Building a business teaches you more than business.

You learn about people. About making decisions without all the information. About what deserves your attention, and what you can stop doing.

And sometimes, you discover that something you worked hard to achieve isn’t the thing you want to keep doing forever.

Simple Businesses Win is where I share those stories, lessons, and questions.

Whether you’re a student exploring what you could build, starting your first business, leading a team, or thinking about your next chapter, I hope you’ll find ideas here that help you see your own possibilities more clearly.

What you’ll find here

Business lessons you can use.

Finding an idea worth exploring, understanding your customers, keeping things manageable, and building a business that works beyond its owner.

The people side of the work.

Understanding what motivates someone, having the conversation you’ve been putting off, and learning when to listen instead of having an answer. Lessons that matter whether you’re starting your first job or leading a team.

Life as it changes.

Choosing a direction, trying something new, appreciating what you’ve built, and figuring out what you want to do next.

Some posts will give you something to try. Others will tell a story or leave you with a question worth considering.

You don’t need a business idea or a career plan to find something useful here. Sometimes, hearing how someone else figured things out helps you take your own first step.

I’m Jim Blake.

Before I built a business, I worked in corporate sales and tried a few ideas that didn’t go very far.

Eventually, I founded Bambiz, a marketing company serving estate planning and elder law firms. We grew to more than $2 million in annual revenue, made the Inc. 5000, and built a team that could keep things moving without me involved in every decision.

In February 2026, I sold the company at forty.

That experience gave me plenty to write about. So did the years of figuring things out before it and the new questions that came afterward.

I enjoy taking something I’ve learned and making it useful to someone else. Writing here gives me a place to do that, keep learning, and hear how other people see things.

A new post every Thursday.

One longer article each month, with shorter stories and reflections in between. All free.

You don’t need to own a business or have your next move figured out to join the conversation. Curiosity is enough.

And when something resonates, or you see it differently, hit reply. I’d enjoy hearing from you.

Stories, lessons & better questions about business and life.

— Jim