Tag Archives: entrepreneurs

35+ Business and Leadership Quotes for Entrepreneurs

May 14, 2010 – 8:43 am
Lao Tzu-Love this guy!

We all need inspiration. Becoming an entrepreneur and starting a business, as well as growing it into a successful small business takes a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. If you’re on this road, then here are some business and leadership quotes that may help you along the way. 1. “The art of leadership is saying no, not yes. It is very easy to say yes” -Tony Blair 2. “A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.” -Lao Tzu 3. “The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.” -Ken Blanchard 4. “You do not lead by hitting people over the head – that’s assault, not leadership.” -Dwight D. Eisenhower 5. “A good leader is not the person who does things right, but the person who finds the right things to do.” -Anthony T. Dadova 6. “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” -John Quincy Adams 7. “Leadership is a combination of strategy and character. If you must be without one, be without the strategy.” -Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf 8. [...]

By Ja-Naé Duane | Posted in Business Tools, Entrepreneurship, Strategy, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments (5)

Leaders, Change Your View

May 13, 2010 – 9:41 am

Whether you are starting a business or are a leader of a successful organization, you will constantly be faced with obstacles. The question then becomes, “How will you overcome them?” Many times that can easy be accomplished by changing your view or perception of the situation. Which is sometimes harder than it sounds. Mike is the CEO of a mid size company and has 200 people answering to him, as well as, watching his every move. Though the company is making millions of dollars, morale is extremely low and employees are constantly on the hunt for new jobs. This situation is not new to Mike. He has seen it evolve over a period of a year and decided to do nothing about it. Finally, when he realized that things were spiraling out of control, he said to his C-Row, “Dammit! We need culture. Someone take care of that, will ya!” Nothing was done. What Mike failed to realize is that as the leader of this company, people were looking to him to lead the charge. It wasn’t until one day when his daughter asked him to play Follow the Leader that the light bulb went off. It took a kids [...]

By Ja-Naé Duane | Posted in Business Tools, Creativity, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Marketing, Philosophy, Strategy, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments (3)

Entrepreneurs, are you afraid? The Only Thing You Need..

May 6, 2010 – 9:02 am

Entrepreneurs, artists, small business owners, parents learning social media basics to watch over their kids, it doesn’t matter. I see it all the time. People share with me what holds them back and it is ALWAYS the same: FEAR! Though fear can hold us back (and even paralyze us), there is only ONE thing you need to do to overcome it: No matter how small a step, continue to move forward toward your goal or objective. Life, like water, is meant to flow, move forward. We must flow with it. So, do just that. Put one foot in front of another. What situation have you had in your life where you found that you were forced to move forward, but you were glad you did? Did someone you love pass away? Did you get divorced or have a terribly break up and thought you would never move on? Have you ever been put in a position where you were not sure how you were going to pay your rent and you were forced to find a way? Share with us how you put one foot in front of another and why you were glad you did. We can all benefit [...]

By Ja-Naé Duane | Posted in Entrepreneurship, Strategy, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (3)

Interested in Outsourcing? Get a Broker!

April 30, 2010 – 9:00 am
Company Outsourcing

Sounds ironic, huh? For me, the benefits of outsourcing menial tasks to other professionals are clear – outsourcing saves me time and allows me to work on more substantive projects. Outsourcing also utilizes someone else’s expertise, offering me professional-looking outputs. But of course, if outsourcing is not done correctly, it can lead to mayhem. The person to whom I’ve outsourced my work can go missing-in-action. The company to whom I’ve outsourced my presentation hasn’t gotten the final product to me by the deadline. That is why I, and many other entrepreneurs, have chosen to enlist the help of an outsourcing broker. Outsourcing brokers (the art of outsourcing brokerage is often referred to as Outsourcing Relationship Management or ORM. They serve as middlemen/women between you and the service provider. They can set entrepreneurs up with the right contractors to help ensure a good fit and to help manage the working relationship. They also help with any problems that might pop up. Outsourcing brokers can offer a great deal of comfort to the businesses that use their services. One outsourcing broker that believes small business can, and should, utilize outsourcing services is Janeeva™. Janeeva™ charges an up-front consulting fee, and gives their [...]

