Secure your future by improving your skills
It is not enough to simply survive in a business world that is constantly changing. Business owners must adapt and evolve in order to stay relevant, and upskilling can be the key to success.
What does this mean? It means taking on new challenges, learning more about your industry and finding ways to help your company grow.
This blog post will give you some simple tips for upskilling as a business owner so you can thrive!
How can upskilling benefit your business?
The importance of learning more goes far beyond the present moment. It’s essential to improve how your business operates and the value of your employees. Here are three major benefits of ongoing learning.
1. Future-proof your business
Henry Ford once said: “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” He was an innovative thinker who looked far beyond the conventional mode of transport of the day. Instead, he invented the impossible and revolutionized the world when he did so.
Since the pandemic, it’s become more and more clear that nothing is the way it seems. In other words, even if a large company is at the top of its game, life happens and in an instant, they can be at the bottom of the pack.
If you invest in educating yourself and your staff, it is a long-term investment into the future. It can open doors to future work alliances, connections, and other markets.
2. Become a valuable asset to your customers and business partners
Everyone wants to have a team of valuable assets. By training your staff, you ensure that your customers receive the best treatment and service possible.
By keeping your skills sharp, there will be demand for your business because, quite simply, you’re the best.
Think about it… if you need a heart transplant, would you want a surgeon who last learned something new back when they were in medical school? Or would you want someone who attends conferences and learns the latest (and safest) techniques?
3. Beat the competition
A third major benefit of continuous training and education is the fact that it sets you apart from the competition.
Having greater knowledge and experience will put you a cut above the rest and ensure that customers are choosing your superior products and services over less credible options.
The biggest myth about self-education
When you think about learning new skills, your first instinct is that it’s going to be extremely expensive, right?
Wrong!
Oftentimes there is no need to get a formal qualification to brush up on skills or even learn something totally new.
Disclaimer: obviously certain professions require formal qualifications. This is about improving upon your existing skills to be better than you were before, or adding a new skill set to benefit your current offerings.
There are many ways to further your education, some are free and others will cost you some money. You’ll need to assess exactly what you want and which option suits you and your team.
3 ways to upskill
Start by identifying the skills and tasks that are needed to grow your business, then look for ways of learning those areas as quickly as possible.
There are many ways to acquire more knowledge and expertise. It all depends on what your business is and what you are trying to learn how to do or improve upon.
Here at Big Domino Marketing, our team is almost always going through some sort of online training around topics such as marketing, copywriting, video editing and more.
1. Short-term formal training
Most people don’t realize that the best way to learn a new skill is through short term training. This type of training can sometimes be done in as little as one day (or a week) and it can provide you with the knowledge you need to grow your business.
You don’t have to go through lengthy study courses and programs to get your certification in certain fields. Even when you’re long in your game, making room for improvement and skills training will act in your favour. What’s more, is that training in new categories is available online as well as in-office training.
2. Use online webinars and conferences to your advantage
The world of education has changed and there are online courses that can teach you almost anything!
Video conferences are also widely accessible and available for your convenience, and many self-study courses are pre-recorded allowing you access from the comfort of your home and during your free time.
Don’t forget about YouTube! There are loads of free videos covering every topic you can imagine.
If you want a higher quality of education and more structured video courses, consider signing up to Skillshare where you can enjoy a wide variety of classes in your own time.
3. Get a mentor
Instead of doing a course, why not get training from a master? Sometimes the easiest and quickest way to learn something is for someone to actually show you how to do it.
This works when you get a more experienced team member training a junior or having your entire team knowing how to do all the functions in the business (or as needed). That way, if someone is absent another team member can assist with that person’s duties.
The takeaway about the importance of upskilling
The world is changing so quickly, and if your business doesn’t change with it, you could be left behind.
It can seem like a daunting task to upskill as an entrepreneur in order to keep up, but the rewards are worth it. If you want to learn more about how we help entrepreneurs build their skillsets and grow their businesses, join our free Facebook group, Social Media Marketing for Entrepreneurs.
You’ll meet like-minded entrepreneurs and enjoy free resources, training, inspiration and support as we all work together towards building successful businesses.
