Duane grew up in Cloquet, Minnesota, in a log cabin that his family built together. They had wind power electricity, chopped wood for heat, and pumped water from their well. They endured melting the frost on the toilet seat with their bums in the outhouse.

By the age of 16, Duane had had enough of this and hitchhiked to Texas, where he joined up with the Bill Hames Carnival. He spent 4 years working as a games concessionaire and learned his face-to-face sales skills during this time.

At the age of 20, Duane decided it was time to become a responsible adult, and he joined the U.S. Navy, where he served for 20 years as a journalist and public affairs officer. He served and lived in Spain for four years and married locally twice. He had two sons and a daughter. He then moved on to serve another two years in Puerto Rico. During his time in the Navy, he learned his communication and relationship-building skills, as well as leadership. During this time, the internet revolution was upon them, and he was active in developing in this arena. He built www.Navy.com during his service, which was later handed over to BBD&O, a Madison Avenue marketing firm.

Duane retired from the Navy in 2001 and entered the automotive business as a car salesman. He quickly progressed to management and spent most of his five years as a Finance and Insurance Manager. Here, he sold his first insurance policies (credit life, and credit accident and health). He was ranked in the top 3 of 22 stores for the last couple of years. During this time, he became a single father to his daughter, and it was the most enjoyable time of his life.

In 2006, Duane built TheFedoraStore.com, an online retail website for men’s headwear, along with a storefront in Custer, SD. By the end, he had grown this business to over $1MM a year in sales revenue with a 30% profit margin. In 2011 during the financial meltdown, sales were starting to slip. At the same time, OneClick Ventures came to him offering to purchase the business. After some negotiation, he sold the business and hit the road.

Duane and his new wife purchased a diesel pusher motorhome and hit the road, traveling America for a few years, and settled in Temecula, California at a luxury RV resort.

In 2013, his wife was tired of traveling, so Duane decided to get into the long-haul trucking business. He leased a truck and bought a trailer, paid it all off in 3 years, and continued his independent business until July 2023. Life-cycle issues with his equipment led him to sell it all off and close the business.

He settled in Prescott, AZ as a single man in 2022. Now, Duane is off and running, starting his third business as an independent insurance agent working from home. He is excited about the opportunity and still has the same drive and dedication that he had when building businesses in the past, looking forward to an enjoyable future and partnership with Trailstone Insurance.