Covington's professional career began when he was recruited by Mississippi Power & Light Company's (now Entergy) Engineering Department. He would make history twice at the company. He became the first African-American manager as Manager of Consumer Relations at MP&L. Covington also made history when he lobbied the Mississippi State Legislature for the company, becoming the first African-American registered lobbyist in Mississippi.

For 29 years, as a serial entrepreneur, Covington has focused on entrepreneurship and owns three information technology (IT) companies. He is president of Impact411.com, an online interactive business marketplace and mobile app designed to help grow African-American businesses by connecting them to local and national buyers. For many years Covington served as president of iVision IT Consultants, a firm that offers innovative IT solutions to help companies leverage their brand and expand their market reach. Covington is the owner of ImpactTickets.com, a national ticket platform rivaling Ticketmaster and others in features and functionality. He is also the COO for SRS INC., a National COVID-19 Solution company.

His book “From Civil Rights To Silver Rights: We Need An Economic Movement” is a groundbreaking playbook for building unprecedented wealth in the African-American community and the inspiration for Impact411.com. In the recent released sequel, “Converting Political Power To Economic Power” James urges African-Americans to refocus their attention on meeting our historical challenge of converting political power to economic power.