James graduated from Minnesota State University with a degree in Business and Finance. He worked for many years as the Controller for a $23 billion dollar Bank Holding Company in Minneapolis, Minnesota. James later became the Vice President of Finance for Dart & Kraft Leasing, Inc., a $500 million dollar subsidiary of Kraft Foods, Inc. After ten years he took a position as the Vice President of Consumer Products for the Shawmut Bank of Boston.

While in Minneapolis, James attended the University of Minnesota for post graduate work in Taxation and Credit Management. James also did his post graduate work in Financial Management at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

In 1989 James moved back to Illinois with the desire to start his own company in the insurance and investment business, which has now expanded to include tax planning and tax preparation for his clients. James is a U.S ARmy Veteran.