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Duane McHodgkins
Author Media Kit
Practical ideas for building your own path in business, work, and education.
Duane McHodgkins is the author of Lessons from the Business Heroes of the Pandemic and The Higher Education Scam: Debunking the Myth that Everyone Needs a College Degree. A small-business owner and technology professional, he brings a working entrepreneur’s perspective to conversations about adapting to change, developing useful skills, and questioning the assumptions that shape our careers.
This page provides background, interview ideas, book information, and introductions for podcast hosts, journalists, and event organizers.
About Duane
Brief bio
Duane McHodgkins is an author and the owner of Duane’s Reliable Computer Services. His books explore business resilience and alternatives to the traditional college path. Drawing on his experience serving small businesses and individuals, he brings a practical perspective to conversations about work, skills, and creating opportunities.
Standard bio
Duane McHodgkins is an author, entrepreneur, and the owner of Duane’s Reliable Computer Services, serving small businesses and individuals in the Denver area since 2010. His books, Lessons from the Business Heroes of the Pandemic and The Higher Education Scam: Debunking the Myth that Everyone Needs a College Degree, explore how people can adapt to changing circumstances and consider different paths to a rewarding working life. His perspective comes from running a service business, helping customers solve everyday problems, and learning from other business owners. Duane’s approach is practical and conversational, with an emphasis on useful skills, resourcefulness, and taking action.
Extended bio
Duane McHodgkins writes about the choices people make when building a business, choosing an education, or finding a new direction in their working lives. He is the owner of Duane’s Reliable Computer Services, a mobile IT business serving small businesses and individuals in the Denver area since 2010.
His first book, Lessons from the Business Heroes of the Pandemic, draws on business experience and examples of people responding to disruption. It explores resourcefulness and adaptability for business owners, independent workers, and employees facing change.
In The Higher Education Scam: Debunking the Myth that Everyone Needs a College Degree, Duane challenges the assumption that college is a universal requirement for success. The book considers alternatives such as vocational training, apprenticeships, entrepreneurship, and self-directed learning, encouraging readers to examine how education choices fit their skills and goals.
Before operating his own company, Duane worked in management roles. That background, along with the everyday realities of serving customers, informs his approach to business and career conversations. He brings concrete experience and plain-English explanations to subjects that can otherwise feel abstract or overwhelming.
Ready-to-read host introduction
Our guest is Duane McHodgkins, an author and small-business owner who brings a practical perspective to work, education, and creating opportunities. He runs Duane’s Reliable Computer Services in the Denver area and is the author of Lessons from the Business Heroes of the Pandemic and The Higher Education Scam. Today, we’ll talk about adapting when circumstances change, building useful skills, and looking beyond the expected path. Duane, welcome.
Books
Lessons from the Business Heroes of the Pandemic
A look at resourcefulness when the rules of business change.
What can we learn from people who found ways to keep working during extraordinary disruption? Duane McHodgkins draws on business experience and real-life examples to explore adaptability, initiative, and staying useful as circumstances change. Written for business owners, independent workers, and employees, the book invites readers to consider how those lessons apply to their own working lives.
Conversation focus: Business resilience, responding to change, and recognizing opportunities to serve.
Publication year: 2021
Paperback ISBN: 9781736957905
The Higher Education Scam
Debunking the Myth that Everyone Needs a College Degree
An invitation to question the default route from school to career.
Duane McHodgkins challenges the belief that everyone needs a college degree to build a successful future. The book considers the costs and expectations surrounding higher education and explores other routes, including vocational training, apprenticeships, entrepreneurship, and self-directed learning. It invites students, parents, and people reconsidering their careers to look at the options in relation to their own interests, skills, and goals.
Conversation focus: Education choices, practical skills, and alternatives to a universal college expectation.
Publication year: 2024
Paperback ISBN: 9781736957912
Interview topics
What “staying essential” means beyond a crisis
The pandemic created unusual pressures, but the need to adapt continues. Explore what business owners and workers can learn from people who responded to disruption by finding useful ways to serve others.
Good fit for: Entrepreneurship, small-business, leadership, and career podcasts.
Opening question: Which lesson from the businesses you wrote about is most useful today?
Does everyone need a college degree?
A conversation about examining the familiar advice to go to college, considering alternative routes, and asking better questions before choosing an education or training program.
Good fit for: Parenting, education, career exploration, and young-adult audiences.
Opening question: What do you want readers to question when they see the title The Higher Education Scam?
Turning experience into a business
Explore the transition to self-employment, the role of relationships, and what running a service business teaches about earning customer trust.
Good fit for: Side-hustle, career-transition, independent-business, and local-business audiences.
Opening question: What did operating your own business teach you that your earlier jobs had not?
Useful skills and the willingness to keep learning
Connect the themes of both books through a discussion of practical learning, adapting to new demands, and recognizing more than one route to meaningful work.
Good fit for: Personal-development, workforce, lifelong-learning, and business audiences.
Opening question: What connects your book about pandemic business lessons with your book about education?
Suggested interview questions
- What prompted you to write Lessons from the Business Heroes of the Pandemic?
- Which business story in the book changed the way you think about adaptability?
- How do you recognize an opportunity when your original plan stops working?
- What is one lesson from running a small service business that employees can also use?
- How has networking influenced your experience as a business owner?
- What does the word “scam” in The Higher Education Scam mean in the argument you are making?
- Where do you see college as a strong fit, and where should someone consider another route?
- What should students and parents investigate before choosing a degree or training program?
- How can someone evaluate the quality of an apprenticeship, vocational program, or other alternative?
- What would you say to a person who feels behind because their path has been unconventional?
- How has helping people with technology shaped your approach to explaining complicated choices?
- What is one useful step listeners can take this week to explore their next opportunity?
Event conversation ideas
Staying Useful When Business Changes
A discussion of adaptability and practical lessons from Lessons from the Business Heroes of the Pandemic. Potential audiences include business associations, networking groups, and entrepreneurs. The conversation can explore recognizing changing needs, drawing on existing skills, and deciding what to try next.
Before You Choose the College Path
An author conversation about The Higher Education Scam for parent groups, libraries, and career-exploration audiences. Discussion can center on the assumptions behind education choices, alternatives worth investigating, and questions to bring to a family conversation about the future.
Building Your Own Path
A conversation connecting entrepreneurship, practical learning, and career change. Potential audiences include independent workers and people considering self-employment. Topics include learning from experience, building relationships, and taking a manageable first step.
Selected podcast appearances
Living My Side Hustle — Episode 27
“Duane McHodgkins — Side Hustle Inspiration — Super Ideas For Your New Side Hustle”
A conversation about business ownership and ideas from Lessons from the Business Heroes of the Pandemic.
Sales Made Easy
“Lessons from the Business Heroes of the Pandemic with Duane McHodgkins”
An appearance on Harry Spaight’s podcast discussing Duane’s business background and first book.
Make Your Day Richer
“Lessons From Business Heroes with Duane McHodgkins”
A conversation about starting a business, responding to disruption, and the ideas behind both books.
Interview and event inquiries
Interested in a conversation with Duane? Please include your show, publication, or organization; your audience; the proposed topic; and your preferred date and format. For media requests, include your deadline. For events, include the location and expected audience size.
Email: duane@duanemchodgkins.com
Author website: duanemchodgkins.com
Photos and book covers
- Author headshot — JPG
- Lessons from the Business Heroes of the Pandemic — front cover, JPG
- The Higher Education Scam — full cover wrap, PNG
For photo credits, image-use permissions, or a front-cover-only image of The Higher Education Scam, contact duane@duanemchodgkins.com.