Welcome to invest in yourself the digital entrepreneur podcast. Join the podcast mogul Phil Better as he interviews successful entrepreneurs that make their living in the digital world. Now let's join your host Phil Better and your special guest today on invest in yourself the digital entrepreneur podcast.

Welcome back to another engaging episode of Invest in

Yourself, the digital entrepreneur podcast. I'm, of course, your host with The

Most Phil Better. And today, we have a guest who brings decades of experience, insightful stories, and a wealth of knowledge to the world of digital marketing. Our guest is a marketing professional with over four decades of high level experience in marketing and advertising. Since 2010, our guest has been helping his clients grow their business through digital marketing. His impressive impressive roster of clients include major brands like Sprint, Apple, Wells Fargo, Online Bank, Nestle, and of course Toyota. All of whom have benefited from his practical no nonsense approach. He's not just a marketing expert, he's also a master storytelling. His valuable and entertaining stories combined with his humor and good nature approach make the complex of marketing both fun and practical.

But what sets our guest apart is his unwavering focus on what truly matters, creating value for customers and businesses alike. In today's episode, he will share some of his most memorable experiences, the lessons he's learned all throughout his career, and actionable insight on how to leverage digital marketing to create lasting value. So whether you're a seasoned marketer or just starting out, this conversation is sure to provide you with some inspirational and practical advice. So please get ready to learn from one of the best in the business and welcome James Hippkin. James, thank you so much for

being here. Hey, Phil. I'm so happy to be here. I'm so looking forward to chatting with you about this the, you know, investing in yourself and the the how digital marketing can be used in a way that's not overwhelming and confusing. I love it. I love it. And I'm gonna just jump right into it. Why did you become a digital market a digital entrepreneur? Like, what made you decide, hey, I'm gonna leave, you know, safety and comfort to become an entrepreneur? You know, it's we we talked about this a little bit in the green room beforehand, and it's the reality is I've been an entrepreneur from the very beginning.

I was an entrepreneur even inside the corporate world. Interesting. And it it's I think it's more a function of it's a choice. You know, you've got to, first of all, have no fear, which some people might say is you've gotta be foolish. But true. I mean, I started my career in a in the Toronto office of a New York ad agency, very conservative blue chip ad agency working with consumer packaged goods brands and and, you know, dentine gum and, you know, things energizer batteries and things like that. And, you know, and then an opportunity came up to we need somebody to go to South America to work with Pillsbury to launch green giant canned vegetables in Latin America. Would you be, you know, leave your safe cocoon in Toronto and head off to South America as a Canadian who spoke not one word of Spanish? Sure.

Got to see the world. That's that's entrepreneurship. That's the willingness to to see an opportunity and and take the step. And the rest of it, it's, you know, good good humor, goodwill, and, you know, following through, not being afraid. But I even in the corporate world, my career in advertising took me to four different countries on three different continents. You know, after South America, my newlywed wife informed me and remember, this was back in the nineteen nineties, so pre pre Internet and the rest of it. And she said, you know, if you wanna have a family, it can't be done by facts. Because I was gone for weeks at a time because South America is a really big place.