Empire Builders with Nick James – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode of Empire Builders, host Nick James sits down with Clate Mask, CEO and co-founder of Keap (formerly Infusionsoft), for a deep dive into building and scaling a successful tech company.

Clate shares the remarkable journey of Keap from its humble beginnings as a custom software provider to becoming a leading CRM and marketing automation platform for small businesses. He offers valuable insights on:

• The stages of business growth and the challenges at each level
• Building a strong, purpose-driven company culture
• Evolving as a leader through different phases of business
• The importance of hiring, training, and firing based on company values
• Strategies for creating successful partnerships and affiliate programs
• Balancing family dynamics in business

Clate also discusses the mission behind Keap – to simplify growth for one million entrepreneurs worldwide by 2030 – and how this drives the company's decisions and his own continued passion for the business.

Whether you're just starting out or looking to scale your business to new heights, this episode is packed with practical advice and inspiration from one of the most respected names in the small business software industry. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from Clate Mask's two decades of experience in building and leading a successful, mission-driven company.

VALUABLE RESOURCES

https://www.expertempires.com

https://www.expertempires.com/october2024-tickets

https://bit.ly/7figcoachgroup

ABOUT THE HOST

Nick James

Nick dropped out of university at the age of 21 and failed spectacularly with his first coaching business, which forced him to take a £16k/yr telesales job. 

Within 12 months he was the top performer and left to start his second business at 24. This time he discovered a winning formula and before long had a multi-six-figure company.

He then made a huge mistake which nearly put him out of business and cost him £50,000 in personal cash!

Fortunately, Nick kept it afloat, turned it around, and sold that business 2 years later in a seven-figure deal. 

He then co-founded a multi-million-pound marketing company, which he exited in 2015, and created Expert Empires.

Today, Expert Empires is known as the UK's number one business event for Experts, with world-renowned celebrity speakers like Gary Vaynerchuk, Grant Cardone, Chalene Johnson, David Goggins, and Lewis Howes gracing the stage.

Nick also specialises in helping Coaches, Consultants, Speakers, Trainers, and Authors take their businesses from zero to six figures and beyond through his Expert Empires Mastermind programme.

In this episode of Empire Builders, we revisit a classic conversation with Matt Elwell, co-founder of the Elite Closing Academy and Nick James' business partner. This gem from our archives is packed with wisdom on the art of selling and closing.

Matt shares his journey from selling ladies' sanitary wear to becoming an elite closer and breaks down the crucial difference between selling and closing. You'll learn about his "Open with a Close" philosophy, the importance of asking powerful questions, and how to create a "caterpillar egg to beautiful butterfly" sales process.

This episode is particularly relevant as Matt will be running a bonus Sales & Closing Superconference day at Expert Empires in October 2024. Whether you're new to sales or looking to refine your techniques, this classic episode offers invaluable insights that are as relevant today as when first recorded.

Tune in for a nostalgic yet powerful lesson in mastering the art of the close, and get a taste of what to expect at the upcoming Superconference. 

VALUABLE RESOURCES

https://www.expertempires.com

https://www.expertempires.com/october2024-tickets

https://bit.ly/7figcoachgroup

https://eliteclosingacademy.com/

ABOUT THE HOST

Nick James

Nick dropped out of university at the age of 21 and failed spectacularly with his first coaching business, which forced him to take a £16k/yr telesales job. 

Within 12 months he was the top performer and left to start his second business at 24. This time he discovered a winning formula and before long had a multi-six-figure company.

He then made a huge mistake which nearly put him out of business and cost him £50,000 in personal cash!

Fortunately, Nick kept it afloat, turned it around, and sold that business 2 years later in a seven-figure deal. 

He then co-founded a multi-million-pound marketing company, which he exited in 2015, and created Expert Empires.

Today, Expert Empires is known as the UK's number one business event for Experts, with world-renowned celebrity speakers like Gary Vaynerchuk, Grant Cardone, Chalene Johnson, David Goggins, and Lewis Howes gracing the stage.

Nick also specialises in helping Coaches, Consultants, Speakers, Trainers, and Authors take their businesses from zero to six figures and beyond through his Expert Empires Mastermind programme.

In this episode of the Podcast Nick discusses his approach to incentivising the team, how wealthy he is and, how to launch a book with maximum impact.

