Meet Lisa Duke

We were lucky to catch up with Lisa Duke recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lisa, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?

My mother was an English teacher and modeled being an avid reader. A passion for reading plus a creative mind made me a strong writer. Several of my teachers picked up on this ability and encouraged me, which shows the importance of mentoring and encouraging young people!

Because of that early success, I believed in my ability to learn and to grow. Wherever opportunities were or my interest led me, I believed I could learn what was required to succeed.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

My husband started our IT consulting business in 2005, and I came on soon after to help with sales and marketing. It took us awhile to find our rhythm, but over time we learned to trust each other to always act with integrity and in the best interest of the client.

Our most interesting offering is that we have a deep expertise in Lotus Notes and Domino (now HCL Notes/Domino). Clients using this software often struggle to find the answers they need to troubleshoot and upgrade their servers or to correctly renew their licenses. By diving deep into this product, we provide a unique skillset that then becomes a jumping off point to our other services, like cybersecurity consulting.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

– Positivity
Believing that there is a solution and that we can help gives us the confidence to market our products and services to clients.

– Curiosity
Whenever possible, I strive to be curious as to why someone is doing what they are doing rather than judging them for doing it differently. When we become curious, we learn!

– Persistence
So many people in business give up so quickly. Following up is a superpower that anyone can cultivate.

What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?

In business, I do believe in going all in on our strengths. Having a unique skill – or two skills that don’t usually go together, but that you have successfully combined – help us to stand out in the market.

However, I think as a person being more well-rounded is a key to a life well lived. As we reach our 40s and 50s, if we’ve had jobs where we sit at a desk all day it is critical to incorporate more movement into our lives. That could be a fun fitness class in the evenings, hiking on weekends, or even mini-breaks during the day just to stand up and stretch.

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