Jo Duxbury

Current

• Owner at Freelancentral.co.za
• Marketing strategist and project director at large at Freelance (Self-employed)

Past

• Freelance copywriter at Global Dinner Network
• Freelance Account Director at TBSP
• Project Management at Gary Bembridge Unleashed

• Account Management at Crown Business Communications
• Account Exec at The Presentation Company

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2 more...

Education

• University of Cape Town

Recommended

9 people have recommended Jo

Connections

166 connections

Industry

Marketing and Advertising

Jo Duxbury’s Summary

After over a decade as a suit in advertising, marketing and communications industries in London and Cape Town, I took the plunge into entrepreneurship in 2005 and launched my first company, Freelancentral.

I've since become involved in a number of other initiatives, including the Flying Solo Unconferences and social network; Femtrepreneurs - a group of women ICT entrepreneurs; and most recently, a recycling business which is just getting off the ground.

I love being an entrepreneur - as a control freak, it's great to do things *my way* and to be able to create things just how I want them. I now also get to meet and collaborate with lots of very interesting and dynamic people.

I am passionate about great marketing, beautiful design, clever copy, flawless grammar and online media.

My goal is to build a number of businesses that will make a difference to people's lives, by making them easier, more flexible, enable people to follow their passions and to have a positive impact on the planet.

Jo Duxbury’s Specialties:

Practical and afforable marketing in all its guises, including online and social media / Creating and evolving a brand / Writing, editing and proofreading / Setting up and maintaining online communities / Experience in starting a business / Project management and account direction.

Jo Duxbury’s Experience

• Owner

  Freelancentral.co.za

  (Privately Held; Marketing and Advertising industry)

  October 2005 — Present (4 years 2 months)

  Freelancentral.co.za is an online directory of freelancers in the creative, IT and film industries in South Africa. It is a centralised portal where freelancers and clients can find each other in this country.
  
  Freelancers can upload their work to online portfolios which clients can browse through - and once clients see someone they like, they can simply get in touch directly. Freelancers can select from two differently-priced membership levels and clients can browse the site and contact freelancer for free.
  
  We also offer an affordable offline Placements service for clients who are looking for freelancers on a medium/long term or retainer basis.
  
  Thanks to the internet, our freelancers are getting work from several countries around the world. South African freelancers are known for their creativity, reliability and speak English as a first or second language.
  
  I also write a column on being a marketing entrepreneur on BizCommunity: http://bizcommunity.com/Profile.aspx?i=136

• Marketing strategist and project director at large

  Freelance (Self-employed)

  (Self-Employed; Internet industry)

  October 2005 — Present (4 years 2 months)

  I work with companies who don't have in-house marketing skills to develop and implement practical, effective marketing strategies and roll-out plans. I draw from my network of freelancers and small businesses to execute the project elements.

• Freelance copywriter

  Global Dinner Network

  (Marketing and Advertising industry)

  2004 — 2007 (3 years )

• Freelance Account Director

  TBSP

  (Marketing and Advertising industry)

  January 2005 — October 2005 (10 months)

  Managed a number of advertising accounts, most significantly a government campaign across print, radio and outdoor media.

• Project Management

  Gary Bembridge Unleashed

  (Marketing and Advertising industry)

  March 2003 — December 2003 (10 months)

• Account Management

  Crown Business Communications

  (Marketing and Advertising industry)

  1998 — 2002 (4 years )

• Account Exec

  The Presentation Company

  (Marketing and Advertising industry)

  January 1996 — June 1997 (1 year 6 months)

Jo Duxbury’s Education

• University of Cape Town

  BSc (Hons) , Environmental & Geographical Science; Economics , 1992 — 1995

  Activities and Societies:

  UCT RAG Co-Chairperson in 1994/5; committee member 1993/4.
  Various SHAWCO committees in 1994/5.

Additional Information

Jo Duxbury’s Interests:

Flexible working, design, writing, marketing / strategy. Healthy living, organic foods, art, reading, travel, meeting people from around the world.

Jo Duxbury’s Groups:

Empowering Women ICT Entrepreneurs programme 2008
VeloCITI 2007
Business Warriors
27 Dinners

•    Business Her Way
•    Femtrepreneurs
•    FlyingSoloSA
•    Web 2.0 SA

Jo Duxbury’s Honors:

Freelancentral has been identified as an emerging IT company and came third in the Cape IT Initiative's VeloCITI programme in 2007.
Freelancentral was also selected in 2008 for the Empowering Women ICT Entrepreneurs programme, run by Maxum at the Innovation Hub and CITI, the US Department of State, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and the Meridian Institute.

Jo Duxbury’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

• job inquiries
• expertise requests
• business deals
• reference requests
• getting back in touch