Valuable Resources

Click the link to find out about Underground Empire Builders:

https://www.expertempires.com/underground-pl 

https://www.expertempires.com/
https://www.instagram.com/nickjamesevents/?hl=en

Empire Builders Podcast
https://keapnow.com/empirebuilders
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nick explains that in business it’s not your team or cash in the bank it’s your database and the relationship that you build with it that is your most valuable asset.

There is a distinction between your database and your audience. You can have an audience across social media but you don’t own them and the real value is in the relationship you build with your own database.

A database is an audience you can communicate with as much as you want and Nick explains exactly how to nurture your database if you have one already and how to get started on building one if you don’t because building a relationship with your database is the key to developing your most valuable asset.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Your database is the audience of people you have access to and can communicate with as and when you wish.
• A social media audience is important but not as important as your own database with contact details and addresses.
• You need to take the audience you have on social media and move it into a database
• You have to own the data so you can communicate when you want
• It’s about being able to build a relationship with your database
• Consistent communication with your database is vital with the right balance of serve and sell.
• By serving the database you are building the relationship and goodwill for when you are selling.
• Whatever you are doing you need to do it consistently and you can up your communication gradually.
• The sweet spot for me is 3-5 communications per week, it’s about finding the balance
• To build a database you need to have a webpage where someone can enter their details in exchange for a free resource.
• The best time to start building a database is now.
• If you already have a database you need to nurture it because it’s all about your relationship with the list.

BEST MOMENTS

‘Your database is an audience that you own and have control over’

‘I had no customers, no clients no cash but what I did have was a database’

‘Over time I built a relationship with that database’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Empire Builders Podcast 

ABOUT THE HOST

Nick James

Nick dropped out of university at the age of 21 and failed spectacularly with his first coaching business, which forced him to take a £16k/yr telesales job. 

Within 12 months he was the top performer and left to start his second business at 24. This time he discovered a winning formula and before long had a multi-six-figure company.

He then made a huge mistake which nearly put him out of business and cost him £50,000 in personal cash!

Fortunately, Nick kept it afloat, turned it around, and sold that business 2 years later in a seven-figure deal. 

He then co-founded a multi-million-pound marketing company, which he exited in 2015, and created Expert Empires.

Today, Expert Empires is known as the UK's number one business event for Experts, with world-renowned celebrity speakers like Gary Vaynerchuk, Grant Cardone, Chalene Johnson, David Goggins, and Lewis Howes gracing the stage.

Nick also specialises in helping Coaches, Consultants, Speakers, Trainers, and Authors take their businesses from zero to six figures and beyond through his Expert Empires Mastermind programme.

Andy Proudman and Piers Ward, co-founders of ‘Me and My Golf have built a multi seven-figure business in an online niche creating the largest golf coaching platform and community on the web

Understanding what people want and giving them something that helps them is key along with patience and self-belief and Andy and Piers have successfully built a global platform through their content and passion

Hear about how to build an online presence, brand and following with customer engagement that creates a global community in this episode that is a must for anyone who wants to increase their following.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• We had a passion to help people and created a platform where golfers can get more content and value than they could get during a one to one lesson.
• We wanted to put out the content and we knew there was demand
• It’s about getting started and improving as you move forward, it’s a never-ending process of reviewing and tweaking.
• You have to get over yourself and your nervousness and get the content out there
• We wanted to create a business that would be earning money while we were sleeping
• Everything in our content is about what people want and is customer-led.
• You need to understand how the algorithms work and what keywords matter
• People are impatient with time and the first 5-10 seconds is crucial
• Questions are a good way to increase engagement
• You have to play the YouTube game and you have to understand people
• You need to call the person watching to action if you want to increase your following
• You need to be patient and build your audience to create opportunities for monetising
• Having a product that has a method means people look at it and can’t see how they could be without it
• The key is a tangible measurable outcome, you need to sell people what they want and give them what they need.

BEST MOMENTS

‘We became these value machines  just putting out content all the time’

‘You have to start somewhere’

‘I never worried about it not working out, it felt right and now we have the best job in the world’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Empire Builders Podcast 

ABOUT THE HOST

Nick James

Nick dropped out of university at the age of 21 and failed spectacularly with his first coaching business, which forced him to take a £16k/yr telesales job. 

Within 12 months he was the top performer and left to start his second business at 24. This time he discovered a winning formula and before long had a multi-six-figure company.

He then made a huge mistake which nearly put him out of business and cost him £50,000 in personal cash!