By Ja-Naé Duane | Posted in Business Tools, Entrepreneurship, Strategy, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (3)

Entrepreneurs, Are You Taking Advantage of Slow Times?

April 27, 2010 – 9:00 am
Polls and starting a business

Entrepreneurs and/or those of you who are starting a business: You may not realize it but every Industry has an ebb and a flow. When your industry has a slow period, do you take advantage of it? If not, here are two ways when you can do just that: Surveys and polls – Use this time to see what your customers really want and need. Why not conduct one during the holiday sales season and announce the results during the slow week? You can even submit the polls and surveys to PR outlets. This way, you find out what your customers REALLY want AND you get PR out of it. Trends – Have you seen a trend these past few month? Was there something that flew off your shelves that you didn’t expect to? Look at your sales and reevaluate what you are offering your customers. Though these are small things, they can yield buid ROI’s for your company.

By Ja-Naé Duane | Posted in Business Tools, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Strategy, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , | Comments (4)

Leadership: How to Build a Winning Team!

April 26, 2010 – 9:16 am
Leadership: Building a Winning Team

You’ve heard the saying that “people are a company’s greatest asset,” right? It’s true! Your company (no matter if you work from home or have a small business) is only as good as the people running it – on all levels. That is why is it vital to pick the right people. Even if you’re outsourcing your work. So, who are the right people? How do you know whether or not a person will work out? This answer varies from company to company. The first step is to sit down and look at your company’s long term goals. How is your company looking to grow? What are the qualities that you would like in your ideal employee? What skills and assets are absolutely essential for each employee to embody? Your answers will allow you to determine the qualifications you expect of your employees. For example, if expansion and growth are important, you may want employees who are flexible (because growth requires change), innovative (because growth requires creativity), and looking for advancement (because growth offers opportunities). If you want to specialize in a specific niche, you’ll need employees with specialized skills to match. If you’re trying to improve quality, hiring employees [...]

By Ja-Naé Duane | Posted in Business Tools, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Marketing, Strategy, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (9)

Should You Outsource Your Social Media?

April 17, 2010 – 9:00 am

I outsource a ton of things. As an entrepreneur it makes sense.  As a strategist, my clients constantly ask if they can outsource their social media engagements (Here are some thoughts on ghost writing and blogging). Here are my thoughts. What are yours? I would love to hear from you. Feel free to post below, Tweet me, or Facebook me.

By Ja-Naé Duane | Posted in Business Tools, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Strategy, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments (8)

Who Are Your Top 5?

April 15, 2010 – 1:00 pm

Many people I know are looking for financial freedom or to retire early. These are the same people who are loyal fans of Ramit Sethi and Tim Ferriss. Well, if you fall into that category, then I ask you: Who Are Your Top 5?

By Ja-Naé Duane | Posted in Entrepreneurship, Strategy, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , | Comments (3)

How to Follow Your Instincts in Business (and Life)

April 15, 2010 – 9:03 am

Your instincts are your best friend, whether you are a leader, working a 9 to 5 or a working from home entrepreneur. Check out my video about how to follow your instincts and let me know what you think.

By Ja-Naé Duane | Posted in Creativity, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Spirituality, Strategy, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments (1)

Measuring Social Media: One Metric

April 12, 2010 – 8:54 am

Thank you to everyone who commented on my social media metrics post a few weeks back. Some of you are entrepreneurs with home-based businesses, some are running  small businesses, while some of you have your corporate leaders wondering, “How are we measuring social media“. Do you fall into any of these categories? Then watch my video and let me know what you think:

By Ja-Naé Duane | Posted in Business Tools, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Strategy, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , | Comments (2)