Here's how you can efficiently create a learning plan to acquire new skills as a small business owner.

To efficiently create a learning plan as a small business owner, start by identifying specific skills needed, setting clear goals, researching relevant resources such as online courses or workshops, scheduling dedicated learning time, seeking mentorship or networking opportunities, measuring progress, and adjusting the plan as necessary. Continuous learning is crucial for staying competitive and adapting to industry changes.

As a small business owner, I feel that identifying your needs is crucial for creating an efficient learning plan because it helps you focus on the skills and knowledge that are most relevant and beneficial to your specific goals and circumstances. This clarity enables you to prioritize your learning efforts. If we do not narrow and list down the learning objectives, we will waste precious resources and time on irrelevant or meaningless activities that may not impact our growth.

First of all, it is essential to identify which skills are critical for your business and which are necessary but not critical. Critical skills, unless otherwise advised, must be mastered by the business owner. The business owner must research the other skills necessary for the success of the business, not to become an expert, but to be able to identify the profile of the person or service provider who will do this work.

As a business owner and CEO, I have always thought of learning as necessary to grow not only for myself but for the growth of my clients. I developed a "thing" for financial management and actively sought out mentors and groups that would help me elevate my learning. Each year, I work on my "new learnings" vision and find a way to put it into action. This year I took on a BIG learning plan that has me equally excited and scared. My approach is to take it in small bites and tackle it a little at a time.

Before visiting Kyrgyzstan this year, I started learning Russian. I used Duo Lingo and found myself competing with the characters to get to the top. Each day, I would study a bit at a time so I could learn to say a few words and phrases over time. Truth be told, I found learning Russian was not as difficult as I thought it would be. As a visual learner, I quickly recognized the spelling and was able to figure out the words in a sentence. Like with everything else, consistent practice will be important, and well, Google Translator also makes life easier.

After you develop a detailed plan outlining the steps you need to take to reach each goal, Break down larger goals into smaller, manageable tasks, and establish deadlines for completing each step. Deadlines are SO important! Having a structured plan makes it easier to stay focused and organized as you work towards your objectives. And continuously track your progress towards each goal to ensure you're making steady headway. Use metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure your progress objectively. Regularly review your performance against these benchmarks and make adjustments to your strategies as necessary to stay on track.

One thing í found that worked for me was doing a full business audit. That certainly help identify the real issues in busíness.

These are three key elements of effective goal setting for both life and business: 1. Specificity: Goals should be clearly defined and specific. Instead of saying "I want to be successful," specify what success means to you and break it down into measurable objectives. 2. Measurable: Goals should be quantifiable so that progress can be tracked. This could be in terms of revenue, savings, number of clients, or personal achievements like weight loss or skill improvement. 3. Realistic and Time-Bound: Set goals that are challenging yet achievable within a reasonable timeframe. Consider your resources, constraints, and current capabilities. Also, attach deadlines to keep yourself accountable and motivated.

I agree but in addition to the format and quality of resource, one also has to validate its authenticity. With an unbelievable amount of resources available for every domain, not everything is authentic and one needs to research and choose carefully. One should also prioritise learning from resources that offer the highest return on investment in terms of advancing your business objectives and driving growth. For example, as a jewellery designer and gemstone enthusiast I choose the reputable Gemological Institute of America (GIA) for my pursuit of knowledge in this field. They are the world’s most authentic Diamond Grading authority.

As one acquires knowledge from their selected resources, focusing on developing skills that are essential for success in the industry and market, the real progress is when those skills are applied in real time. Whether it's financial management, marketing, leadership, or technical expertise, practical implementation leads you to progress and create great impact on your business performance.

It is common for people to confuse being energetic with being frenetic, being active with being reactive. I think that sometimes frantic behavior means that we are not able to identify what is priority and important and therefore everything becomes important and urgent. Also when developing our skills, we must have the ability to identify what works, what adds value, what should be deepened and what should be abandoned. I suggest a simple method for managing priorities: 1st What is urgent and important; 2nd What is urgent; 3rd What is important; 4th The remaining matters will be resolved if and when we have time.

As we all know the learning process is ongoing, and your needs may evolve over time as your business grows and changes. By regularly reassessing your needs and updating your learning plan accordingly, you can ensure that you continue to acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to stay competitive and adapt to new challenges and opportunities. I believe the best way to track and assess is to list down the goals, steps taken to achieve it,results and analyse them to create new goals and revise strategies where needed. Monthly Progress meetings or weekly sessions are a good practice to help with this.

I am a work in progress when it comes to active listening. I am around a few Gen Z's and their lingo sometimes can be challenging to understand. I am learning that asking qualitative questions and reflecting on the answers helps me gain a deeper understanding and adjust my actions and yes, reactions.

Ask around what people in your domain are learning and see what you can do. Also check other domains as well. You never know which knowledge will work for you