Fortunately, Nick kept it afloat, turned it around, and sold that business 2 years later in a seven-figure deal. 

He then co-founded a multi-million-pound marketing company, which he exited in 2015, and created Expert Empires.

Today, Expert Empires is known as the UK's number one business event for Experts, with world-renowned celebrity speakers like Gary Vaynerchuk, Grant Cardone, Chalene Johnson, David Goggins, and Lewis Howes gracing the stage.

Nick also specialises in helping Coaches, Consultants, Speakers, Trainers, and Authors take their businesses from zero to six figures and beyond through his Expert Empires Mastermind programme.

‘Camera confidence’ coach Adam Woods who has extensive expertise and experience as a creative director at the BBC, ITV and the Discovery channel along with 15 years as a filmmaker and he talks to Nick about why ultimately you are your brand and why the journey to sharing your message is all about getting in front of an audience and building trust and confidence.

This is a great opportunity to hear great tips and advice about the art of being in front of the camera and what you need to do to connect and engage with your audience successfully.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Speaking on stage and speaking to the camera are 2 very different things
• A lot of what we do is not about technique and skills but about knowing who you are and your integrity
• I train about managing your state and getting into a place of contentment and self-assurance
• You need to be really clear on who you are and what you are saying
• You need to adapt your style, pace and tempo to meet the needs of those in the room
• Getting confident in front of a camera is now a must-have
• You have to be very sure about who you are, why you are there, who you are serving and the purpose of your message
• Getting your message to land and create a connection is an art in itself
• You need to be in empathy with your audience serving them and meeting their needs
• You need to have a congruent message
• You need to understand what the fears and desires of your audience are and speak to that
• It’s creating the connection authentically in a way that the audience really want
• Consistently showing up is what builds and creates confidence for both you and your audience.

BEST MOMENTS

‘It’s about the power of intention and how we bring our energy and listen carefully to others’

‘The camera is a powerful tool for sharing your message and passion with others’

‘The foundation process is about focusing on who you are and who you are serving’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Empire Builders Podcast 

Join the Camera Confidence Club here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/camera.confidence.club

Book 30 mins with Adam here: Cameraconfidencecoach at Taplink

ABOUT THE HOST

Nick James

Nick dropped out of university at the age of 21 and failed spectacularly with his first coaching business, which forced him to take a £16k/yr telesales job. 

Within 12 months he was the top performer and left to start his second business at 24. This time he discovered a winning formula and before long had a multi-six-figure company.

He then made a huge mistake which nearly put him out of business and cost him £50,000 in personal cash!

Fortunately, Nick kept it afloat, turned it around, and sold that business 2 years later in a seven-figure deal. 

He then co-founded a multi-million-pound marketing company, which he exited in 2015, and created Expert Empires.

Today, Expert Empires is known as the UK's number one business event for Experts, with world-renowned celebrity speakers like Gary Vaynerchuk, Grant Cardone, Chalene Johnson, David Goggins, and Lewis Howes gracing the stage.

Nick also specialises in helping Coaches, Consultants, Speakers, Trainers, and Authors take their businesses from zero to six figures and beyond through his Expert Empires Mastermind programme.

Connection is queen and Sam Rathling, LinkedIn Expert delivers a Masterclass in how to use LinkedIn to make the connections that will make a difference.

Lots of people are on LinkedIn but most don’t know how to use it to attract their ideal clients, those who listen and learn from Sam do. She explains why visibility and credibility bring opportunity and why you need to always turn strangers into friends because you never know where it will lead.

This is an inspirational episode that encompasses both great tips and content along with Sam’s own inspirational story.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• There is a big difference between being on LinkedIn and effectively using it
• It can totally transform your business and generation leads
• Only 3 million people are actively creating content for LinkedIn
• Ask a question and you will get an answer creating engagement.
• When you add one person you gain a secondary group, that person’s contacts
• A person may not be your ideal client but someone in their network will be
• Visibility plus credibility equals opportunity
• When you put out great content people are attracted to you and want to work with you
• Social selling is the art of selling without selling, it’s selling through  relationships online
• There is a social selling index on LinkedIn that tells you about how you are doing on LinkedIn
• Proactive is when you are actively prospecting every day the people who are your ideal client.
• You need to know who you are targeting because if you are targeting everyone you are targeting no-one
• What industry are you targeting, what size of business are you looking at?
• Who do you want to talk to?
• Do you want clients everywhere or will it be better to focus on a particular
• Your headline is one of the keyword-rich areas that you need to use effectively
• Your profile needs to speak to your ideal client and you can rank highly on LinkedIn through the use of keywords

BEST MOMENTS

‘First, you need to get visible and build trust’

‘If you have a great profile with great content people will come to you’

‘I receive four hundred plus inbound leads every month, I don’t spend a penny on advertising’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Empire Builders Podcast 

Sam Rathling LinkedIn

ABOUT THE HOST

Nick James

Nick dropped out of university at the age of 21 and failed spectacularly with his first coaching business, which forced him to take a £16k/yr telesales job. 

