Internet Marketing Training Center / Internet Marketing Coaching Program

James Hickey wasn't always a digital marketing expert. He spent 18 years as a gas station owner, operating up to six locations at once. But in 2007, he made a pivot into digital marketing—a move that would eventually lead to him building a multi-six-figure training business. The real inflection point came in 2010 when he was hired by a San Diego social media agency to train and oversee their entire team. He was training 6-8 people on everything from Google AdWords to social media marketing across Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

In December 2010, James met with his mentor Jay Kubisak. When Jay heard that James was training 6-8 people at the agency, he asked a simple but profound question: "If you're doing it for 6-8 people, why don't you create your own course and do it nationally and globally?" James immediately saw the opportunity. If he could train a handful of people in-person, he could train thousands online. By January 2011, he launched the Internet Marketing Training Center.

James didn't overthink it. He created a 12-module course covering everything from getting started and business compliance to online branding, finding clients, servicing them, and analytics. He backed it up with 45-50 training videos—essentially a mini college program. He priced the digital product at $295 one-time, then added higher-ticket options: $995 for 3-month group coaching and $2,000 for one-on-one coaching where he'd work with people on their first accounts.

His first student came from within his existing network—someone from the ProU company who had been following his local business marketing success. Word of mouth became his primary growth engine. Over the years, approximately 300 people have gone through his course. In the early years (first couple of years), roughly 100-150 of his first students purchased the one-on-one and group coaching options at $1,000-$2,000, generating $150,000+ in revenue alone.

What worked: The tiered funnel. Start at $295 to lower the barrier to entry, then upsell to $1,000 group coaching or $2,000 one-on-one. What didn't: Pure one-on-one at scale. James quickly realized he couldn't handle dozens of one-on-one coaching calls while running his agency business. He had to pivot to a digital-first model with group coaching as the middle tier.

Meanwhile, his core agency business thrived. With just a team of 3 people (two fulfillment/posting staff and one SEO specialist), he managed 6-8 clients paying $750-$5,000/month. His clients included dentist offices, weight loss clinics, steakhouses, and even Barona Casino. His secret? Delivering measurable lead generation, accountability, and analytics that made clients never want to leave.

By the time of this interview (mid-2010s), James had built a sustainable dual-revenue business: agency consulting generating $4,500-$40,000+/month from his client base, plus course and coaching revenue from ~300 students. He had close to 200,000 followers across social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook as @sdentrepreneur), positioning himself as a top voice in local internet marketing. He was deliberately selective about taking on new agency clients, preferring to focus on clients who were genuinely committed to growth and accountability—exactly the kind of selectivity that lets a business owner sleep 8 hours a night while building an empire.