Simple Businesses. Better Lives.

Build a better business. Create a better life.

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

Get the free guide Read my story

Free guide: 10 lessons from building and selling a business at 40. Plus one email a week.

Recognized by & spoken at

Inc.5000
clio
GrowFL
Two Comma Club
Estate Planning & Elder Law Marketing Summit

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 Blake and his wife Andrea holding the Bambiz 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.

Getting started is simple.

Get the free guide
Subscribe to Simple Businesses Win, and I'll send you Grow Without Giving Up Your Life right away. It's 10 lessons from building and selling a business at 40.
Use one idea a week
Each week, I'll give you one thing to try: a system to tighten, a decision to simplify, or a question worth asking.
Build a business that fits your life
Small changes stack up. Over time you get a business that runs well without needing you for everything.

Free guide

Grow Without Giving Up Your Life

10 lessons from building and selling a business at 40, each with a simple step you can take this week.

Get the free guide

Jim Blake speaking to a full conference room of business owners

Jim Blake, business speaker, presenting on stage

Jim Blake speaking on a GrowFL Florida Companies to Watch 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 my years in corporate sales and from building my own business, including the wins and the mistakes, so people leave with something they can use on Monday.

Entrepreneurship & niching down Owners, founders
Marketing for professional firms Professional service businesses
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.

Connect on LinkedIn

Jim Blake with his Sydney Marathon finisher medal in front of the Sydney Opera House — Sydney 2025, my seventh World Marathon Major

EarlyCorporate AmericaLearned how big organizations run, and what I'd do differently.
2017Founded BambizA niche agency serving elder law and estate planning firms.
2025Inc. 5000 & GrowFLYears of steady growth led to a spot on the 2026 Inc. 5000 and recognition as a GrowFL Florida Company to Watch.
2026Sold the company at 40Moved on to the next chapter by choice.
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.

Get the free guide

Build a better business. Create a better life.

Your business shouldn't cost you your life.

I know that feeling. I lived it for years.

Getting started is simple.

Get the free guide

Use one idea a week

Build a business that fits your life

Simple Businesses Win

Subscribe free

The podcast Coming soon

Ideas & past issues

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

From building a business to building a life.

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