In 1995, Jim became Principal for The Jack Johnson Company, a full service national design firm providing entitlement, planning, engineering and architectural services. At this position he specialized in resort and mountain development and was the Design Principal for the $120 million dollar Deer Crest ski resort development. Deer Crest was a multi jurisdictional project that advanced Jim's decade-long working relationships with local governments.

In 2000, Jim joined Heil Construction, Inc. as President of the Utah Division. In just 4 years, he grew this division from five employees and an annual volume of $5 million, to 25 employees and a $25 million annual volume. This growth established Heil as the largest contractor in Summit and Wasatch counties, where Heil expanded as an award-winning resort builder. With his extensive development experience, Jim expanded Heil's services to include Development Services and Development Management, which has become a large sector of Heil's services. Jim has extensive experience providing project assessment, stabilization and enhancement plans for developers, lending institutions, and court appointed receivers and it is his unique experience as a principal for a national contractor, a national design firm and a national developer that provides him with a comprehensive construction and development background.