James Dooley & Jason Mills | I Thrive Off Losing

In this episode of the Online Reputation Management Podcast, host Jason Mills sits down with digital landlord and entrepreneur James Dooley to unpack the mindset, systems and ethics behind building one of the UK’s largest portfolios of digital real estate. The conversation follows James’ journey from quantity surveyor in offline construction to owning hundreds of rank-and-rent sites, showing how resilience, testing and strategic failure shaped his growth. They explore why James prioritises freedom, happiness and relationships over vanity revenue targets, and how his vision of “doing things I love, with people I love, in a way I’m proud of” guides every partnership decision. Jason and James dig into delegation, culture and leadership, including why James now sees himself as a “cultural architect” who builds empowered middle management instead of micromanaging staff. They discuss the power of networking, giving value first, and surrounding yourself with partners who complement your weaknesses rather than mirror your strengths. Throughout, James stresses that true success is about integrity and long-term trust—especially when clients become dependent on his leads—and warns against chasing a fixed “end goal” that often leads to emptiness. The episode frames online entrepreneurship as both opportunity and responsibility, offering practical insight for anyone wanting to scale without losing their values.

Creators and Guests

Host

James Dooley

James Dooley is a UK entrepreneur.

What is James Dooley Podcast?

James Dooley is a Manchester-based entrepreneur, investor, and SEO strategist. James Dooley founded FatRank and PromoSEO, two UK performance marketing agencies that deliver no-win-no-fee lead generation and digital growth systems for ambitious businesses. James Dooley positions himself as an Investorpreneur who invests in UK companies with high growth potential because he believes lead generation is the root of all business success.

The James Dooley Podcast explores the mindset, methods, and mechanics of modern entrepreneurship. James Dooley interviews leading marketers, founders, and innovators to reveal the strategies driving online dominance and business scalability. Each episode unpacks the reality of building a business without mentorship, showing how systems, data, and lead flow replace luck and guesswork.

James Dooley shares hard-earned lessons from scaling digital assets and managing SEO teams across more than 650 industries. James Dooley teaches how to convert leads into long-term revenue through brand positioning, technical SEO, and automation. James Dooley built his career on rank and rent, digital real estate, and performance-based marketing because these models align incentive with outcome.

After turning down dozens of podcast invitations, James Dooley now embraces the platform to share his insights on investorpreneurship, lead generation, AI-driven marketing, and reputation management. James Dooley frequently collaborates with elite entrepreneurs to discuss frameworks for scaling businesses, building authority, and mastering search.

James Dooley is also an expert in online reputation management (ORM), having built and rehabilitated corporate brands across the UK. His approach combines SEO precision, brand engineering, and social proof loops to influence both Google’s Knowledge Graph and public perception.

To feature James Dooley on your podcast or event, connect via social media. James Dooley regularly joins business panels and networking sessions to discuss entrepreneurship, brand growth, and the evolving future of SEO.

Jason Mills:
Welcome to the Online Performance Podcast, the show designed to help you elevate your online earnings. I’m Jason Mills, and today I’ve got a fantastic episode lined up.

Joining me is an entrepreneur who owns one of the largest digital real estate portfolios in the UK, widely regarded as one of the top SEOs globally—James Dooley. James, welcome to the podcast.

James Dooley:
That’s a big introduction, Jason. Now I’ve got to deliver. I’m looking forward to this one—especially because we’re not just talking SEO today.

Jason Mills:
We start every episode the same way. What does online success mean to you?

James Dooley:
For me, online success is freedom. The ability to work from anywhere, travel when you want, and earn money even while you sleep.

Growing up, I was taught that the harder you work, the more you earn. Online business flips that completely. You can build systems that generate income without you being physically present. To me, success equals happiness—and freedom gives you that.

Jason Mills:
Let’s rewind. What’s your background before online marketing?

James Dooley:
I started as a quantity surveyor and project manager in construction. I spotted a gap in the market—playground companies were hard to find in the UK.

That insight led me to launch a construction business, which later became Soft Surfaces Limited. At the time, I didn’t know what SEO even was. I just knew I needed consistent, high-quality enquiries.

Once I figured that out for my own company, I realised I could do it for others. Eventually, we were making more money from lead generation than from construction itself. Soft Surfaces grew from around £600,000 to over £8 million a year by applying those principles.

