Entrepreneurship | Ja-Naé Duane

Category Archives: Entrepreneurship

The Agents of Change Tour Announcement and How to Be in My Next Book

January 8, 2013 – 8:44 pm

Adventure, baby! Bring it on! As many of you know, our last tour was life altering for me. It resulted in: 1. Meeting some amazing people who have become great friends. 2. The creation of the Our Revolution, a social good community. Which I am happy to say is a few thousand strong, as well as the How to Create a Revolution book (a guide to creating social change). 3. A chance meeting with a guy who reviewed my first book, How to Start Your Business with $100, that ended in a marriage proposal. Yeah, this awesome: And trust me, I could not have done that past tour without you guys. You are my backbone and the reason why I do these things. You show me that it is needed (and wanted). I cannot tell you what that means to me. So, I am excited to announce that we headed on the road again and embarking on The Agents of Change Tour! About the Tour Mission: To restore creativity to the soul of the world! The Agents of Change tour is a year-long tour exploring the impact of creativity and collaboration on local communities, artists, and entrepreneurs. The tour nurtures [...]

By Ja-Naé | Also posted in Adventure, Creativity, Innovation, Marketing, Strategy, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged a change agent, agent change, agent of change, agent of social change, Agents of change, an agent of change, change agent, change agents, change of agent, changing agents, changing angent, how to be a Change agent, restoring creativity, social change agent, the agents of change, the change agent, the role of a change agent, what is a change agent, who is a change agent | Comments (0)

Mobile Working: The Hub

December 10, 2012 – 1:04 pm

While over in London last month, I had a chance to stop by The Hub to check out one of their three locations. When we arrived at the Islington location, Debbie came and greeted us. I felt like I was home. She was gracious enough to show us around this converted warehouse space, which had a mix of warm and cozy with hipster chic. Take a look: If you are ever in London, I would definitely check them out. They also have a global network of “Hubs.” There could be one where you’re traveling to next. Related Posts How to Live Anywhere and Love It How to Freelance How to Start a Startup (Complimentary Ebook) Photo Credit: The Hub

By Ja-Naé | Also posted in Business Tools, Uncategorized | Tagged benefits of coworking, cowork, coworking, coworking blog, coworking london, future of work, future work, i work remotely, jelly coworking, mobile working, remotely working, the future of work, the hub, to work remotely, what is remote working, work from your home, work in the future, working future, working remotely | Comments (0)

The Art of Free and How to Ask for Advice

November 30, 2012 – 12:30 pm

We all need help in some way or another. When that time comes, we go to the people who we think can help; those who have done it before, or have that specific skill that we are seeking out. And once we target the right person (or people), we reach out and ask. However, most of the time when we need help, we are thinking of just that. But there is an obvious flip side that within this social age that we take for granted. And that is: nothing is free. Nothing. Everything you do, read, create, share, love, hate, and breathe costs something. And the question at the end of the ask is who is paying? Many of us are asked to do things for free all the time. In response to a request, Erika Napoletano of Redhead Writing, posted this yesterday: Though I love this list and may take her up on a few of them, there are a few great lessons here: 1. The Ask Depends on The Relationship: If you want people to do things for you, then you need to do twice as much for them. The ask is built on the relationship that is created. [...]

By Ja-Naé | Also posted in Business Tools, Marketing, Strategy, Uncategorized | Tagged art of free, ask for advice, business advice, business development, business link, business resources, business strategy, entrepreneur businesses, Erika Napoletano, free advice, free business advice, how to freelance, how to live anywhere, how to start a startup, new business owners, Redhead Writing, running a business, where can i ask questions | Comments (0)

