Tag Archives: outsourcing

Who’s Designing Your Powerpoints?

October 12, 2010 – 1:01 pm
starting a business how to start a business

For business owners, the need for excellent Powerpoint presentations while soliciting partners is crucial for success. As entrepreneurs, we need to know our audiences before creating presentations to address them, and then we must create a show that will actively engage them. While many of us may display the creative drive to make an interesting Powerpoint, finding the right images, organizing them, and tailoring them to each specific you are trying to reach can be time consuming. As I mention in my book, “How to Start Your Business with $100”, this may be one of those areas it’s best to outsource. Listen to “Who’s Designing Your Podcasts?” for suggestions on creating the best professional Powerpoints you can. So, who will you have design your Powerpoints? Leave your recommendations below! Connect with Ja-Naé on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook ______________ Looking to start a business or own a small business? Please consider buying my book, How to Start Your Business with $100 because it will save you thousands of dollars and you should find what you’re looking for.

By Ja-Naé Duane | Posted in Business Tools, Creativity, Entrepreneurship | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

201+ Amazing Tools and Resources for the Freelancer

June 22, 2010 – 8:46 pm
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I have been receiving a bunch of emails requesting more blog posts for the freelancer. I went through some of my favorite blogs and websites and compiled a list of over 201+ tools and resources: 35+ Online Tools to Make Your Life Easier 5 Online Tools For Dealing With Clients in Other Time Zones PIXELMATOR : LOW BUDGET TOOL 15 Online Financial Tools for Freelance Designers 25 Free Online Tools for Web Designers, Developers, Freelancers and Individuals 14 Free Things for Writers You can also bid for work on Elance or Freelance.com What are your favorite Freelancing tools and websites? Feel free to share them with us. We would love to hear about them. Like this article and want to read more, feel free to subscribe to my blog feed

By Ja-Naé Duane | Posted in Business Tools, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Strategy, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments (1)

How to Negotiate: Godfather Style!

June 16, 2010 – 12:49 pm
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“Don’t forget the cannoli!” That is one of my favorite Godfather lines. Of course, I have Italia on the mind with the Arts Institute coming up. But with that comes the memory of learning how to negotiate Italian style. Many are afraid to negotiate or ask for what they deserve, even in business. Negotiations can be done in a respectful manner, which is one of the things I talk about in “How to Start Your Business with $100″.  So, here are 3 tips on how to do just that (NOTE: The following quotes are said in my best Italian-American accent): 1. “What?” Know exactly what you want. What is important to you? What are you willing to compromise within the negotiation? Have those ideas in line and ready to go before you start negotiating with anyone. 2. “I’m going to make you an offer you can’t refuse.” When negotiating, it has to be a win/win. Everyone needs to feel good about the end result. So, ask the other party what they need or what is important to them. Also, ask if they are willing to compromise with you.  If they are not willing or not in a position to, then [...]

By Ja-Naé Duane | Posted in Business Tools, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Strategy, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , | Comments (1)

50+ Achievable Tasks in Under 15 Minutes

June 8, 2010 – 12:33 pm
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Time is really just a man made concept. I know, it’s a little hard to swallow sometimes, particularly since everything in our lives seems to revolve around it. My favorite excuse when talking to people about time management, is that they don’t have enough of it to do what they really need to do. When I recommend breaking down time and tasks up into 15 minute increments, people tend to say, “I can’t do anything in 15 minutes!” Well, here is a list of 50+ achievable tasks that you absolutely can do: 1) Clear emails 2) Connect and network on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn 3) Throw a load of laundry in 4) Make a business phone call 5) Write a hand written note 6) Make a list of things still needed to be done for the day 7) Delegate out a task to someone Exercise 9) Make a healthy meal 10) Make a cup of coffee 11) Take a power nap (this is my favorite) 12) Talk to a friend 13) Update your blog 14) Respond to comments on your blog 15) Thank a colleague 16) Unsubscribe from unnecessary emails 17) Shop online 18) Assess your goals 19) Speak to [...]

By Ja-Naé Duane | Posted in Business Tools, Entrepreneurship, Strategy, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments (1)

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)

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)

Starting a Business? Free Business Tips on Facebook

April 7, 2010 – 9:02 am

Are you on Facebook? With “How to Start Your Business with $100” coming out soon, I wanted a place to give free business tips. Check out the Video and what I am thinking! Also, if you just want to check out the fan page: How to Start Your Business with $100 Promote Your Page Too

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

Entrepreneurs to 9 to 5: Need a Project Manager?

March 26, 2010 – 9:13 am

Whether you work from home or a 9 to 5 workweek, I’m sure you have a ton of projects, am I right?  There is something exhilarating about starting a fresh project, especially in a leadership role. Well-managed projects make me feel productive and constantly on the move; but when there are several projects going on at once, I tend to lose my marbles, and long for an outside source to keep me in check and on the right path. Project management is a full-time job for some people, and with good reason. It involves planning, organizing, and managing resources to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals and objectives. Project managers can help manage the scope, quality, time-allotted, and budget for a project.  This is a great service for home based business entrepreneurs. Some project management tools and services I like to employ are: Yugma, a desktop sharing and collaboration service that allows you to share your computer screen in real-time. Yugma allows you to host a virtual meeting between multiple project contributors, allowing different players to serve as presenters by way of their home computers. Yugma’s services allow project collabora­tors to communicate efficiently and effectively with remote [...]

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

How to Get Things Done!

March 17, 2010 – 9:05 am

In my line of work, I spent a lot of time with leaders, entrepreneurs, social media strategists and freelancers who work from home.  Does that sound like your crew? And we’ve all heard people  say “I have a system”.  That system can be anything from a way of losing weight to getting that to-do list done. What’s nice about them is that systems help take the frustration out of daily living.  They help you do what you WANT to do in an easier, more consistent way.  A system practically does the work for you. Here are 3 EASY every day systems that will help you get things done: #1.  Top 3 Things That Will Make the Most Impact: Make a list of everything you have to do. Then figure out what are the top 3 things that you could do that would make the biggest impact. Make sure you absolutely do those 3 things. If you get to the others items on your list, then it’s an added bonus! #2. Make an Appointment with Your To-Do: When we schedule appointments, we put them in our calendars and treat them with a little more seriousness. So, do the same with items [...]

By Ja-Naé Duane | Posted in Business Tools, Entrepreneurship, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (1)