Today we’d like to introduce you to Jim Cirillo.
Hi Jim, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hey all this is JimJim (aka Jim Cirillo). I’m the founder of JIMIUM Group, LLC, and founder and host of JimJim’s Reinvention Revolution, a popular podcast where I interview inspiring professionals, entrepreneurs, and creatives reimagining success in the digital age to help you along your own journey of reinvention.
My Story
Before I started JIMIUM Group and before JJRR was even a thought, I spent many years in the corporate world as an engineer developing advanced optics-related technologies until one day in 2006 when I quit! That’s when my entrepreneurial journey slowly began, and my mind began to shift. Taking time and putting space in my life to think and reassess alerted me to the fact that even though my career was in the heart of technology, I felt like I wasn’t keeping up with the pace of change and that the world and life was passing me by.
Founding JIMIUM Group, my consulting company, allowed me to begin to take back control by working less (yet making more money) and exploring more of my interests of learning new tech, investing, and music. I realized by accident in a way that I was on my way to designing my perfect lifestyle. And now, with the internet at scale, the rate of change increasing, and the opportunities (and potential downsides) it represents, I feel compelled to take my reinvention to the next level and share the journey with others through JJRR. A community makes the journey more fun and fulfilling and I don’t take for granted the honor and privilege that it affords us all.
If you’re anything like me, I know you’re starting to appreciate the revolution that needs to take place in your mindset and thinking to capture the opportunity and prosperity the new world can bring while avoiding the downside. Though I’m just a few years into this journey, it feels like I’m just getting started. Let’s all do this. The journey continues… tune in.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
A smooth road? Never. An exciting road? Challenging road? Enjoyable road? Growth road? Rewarding road? and grateful road? Always. I had quit my job without a plan. One day a got a call from a friend of a friend who wanted to talk to me about my engineering expertise. A casual conversation turned me into a consultant/entrepreneur overnight, though I had no experience in either and no plan. I had to think fast my first month in business to figure out my rates, required business insurance, legal entity, website, email address with my own domain, etc. Another big challenge was giving up who I was (a corporate marketing/applications engr. manager previously) to go back to engineering/project management (consulting). I thought I would only consult for a few months until I wanted to look for my next “real” job, but that day never came. I’ve been self-employed ever since, which I didn’t see coming. And now, more recently, moving more directly to entrepreneurship and starting the JJRR podcast has been another identity challenge and challenge to figure out the tech required. But it’s all about reinvention for me now 🙂
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
With JIMIUM Group, I’ve shifted to being a fractional Chief Innovation and Strategy Officer for select small & medium size businesses and also provide entrepreneurship consulting for individuals. And leaning on my advanced technology experience, I am recently exploring angel/tech investing more seriously.
With JimJim’s Reinvention Revolution podcast, I am doing interviews with professionals, entrepreneurs, and creatives re-imagining success in the digital age. I’m interested in how the world is reinventing itself with technology, in pivoting, in entrepreneurship and growth mindset, in seeing the world differently, and exploring how I can reinvent myself and help others along the way with reinventions they may need.
We love surprises, fun facts, and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I think it would be a surprise to most how much time I spend being a musician: i.e., practicing, gigging, researching gear, studying theory, transcribing, etc… I should probably post more about it 🙂 Especially the past 2 years or so. For example, I started taking saxophone/improvisation lessons again after a 25 yd hiatus and recently learned a music notation program and have arranged charts for local artists and written original horn lines for a horn section.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jimjimsreinventionrevolution.com/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jimiumgroup
Image Credits
John Benson