3 Ways Near Field Communication is Changing the Game for Small Businesses

October 23, 2012 – 11:53 am

Small Businesses are constantly struggling with ways to scale and market. Near Field Communication (NFC) is bridging this gap with the help of Moo, making it this week’s Game Changer. Check it out: But what do you think? Do you think that devices like the IPhone will be more likely to adapt if companies like Moo are beginning to use the technology? Or do you think that NFC will be caught in the usual battles, that could take years to iron out? I would love to hear from you. Want Ja-Nae to review your product or service? Contact her. Related Posts A Game Changer: The Publishing Industry and How to Start Self-Publishing Game Changer: The Rise of the Hacker The Best of Hitchcock: Musings from the Game Changing Birthday Boy image credit: The Verge

By Ja-Naé | Also posted in Business Tools, Innovation, Marketing, Strategy | Tagged a game changer, game changer, game changers, game changing, the game changers | Comments (0)

Passion: What Origami and Kid Entrepreneurs Can Teach Us About Life

October 2, 2012 – 11:59 am

“When I was young, I observed that nine out of ten things I did were failures. So I did ten times more work. ” -George Bernard Shaw There is a lot that can be learned from kids entrepreneurs. Many will start their businesses with the hope to save up for something-like an ipad or a new car. And some start businesses just to do what they love and to give back. Clay is one of those boys. I was traveling Maine this weekend and stopped to see my friends Rob and Megin, along with their awesome kids. During my visit, their 10 year-old Clay, showed me the business that he had started around his origami. Clay has been doing origami for a few years now and loves it. But he is not just trying to sell his creations. 75% of all his proceeds go to an African orphanage and bringing his new adopted sister home from that orphanage. I decided to help out. Above is the stellar dragon I bought. He did a great job, didn’t he? As I went through Clay’s website and meticulously chose the one I would buy, I was reminded of these important lessons: [...]

By Ja-Naé | Also posted in Business Tools, Happiness, Innovation, Strategy, Uncategorized | Tagged characteristic of an entrepreneur, entrepreneur, entrepreneur how to, entrepreneur qualities, famous entrepreneurs, filipino entrepreneur, how to be entrepreneur, how to entrepreneur, passion, passion for, passion in, passion it, passion of, passions, the passion, what is passion, young entrepreneurs | Comments (3)

A Game Changer: The Publishing Industry and How to Start Self-Publishing

September 26, 2012 – 10:22 am

What does it take to become an author? I guess it depends on who you ask. Many people have tried the traditional route of writing book proposals and manuscripts with the hopes that their book would be picked up by a publisher. I have to be honest, that never occurred to me when I self-published my first book, “How to Start Your Business with $100” in 2010. I saw that there was an opportunity to connect directly with an audience that needed this book and figured that was the best way to go about it. And I am not alone. There are a ton of self-published authors who have done the same thing. Luckily, the publishing landscape is vastly changing and allowing for more and more self-published authors to shine through. Check out my Game Changer segment on the ever-changing publishing industry and what it means for authors, as well as consumers. There are many advantages and disadvantages to going either route. Something that I have been struggling with as a self-published author is whether or not I should continue to revamp the second addition of “How to Start Your Business with $100“. Recently a traditionally published book came out [...]

By Ja-Naé | Also posted in Business Tools, Innovation, Strategy, Uncategorized | Tagged $100 startup, a game changer, a t publishers, book to ebook, business partner, game change, game changer, game changing, gamechanger, gamechangers, gamer changers, games changer, how to make a book, how to open a store, how to publishing, how to start, how to start a business, make a book, publishers in, publishers of, publishing, publishing a, publishing industry, running a business, start 100, start up 100, start up entrepreneurs, startup 100, the game changer, the game changers, what is a publisher, writing a book, writing books | Comments (0)

20+ Ways to Reshape the Story and Help Advance Women in Technology

September 25, 2012 – 10:05 am

Reshaping how we tell a story can be difficult if we are really tied to how we tell it. Sometimes, the stories we use for a cause or a belief are no longer relevant. They have to be changed and trust that a new narrative can hold as much weight for the cause. I find that how we tell the story of women in tech is going through this type of metamorphosis. Within the changing landscape of work and the growth of our startup economy, we are seeing more and more female tech founders. The emergence of these founders is fantastic, but just 3% of all tech startups are led by women, according to a Kauffman Foundation report. So, there is definitely room for growth. If you’re a woman working or studying in the field of technology, it’s likely you’re very familiar with the situation of being the only female in the room. I’ve found myself in similar situations in the entrepreneurial community, and it makes you wonder why this is the case – and perhaps more importantly, what can we do to change it? Research has shown that grade school is where many girls make the switch from thinking computers [...]

