How Entrepreneurs Can Always Continue Learning
Whether you left high school before it ended or you earned a PhD from a top institution, you have been learning your whole life — so that shouldn’t stop when you become an entrepreneur. It goes without saying that every entrepreneur has made a commitment to learning continually, but because most of us are so pressed for time, that usually happens on the job rather than in a classroom.
If you feel like you’re interested in stretching your mind a bit further throughout your entrepreneurial journey, consider these options that can sharpen the skills you need to grow your business.
Study Competitors, Other Entrepreneurs
You can learn a lot by watching how other entrepreneurs handle success, failure and everything in between. This goes for your competitors as well as companies outside of your vertical. This means following the performance of other businesses, reading books about entrepreneurs, checking the tweets of those in the field and learning from those before you.
In many cases, you can learn just as much about what not to do as you learn about what you should be doing to succeed. I recommend keeping a journal about the most important points that you learn when you discover something significant. It can help you later when you’re facing a critical situation or you don’t know how to address something. Go back and see which lessons you gleaned from others and how those can help you with your hurdles.
Network With Others
Think about the opportunities your business has had, and how you found them. In many cases, you found certain openings for your business through your own network of contacts. Whether you met others in college or through the business world, you knew who might benefit from your product or service, and you probably approached them first when your business launched. Why stop growing that network? It’s not just about having people to pitch — it’s much more than that. You can learn useful insights from others in the business world and you can have an outlet when you need someone to talk to.
Entrepreneurship can be isolating, but if you grow your network all the time, you can reach out to others any time you’re feeling alone. They can help you by providing advice, sharing their experiences, or just by listening. You’ll learn from your network just as you hope they learn from you.
Talk to Your Target Audience
You can learn so much from speaking with your target audience or your current customers. Most of us do this before launching so we can understand what customers need, but some entrepreneurs fail to follow up throughout the life cycle of their business. Customer needs can change over time, and your products and services will have to evolve with them.
For instance, you may find that your core business model is still what your target audience needs, but that there are others providing better amenities like stronger customer service or faster shipping times. These are the details that you must have if you always want to be improving your business. A strong understanding of your audience’s most essential needs will ensure that you’re never failing to live up to their expectations.
Take Classes
If you really need to improve your skills in a complex area like tax accounting, then you may want to enroll in a formal class where you can get the dedicated help you need to master the topic. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to go back to a college campus. You can find continuing education courses online or in nearby venues. Make sure the course times fit well into your entrepreneurial schedule and read the testimonials from others who have taken the class to ensure that you’ll get what you need from it.