Within 12 months he was the top performer and left to start his second business at 24. This time he discovered a winning formula and before long had a multi-six-figure company.

He then made a huge mistake which nearly put him out of business and cost him £50,000 in personal cash!

Fortunately, Nick kept it afloat, turned it around, and sold that business 2 years later in a seven-figure deal. 

He then co-founded a multi-million-pound marketing company, which he exited in 2015, and created Expert Empires.

Today, Expert Empires is known as the UK's number one business event for Experts, with world-renowned celebrity speakers like Gary Vaynerchuk, Grant Cardone, Chalene Johnson, David Goggins, and Lewis Howes gracing the stage.

Nick also specialises in helping Coaches, Consultants, Speakers, Trainers, and Authors take their businesses from zero to six figures and beyond through his Expert Empires Mastermind programme.

Nick is with Jeannette Linfoot host of the ‘Brave, Bold, Brilliant’ podcast talking about the experiences that have helped him to develop skills that are now invaluable in his life.

He shares an insight into his life growing up and candidly discusses both the challenges and the highlights of being in business

The creation of Expert Empires is the realisation of Nicks passion to build a business that provides great content and a community that supports and adds value and he talks about the importance of the right strategy at the right time and why you need to start small but think big.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The two sides of my family were very different and having two different views of the  world is very valuable
• I enjoyed the stability on one side and the unpredictability on the other so it gave me appreciation and empathy for everyone. It’s all about having to adapt to the environment you are in
• Spending time with older people is a very valuable experience for any young person
• Developing the communication skills to be able to effectively work with a huge range of people is invaluable.
• Lots of business people and entrepreneurs build their identity around their business.
• If you leave the business it can be very challenging for your self-worth if your identity is built around your role.
• Whether it’s your job or you are the business owner it’s a role, not your identity
• Investing in the people around you and building relationships means there are people who can help you if you need them.
• You need to teach the people who are getting started the strategies they need at the start
• A strategy is doing the right thing at the right time
• Your vision needs to be your purpose, your measurable journey and your values.
• Think big start small, think about where you want to be in a years’ time and then what you are going to do now
• Everyone in the team needs to be part of the creation of the vision

BEST MOMENTS

‘My sense of self-worth was attached to the business’

‘How you make money is far more important than the amount of money you make’

‘Make a start and take action’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Empire Builders Podcast 

ABOUT THE HOST

Nick James

Nick dropped out of university at the age of 21 and failed spectacularly with his first coaching business, which forced him to take a £16k/yr telesales job. 

Within 12 months he was the top performer and left to start his second business at 24. This time he discovered a winning formula and before long had a multi-six-figure company.

He then made a huge mistake which nearly put him out of business and cost him £50,000 in personal cash!

Fortunately, Nick kept it afloat, turned it around, and sold that business 2 years later in a seven-figure deal. 

He then co-founded a multi-million-pound marketing company, which he exited in 2015, and created Expert Empires.

Today, Expert Empires is known as the UK's number one business event for Experts, with world-renowned celebrity speakers like Gary Vaynerchuk, Grant Cardone, Chalene Johnson, David Goggins, and Lewis Howes gracing the stage.

Nick also specialises in helping Coaches, Consultants, Speakers, Trainers, and Authors take their businesses from zero to six figures and beyond through his Expert Empires Mastermind programme.

Nick is talking to  Amy Rowlinson about the creation of Expert Empires and the ‘why’ that drives him forward every day.

They discuss his journey and why it’s important to serve, support and inspire and build something different.