By Ja-Naé | Also posted in Business Tools, Innovation, Strategy, Uncategorized | Tagged a powerful woman, become a female hero, education of woman, education woman, feminism, Kauffman Foundation report, landscape of work, startup economy, the career woman, the most powerful woman, the startup economy, wit, woman for woman, woman international, women and technology, women technology | Comments (0)

Work Design: The New Workforce and Being More Productive

September 12, 2012 – 11:20 am

I realized at a recent dinner party that the majority of people I know now work from home. This includes self-employed entrepreneurs like me as well as former office workers who have convinced management to allow them to work remotely. Many use this freedom to travel, while others just work from home. This is a trend that is increasing as technological growth has enabled many office workers to telecommunicate. A Forrester survey expects the number of telecommuters to reach 63 million by 2016. This infographic you can view here best illustrates the trend. Check it out: The common opposition to telecommunicating is that people who work from home will produce less without the watchful eyes of supervisors monitoring their work habits. However, a Staples survey reveals that the opposite is actually true in this article. 86% say they are more productive, while most also say they have less stress, eat healthier, and are more willing to put in extra time and grow more loyal to their companies. This information flies in the face of what many of our nation’s bosses still believe. You can use this information as ammunition if you want to convince your supervisor that they should let you work [...]

By Ja-Naé | Also posted in Business Tools, Innovation, Strategy, Uncategorized | Tagged being more productive, benefits of working remotely, design work life, freelance forum, freelancer, freelancers, more productive, remote work, remote working, the freelancer, the new workforce, work design, work free, work remote, work remotely, working design | Comments (0)

The Mentor: Creative Problem Solving While Getting What You Need

August 22, 2012 – 11:48 am

There are times in our lives when we just meet the right person at the right time. When everything that comes out of this individuals mouth is like listening to Bernstein conduct Beethoven’s 9th: it is subtle, yet every note hits you like a ton of bricks. I had the pleasure of meeting one of those people while in Napa a few weeks ago. His name is Rajesh Setty. Raj is a brilliant, yet unassuming man who shares my passion for growing ideas and creativity. During our conversation, he spoke very highly of his mentor and how that mentor helped him get to where he is today. Most people I know pay to have a coach or have been a part of some type of mentoring support group. Neither have really appealed to me because they are not who I am. I am a conversationalist and I prefer the conversation be about the other person. So, you can see my dilemma. Since I was so taken with Raj, I asked him how he found his mentors; I asked whether or not he paid for a high profile coach or someone with a ton of connections. I received a very surprising [...]

By Ja-Naé | Also posted in Business Tools, Creativity, Innovation, Strategy, Uncategorized | Tagged be a mentor, be creative, creative creative, creative ideas, creative it, creative problem solving, creative writing, creatives, Creativity, how to mentor, it mentor, mentoring, rajesh setty, restoring creativity, strategic thinking, the mentor, what is creative, what is creativity, what is strategic, why be a mentor, writing class | Comments (0)

Leadership Qualities and the One They Missed

June 6, 2012 – 9:49 pm

Yesterday, I wrote a post on the role that creativity plays within leadership education. On G+, Bill Hipsher asked the following question: I wonder how the chart you shared would look for smaller company CEO’s who don’t have “Global Thinking” as a factor? Could that be replaced by “Local Thinking/Influence/Relationships” for smaller local businesses? Great question, Bill. Here is my response: And just in case you wanted to see my artwork: Related Posts Growing Ideas The Leaders: 3 Lessons from the Girl Scouts How to Recognize Opportunity