Paul James - Founder of DialHawk | From Brother's Garage to Multiple 7-Figure AI Businesses

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Paul James is a digital marketing entrepreneur and founder of DialHawk, a call tracking and local SEO software platform that helps businesses optimize lead conversion. After dropping out of college in 2010, he built a six-figure agency from his brother's garage before scaling multiple ventures to 7-figure revenue. James is a bestselling author of Reverse Engineer Your Future (5-star Amazon rating), YouTube educator with over 305,000 subscribers, and has been featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur, and Yahoo Finance. Through DialHawk Academy, he teaches aspiring entrepreneurs local SEO and affiliate marketing strategies.

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➡️ Talking Points

00:00 – Intro

01:26 – What SEO Still Gets Right in 2025

04:25 – Paul’s Origin Story

06:48 – From Music to Entrepreneurship

08:40 – Choosing the Right Career Path

12:52 – Paul’s Biggest Business Decisions

15:20 – How Divorce Changed His Business

18:40 – Entering AI and Content Creation

19:57 – Sponsor Break

22:41 – Why Paul Left SEO for AI

24:02 – AI Marketing Strategies That Work

27:23 – Getting Real Value From AI

30:46 – Building an Audience That Converts

34:02 – Using AI Without Being Replaced

35:00 – AI-Driven Lead Generation

38:28 – Common AI Mistakes People Make

40:42 – Sponsor Break

43:12 – What AI Changed About Content

44:46 – Mental Models for Tough Times

47:41 – Habits Holding Entrepreneurs Back

51:04 – The Future of AI in Marketing

53:36 – Measuring Marketing Results

1:00:49 – Paul’s Most Important Lesson

Welcome to the Success Story Podcast, hosted by entrepreneur, business executive, author, educator & speaker, Scott D. Clary (@scottdclary). On this podcast, you'll find interviews, Q&A, keynote presentations & conversations on sales, marketing, business, startups and entrepreneurship. Scott will discuss some of the lessons he's learned over his own career, as well as have candid interviews with execs, celebrities, notable figures and politicians. All who have achieved success through both wins and losses, to learn more about their life, their ideas and insights. He sits down with leaders and mentors and unpacks their story to help pass those lessons onto others through both experiences and tactical strategy for business professionals, entrepreneurs and everyone in between. To get more of the Success Story podcast, go to www.successstorypodcast.com.