We recently connected with James Huntley and have shared our conversation below.

Hi James , thanks for joining us today. Can you tell us about a time where you or your team really helped a customer get an amazing result?

Imagine taking a 6 hour test 5 times and not being able to pass. This was not only a long test, but it cost over $200 for each attempt. This test is called the Civil FE Exam and is the reason why many civil engineers pull their hair out and bite their nails. Beyond the monetary cost, the exam held the key to better job opportunities, more money, and a license that was well respected. My first client was in this situation.

As his coach, my mission was clear over our 10 weeks together. We delved into the intricacies of the exam. Keep in mind this professional was 15 years older than me. A 40 year old being coached by a 25 year old is still hard to wrap my head around. This individual was working a full-time job, dedicating over 50 hours to study. The dedication was commendable.

What made the story compelling was his openness to change. Recognizing his weaknesses, he was willing to listen and learn. Our sessions went beyond exam strategies; they explored reshaping his mindset, tackling doubts, and boosting his confidence.

As weeks passed, the transformation became overwhelming. It wasn’t just about mastering exam content; it was about adopting a new mindset that turned challenges into growth opportunities. The day of the sixth attempt felt different—he exuded confidence.

Fast forward to results day, and he nailed it! My first client passed! The joy was infectious. It wasn’t just about passing a test; it was about shedding self-doubt, unlocking better job prospects, and regaining confidence for the both of us.

Reflecting on this journey, it struck me that being a mentor isn’t just about sharing knowledge; it’s about learning too. Patience, adaptability, and the impact of a coach go beyond the textbooks. Success isn’t just about grades; it’s about facing challenges head-on and being open to change for the better.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

What I noticed early on as a kid growing up in Walkertown, NC was that to get anything worth having it took education and working extremely hard work to get it. Growing up, my ultimate dream was to become a civil engineer. By becoming a civil engineer I envisioned that it would allow me to make the impact that I desired to make along with a nice income. I found out shortly after graduating from UNC Charlotte with my Civil Engineering degree that the engineering skills were extremely valuable but the impact that I wanted to make in this world was much bigger. I found that I had a strong desire to help people achieve their goals. I loved seeing people that were hungry for success but did not have someone in there ear to tell them that their goals were achievable. Normally the answer to achieving big goals was figuring out how to gain acquire more skills, more resources, and more income.

Today I am focused on creating resources for individuals to help them make more income and to go after their goals. While making more income and achieving goals sound exciting, it is my mission to share the truth with others in my content. The truth is that making more income & achieving your personal goals is not easy and requires a change in a persons habits and identity.

I help individuals make more income in a few different ways.

The first is through budget coaching. With private one on one budget coaching I work with individuals to help them get organized with their money. They are able to identify where there money currently goes and what they can change/adjust to align it with the financial goals that they have. Sometimes they are challenged with breaking bad spending habits or learning higher income skills so that they can make there goals become reality. I enjoy working with individuals one on one because it allows for individuals to have a safe space to share what is going on without being judged. The most exciting part about the work that I do is seeing the transformation in each of the individuals. Individuals transform their spending habits and overcome limiting beliefs that they had around money. They have larger bank accounts and a solid plan to execute on to grow their money. Their confidence and attitude towards money is beautiful to see after just 3 months.

For more details on the coaching program go here:
https://www.coachjamesbudgeting.com/private1on1coaching

The second is though civil engineering. I help individuals obtain their engineer-in-training license. This license is challenging to obtain because it has over 80 different topics that you must fully understand. I work with individuals one on one to help them pass the FE (Fundamentals of Engineering) exam so that they can receive the engineering-in-training license. The cool thing about working in this space is that I get to use my creative side through content creation. I have created a community of over 1,500 subscribers on Youtube where I share valuable information to help individuals pass the exam. The best part about the job is creating success stories. I love to receive emails and text saying that after watching my content, or downloading my study materials, or working with me one on one that they passed the exam. I love knowing that I have helped someone make more income and have the necessary paperwork to become a professional engineer.

Checkout the Youtube channel here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6DpRHlXbV7N6SHNH3AaO-A

As my mission to create resources for individuals to make more income spreads, I am very excited about a workbook that has been recently released called F.L.O.W. (Financial Lessons On Wellness). I have partnered with Rahkim Sabree to create a workbook that brings attention to the importance of financial wellness. The workbook combines budgeting/money management and financial wellness to help individuals feel fully confident about their finances. The exercises are very interactive and encourage you to take action. There are sections where you create a budget that fits your lifestyle. There are financial goal worksheets and challenges you to find areas where you could increase your income or decrease your expenses. There are parts in the workbook that educate about different budgeting systems to ensure you don’t live paycheck to paycheck. My favorite section by far though is the journaling exercises. The workbook dives into how you behave with money, past childhood financial trauma with money, and what you believe about money. There is a physical and digital version of the workbook which makes it accessible to everyone.

You can checkout the workbook here: https://flow-workbook.com/

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I think that most people want to feel like they can relate to others. I naturally gravitate toward those that I am able to relate to. You can do this by connecting through mutual friends, having similar occupations, hobbies, or new places you’ve traveled. One way that I have been able to build a reputation in my market is by being able to relate to others through my civil engineering occupation. I am able to relate to the struggles of a civil engineer who wants to make more money but has to get past a difficult test. I am known as the civil engineer who makes exam problems easy. I created a teaching style that puts the difficult topics covered on the exam in the simplest form possible. I love to dumb things down. This is how I learn best, and little did I know this is how others learn as well. They don’t enjoy learning from a professor who does not make things simple and easy to understand. I have built my reputation by keeping things simple and being relatable.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Sometimes it takes failing in business before you can properly fund a profitable business. Before I share how I was able to fund my current business, I feel it is necessary to go through the things I did with my first business. In my first business, I decided to take a good chunk of my savings and start a home improvement company. The business was called HL&HI Consultants. I went out and bought posters, formed an LLC, got business cards, wrist bands, and tons of other items to get my name out there. After spending most of my savings, their was just one problem. I didn’t have any customers. I didn’t have any leads, no advertisements, and I had no clue how to get customers. As you can imagine, this business failed in just a few months. This failure taught me how to be much more successful in my current business. After doing some reading, I found out that a business should be able to work with little to no capital. This sparked my brain to start an online business. I decided to record videos online using my cell phone. This was not a new expense, which was great. I then uploaded the videos to YouTube for free. YouTube put the videos in front of the right people so that I would get booked calls to be able to coach my clients. After getting my first client, it paid for the $13 scheduling software. So for less than $50 a month, I was able to start & fund my current business. It takes time to find what works, but remember… a great business model will work without a ton of initial capital.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.coachjames.co
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/__coachjames/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-huntley-bb4833188
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6DpRHlXbV7N6SHNH3AaO-A