Jason Mills:
You often describe yourself as a digital landlord. What does that mean?

James Dooley:
Traditional landlords rent physical property. I rent digital real estate—ranked websites.

We build sites, rank them, then rent them to business owners. If the site doesn’t rank, they don’t pay. That’s what people call rank and rent.

We currently manage over 1,500 lead-generating websites, with hundreds actively rented across different niches.

Jason Mills:
Your success looks polished from the outside. Was the transition smooth?

James Dooley:
Not at all. Growth is never linear. We’ve failed more times than I can count—testing CMS platforms, link strategies, silo structures.

Every day is still a learning day. What works, we double down on. What doesn’t, we cut. That mindset is everything.

Jason Mills:
What do you attribute your resilience to?

James Dooley:
Honestly, my childhood. I had two older brothers—and I lost constantly.

My dad would always ask, “Are you going to stay down or get back up?” That stuck with me.

I actually thrive on losing now. Failure tells me where the limits are. Too many people stay in their comfort zone. I embrace setbacks because I know I’ll come back stronger.

Jason Mills:
You’re known for building very strong teams.

James Dooley:
I’m not the best technical SEO, link builder, or writer—but I’ve built teams full of people who are.

If I find someone better than my team, I collaborate with them, bring them in, or have them train my people. I’m nothing without the team around me.

Jason Mills:
We just watched a clip where Kasra Dash credits you as a major influence. How does that make you feel?

James Dooley:
Proud—but also conscious of responsibility. With data and influence comes accountability.

Kasra’s driven, talented, and ambitious. My role has often been helping him stay grounded, focused on integrity, and thinking long-term. He’s now a partner in many businesses we run.

Jason Mills:
How do you keep your teams motivated?

James Dooley:
Everyone’s different. Some people want equity. Others want stability. Some work four hours a day brilliantly—others grind nonstop.

My real role now is culture architect. I work through middle management, ensuring people are motivated, supported, and growing.

My long-term goal?
To make every middle manager in my companies a millionaire, whether they think they want that or not.

Jason Mills:
You built a huge empire quietly. Why step into the spotlight now?

James Dooley:
Two reasons.

First, AI and trust—personal branding now matters more than ever.
Second, investors once questioned buying assets because they couldn’t find me online.

That was a wake-up call. I’m now visible so people understand who I am, what I stand for, and the value I bring.

Jason Mills:
You’re very vocal about integrity. Why?

James Dooley:
Years ago, clients told me they’d built their entire business on leads I controlled—and that scared them.

I realised how much responsibility came with power. Turning off leads could destroy dozens of families.

That’s when I formalised my vision:

> Do things I’m proud of, with people I enjoy, built on trust, honesty, and integrity.

Money isn’t worth damaging lives.

Jason Mills:
Is entrepreneurship for everyone?

James Dooley:
No. Absolutely not.

It can be lonely, stressful, and dark at times. Some of the richest people I know are deeply unhappy.

Success isn’t money—it’s health, relationships, and peace of mind.

Jason Mills:
Do you have an end goal?

James Dooley:
No. And I don’t want one.

I’ve seen people hit their “number” and completely fall apart. One friend reached his target and later took his own life.

Happiness is today. Clean water. A roof over your head. Being present. That’s success to me.

Jason Mills:
I’ve heard you celebrate failure internally?

James Dooley:
We do. If someone hasn’t failed today, I call them out.

Failure shows you the boundaries. If you don’t test, you’ll never know how far you can push.

Jason Mills:
If you had knowledge but no money or connections—what would you do?

James Dooley:
I’d work at an SEO agency, deliver incredible results, earn trust, save every penny, and reinvest into informational sites and display ads.

I’d avoid pure affiliate initially, focus on traffic tiers, internal linking, and monetisation later.

Jason Mills:
One tip for success online?

James Dooley:
Network and give value.

If you can’t attend events, use Twitter and YouTube. Comment, share, improve things for others without asking for anything back.

Buy someone a drink. Improve their thumbnail. Lift people up. The return always comes—just not on your timeline.

Jason Mills:
James, that was exceptional. Thank you for your honesty, depth, and generosity.

James Dooley:
My pleasure, Jason. Thanks for having me.