Expert Empires was created from a desire to redefine events and it’s continued to evolve supporting experts in their businesses across many varying areas and through the ripple effect impacts on their clients. this is a great opportunity to understand more about Nicks ‘why and the importance of value and support.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Expert Empires was created from a desire to do something different and create value and support.
• If you want to serve, support and influence people the best way to do it is by example not by telling. Now people ask me how I’ve done things
• The podcast is a great medium to share content and very accessible to everyone
• As my businesses have progressed my vision has become bigger. I’m very good at strategizing and helping people in the expert space.
• I’m good at helping experts to make a difference and this means I’m indirectly reaching their clients through a ripple effect
• I had to work for an entrepreneurial company to learn how to run a company
• Money is not everything but can be used as a measure of value. If you have a seven-figure business you are reaching significant numbers of people
• It’s about supporting clients in the best possible way.
• In a well-rounded peer group you need to have mentors, people you aspire to be like, mentees because there is a duty to pass on the knowledge and expertise you have and people at the same level as you are currently.
• We have built something that is different from other Mastermind programs.
• It’s about having the opportunity to see what choices are available and learning to ask if that choice is serving you.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I felt the events industry had become sell, sell, sell and I wanted to do something different’

‘The best way to inspire is through example’

‘I love giving opportunities to people’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Empire Builders Podcast 

ABOUT THE HOST

Nick James

Nick dropped out of university at the age of 21 and failed spectacularly with his first coaching business, which forced him to take a £16k/yr telesales job. 

Within 12 months he was the top performer and left to start his second business at 24. This time he discovered a winning formula and before long had a multi-six-figure company.

He then made a huge mistake which nearly put him out of business and cost him £50,000 in personal cash!

Fortunately, Nick kept it afloat, turned it around, and sold that business 2 years later in a seven-figure deal. 

He then co-founded a multi-million-pound marketing company, which he exited in 2015, and created Expert Empires.

Today, Expert Empires is known as the UK's number one business event for Experts, with world-renowned celebrity speakers like Gary Vaynerchuk, Grant Cardone, Chalene Johnson, David Goggins, and Lewis Howes gracing the stage.

Nick also specialises in helping Coaches, Consultants, Speakers, Trainers, and Authors take their businesses from zero to six figures and beyond through his Expert Empires Mastermind programme.

Nick James talks to Paul Mort about how he began Expert Empires and why you need to focus on a strategy that plays to your strengths when you create any business

Sometimes you need to trust yourself and take the risks because it is the risk-taking that defines being able to overcome the fear and move towards success.

In this candid conversation, Nick shares why it’s important to understand what really makes you happy along with great advice on how to learn from the challenges and achieve your vision.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• My vision was to create the best of what I had seen in the US
• I realised that high-end masterminds for those who are already earning 6-7 figures didn’t exist in the UK
• Everything I have built has been about filling a gap in the market
• I realised that I had a skill set that I could teach to others
• Whatever your area you need to focus on a strategy that plays to your strengths
• I’ve created a model that works for an audience
• When you begin with the ultimate world-class speakers the pressure is in being able to continue at the same level.
• I learnt that my happiness and self-worth was entirely connected to the business.
• Having to start again removed the fear and proved to me that I could do it all again
• It made me a bigger risk taker because I know that whatever happens, I can build again
• Looking back can help you to see how far you have come
• You will never achieve success if you haven’t experienced failure and overcome it.
• Money doesn’t equal happiness and having no money doesn’t necessarily mean you will be unhappy

BEST MOMENTS

‘I’ve always been good at the marketing and promotion of events’

‘Putting on a show comes naturally to me’

‘I went from seven figures to zero the following day’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Empire Builders Podcast 

ABOUT THE HOST

Nick James

Nick dropped out of university at the age of 21 and failed spectacularly with his first coaching business, which forced him to take a £16k/yr telesales job. 

Within 12 months he was the top performer and left to start his second business at 24. This time he discovered a winning formula and before long had a multi-six-figure company.

He then made a huge mistake which nearly put him out of business and cost him £50,000 in personal cash!

Fortunately, Nick kept it afloat, turned it around, and sold that business 2 years later in a seven-figure deal. 

He then co-founded a multi-million-pound marketing company, which he exited in 2015, and created Expert Empires.

Today, Expert Empires is known as the UK's number one business event for Experts, with world-renowned celebrity speakers like Gary Vaynerchuk, Grant Cardone, Chalene Johnson, David Goggins, and Lewis Howes gracing the stage.

Nick also specialises in helping Coaches, Consultants, Speakers, Trainers, and Authors take their businesses from zero to six figures and beyond through his Expert Empires Mastermind programme.