You carry the big decisions and have nobody to think them through with.
I'm James Schramko. In Mentor, you message me on Signal with what you're stuck on and the context. I answer you myself, in writing: what to do next, and what to stop.
US$1,800 a month, month to month. Optional weekly group call.
APPLYFrom event crew to a $500 million exit.
When I met Dan Corkill he was event crew on $65K a year, handing out contracts at the back of the room. He built Follow Up Boss, and sold it to Zillow in a deal worth up to $500 million.
"I went from working like a maniac to running an effective team, scaling our business and working a lot less with help from James."
I'm James Schramko.
I keep a low profile on purpose.
Started my own businesses and just kept running them, then sold a few at a profit.
Advice only counts from people who have done what you are trying to do, and whose life you admire.
Surfing most days. Running a quiet business that pays for a high quality life. Free of the job since 2008.
I have been mentoring business owners since 2008. Over 3,500 businesses advised in 18 years, in my communities and in Mentor. My longest-running client has been with me since 2010.
Recurring income unbroken since July 2008, through three full changes of platform and content. The business does not depend on any platform, by design. That is the idea behind owning the racecourse you run on.
The patterns repeat.
Your problem is likely more common than it feels. It's just hard to see from inside.
The most common one: a founder who holds every open question in the business. Pricing, team, positioning. Nothing gets handed off, so everything stays with them. Often for years.
The other: the business has outgrown the way you run it. You are running a bigger company on the habits that built the smaller one.
We all feel our situation is unique, yet at the same time I've likely seen your bottleneck before. That's why I can help you make a decision in minutes that would take you months alone. That is what you are buying.
You have enough information. What you need is a better diagnosis and a thinking partner.
Maybe you already know your next move.
Most founders who join arrive with a decision that has been sitting there for months. Kill the weak offer. Raise the price. Replace the hire. The business keeps running, so the decision keeps sliding.
My job is to name what the delay is costing. Then I shrink the move until the first step fits inside a week. Then I hold you to the date you set.
What the delay is costing.
Take the decision you have been sitting on. Put a number on last month. What did holding it cost you, in cash or in hours? If that repeats for a year, add it up. That is what another year of the same could cost.
I don't know your number. You do.
Paul Warren worked with me over ten years ago and left. His words on coming back:
"I should have stayed."
Mentor
Ongoing input for founders who already have a working business.
What founders come to Mentor for: their week back, a business that runs when they are away, prices that hold, and fewer things that need them. That comes from making better calls, faster, and skipping the expensive detours.
I suggest clients shut down six-figure product lines when they are slowing things down. I remind clients to raise prices and remove clients who do not fit. I help clients to merge three offers into one. One client was sure he was burned out. He was underpriced. He tripled his rates, dropped two offers, and the exhaustion went away. The advice is direct. The goal is always fewer moving parts, cleaner positioning, and stronger decisions.
Many members use AI tools every day, and so do I.
Keep using AI.
But getting your AI working the right way is important. For example, moving your IP onto your own files matters, so it stops forgetting your business. When your AI is tuned right, it helps your outputs become more effective.
A week inside Mentor.
Any day: a message.
Text, a voice note, or a file from your phone, whenever a decision comes up. Every reply is me, not a bot, not an assistant. No portal, no ticket, no waiting two weeks for a call.
Once a week: the group call.
Three times to choose from. You are welcome to attend one founder call each week (OPTIONAL): Tuesday 9:00 AM, Tuesday 8:00 PM or Wednesday 10:00 AM, Brisbane time. You bring one win and one challenge. We work the challenge in the room: a pricing decision, a hire, an offer that needs collapsing, a launch plan. You leave with one thing to do this week, and a date. Next week I ask if you did it. You also hear what is working in other founders' businesses.
Your first week.
I look at how your business is built and how much it depends on you. You get a diagnosis in priority order. It names the three moves that will change the most, and what to leave alone while those are under way.
After that.
We cut what slows you down, fix pricing, positioning and delivery, and keep the model simple as the business changes. Expensive detours get named and cut early. The value builds because I know the business well enough to catch what you cannot see from inside it.
Half the time the founder already knows the answer. What they need is someone who has seen it before to confirm it is safe to act on. If you are avoiding something, I will name it.
Every 12 weeks we check what moved and set the next 12.
If you have been coached before.
Plenty of my clients have been coached before, some by me. Around 4 in 10 of my current clients worked with me before and came back.
What they come back to is the tightest version of this work in 18 years.
Client Results
Five of many. The full list is on the results page.
"Joining James's coaching program is like hiring a top level CEO to help manage the growth of your business! James has a lifetime of current online business experience and he knows what you need to do next."
"Since being a mentoring partner, we have doubled revenue, tripled profit, and brought on more than 10 team members within a year, as the business has been growing by 5-10% month after month."
"I now have a business that doesn't rely on me for everything, and revenue has increased almost 4 times, which has also given me a life which I could have only dreamed of previously."
June 2025: A$26K revenue. October 2026: A$97K revenue.
"James helped me design an offer founders actually wanted to buy and get my first client within the first month. Five years on, I run a fully remote business with clients and team spanning North America, UK and Australia."
"I've been coached by James since 2010. He's been instrumental in growing my business past 7 figures while valuing lifestyle and family."
Apply for Mentor
Who this is for.
- You own the business.
- It already has customers.
- You act on direct feedback.
My clients run businesses from a few hundred thousand a year to several million.
Who it isn't for.
I don't generate traffic or leads. If you need someone to bring you customers, Mentor isn't the fix.
Tell me four things.
Got it. I'll reply myself, promptly.
I read every one and reply myself, promptly. If it's a fit, I'll send you the link to join. If a short call helps, you can ask, or I'll suggest one. If it's not a fit, I'll tell you before you join.
Ready to join without applying? Go straight to the cart.
$1,800 USD per month. From 1 January 2027 the price is $2,200. Apply by 31 December and you keep $1,800 for all of 2027. Pay month to month. No lock-in contract. Cancel any time, in writing, at least 24 hours before your next billing date.
Availability
I limit Mentor to 50 clients at any one time. That is on purpose. Each one gets more of my attention.
You will never be lost in a group of hundreds.
Common Questions
Apply, and I'll answer you myself, in writing or by voice or video message. I rarely do calls outside my weekly client call. If a short phone call would help, you can ask, or I'll suggest one.
Ready?
APPLYNot ready for ongoing mentoring?
Start with the Playbooks. The same thinking I use with clients, written up so you can apply it yourself. Free.
BROWSE THE PLAYBOOKS