Tips to Running a Business and Improving Your Education
Every business owner has to wear a lot of different hats. For most entrepreneurs, education is a big reason for success. Yet, those same businesses often cut their own education programs. So how do you keep that momentum going and find time for education when you run a company? Check out a few tips below to help.
1. Give away some of your less important responsibilities
Weigh your responsibilities and what you can gain from education. No matter what education you’re considering, it’s important to understand what you have to gain — and what you have to lose. If you have smaller responsibilities at your company you can pass off to a business partner or an employee, you can open up time for education without skipping a beat.
2. Give your whole company a personal education day
You shouldn’t feel guilty for taking time away from your company for educational purposes (especially if it’s for the good of the company, as discussed above). However, you may want to consider giving all of your employees a day off to try some sort of education together. Learn more about chief analytics officer.
You can also offer a day to volunteer as an alternative.
3. Take it one class at a time
For many entrepreneurs, finding time for education means going slowly. It may seem overwhelming to go back to school part-time because you have too many responsibilities in your company. If this is the case, then don’t do it! Consider just taking one course at a time.
It may not seem appealing to take so long to get a certification, but it’s better than not learning at all.
If you are an entrepreneur who just wants to learn more for the sake of learning (and not for a degree or certification), Udemy courses are a great option. They allow you to take your time with lessons so that you can get everything done. Udemy teachers tend to be business owners and professionals more often than at a place like Coursera, which offers more classes from real professors.
4. Create a schedule to make sure you have time for it all
Make a schedule of your business and personal life. This means map out everything — even free time. Many entrepreneurs assume they don’t have time, but they could surprise themselves if they actually took the time to block out their schedules.
5. Make sure you have support from others
Although this may not help you find time for education, it’s important to note so you don’t get too overwhelmed. If you’re thinking that you’ve finally found the time to seek additional education, you need to make sure you have the support of your family and your business partner or company. Otherwise, your education will be more difficult and, potentially, not worth it in the end.
6. Don’t forget: You’re improving your business sense everyday
Always remember that, even if you’re not able to take as many classes as you would like, you’re still learning everyday — owning your own business is the ultimate test. If you need to put your formal education on hold to focus on your company, that’s okay.
Then, when you have the time to follow some of the tips above, you can just add another element to the education you’re already earning every day.
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7 Responses
Maybe worth commenting here:
“You are trying to create, and then to sell, A ($) COMMERCIAL ($$) PRODUCT. ($$$)”
So, either you meet the “criteria” that your MARKET is looking for, or you don’t.
Hence: “process.” Iterative refinement. An efficient workflow. Identifying and resolving problems in your PRODUCT as early as possible.
Anytime you “buy a book at the newsstand and read it,” you are always reading A WINNER. You have no idea how it got there. You also have no idea who, other than the listed author, had anything to do with it. This is by design – these folks are not craving for attention. But, they all conspired together to make “the finished text” appear more DETERMINISTIC than any such work-product actually is.
“Plan accordingly.”
I don’t mean to be all picky icky, but there’s a typo in the third paragraph author’s instants instead of instincts? I had to reread.
Sorry. Middle of the night revision… sh*t happens. I hate typos, so I appreciate the heads up.
It looks like your auto correct may have done it.
“It’s like asking a star high school pitcher to start a game in the major leagues… they can throw, but they aren’t ready yet.”
Great analogy, Larry. Building muscle memory into the storytelling mind takes time and effort. The great authors make it look easy but there’s a lot of learning behind that apparently effortless prose.