The gap between your good intentions and what your customers actually want could be costing you millions.
Marketing isn’t a department—it’s the physics of business. Every customer interaction is part of your marketing, and treating it as an isolated function is missing the big picture.
Good marketing is efficient marketing. Anyone can make a splash with a Super Bowl ad budget, but the trick is making it happen without one. You have to embrace your constraints and get creative.
If it’s not driving results, it’s not marketing. I’m not here to win awards and impress my industry peers, I’m here to grow companies and make the economy work better for everyone.