If you’re not learning new things on a regular basis, you will fall behind.

No matter how much or how little formal education you have when you start your business, continual learning is part of the game. Without the willingness to keep learning, you’ll get swallowed up by those who are willing and open to keep learning. Change is part of the landscape of business. What was popular yesterday is not popular today. This requires any business owner to keep learning. To keep learning is to stay in business.

Continual learning helps you:

• Stay Ahead of Industry Changes — Just look back a couple of years and it’s amazing how much technology has changed the face of business. Who would have ever imagined that social media marketing, or email marketing or even content marketing would be as necessary today as they are? It doesn’t even matter what kind of business you have today; if you’re not involved with those three types of marketing you’re dead in the water.
• Learn New Skills to Add to Your Services — Even if you are a service provider, it’s imperative to keep up to date on the new services your audience needs. Think about it in terms of “desktop publishing,” which was popular a few years ago to the point where anyone who had any computer skills at all could make a living in desktop publishing. Today, you need to be more specific and specialized. For instance, you might instead specialize in Kindle publishing.
• Helps You Create New Products — When you keep learning about your industry and your audience, you’ll be in a better position to create useful products that solve real problems. Problem solvers keep learning. Problem solvers stay in business a lot longer than those who are too focused on staying the same.
• Develop Better Understanding of Your Audience — The more you learn about your audience, the more you’ll understand which problems they need solved. You’ll also understand how they prefer to solve their problems. For instance, some audiences prefer highly advanced technology, while others do not. You can’t know that if you don’t learn about your audience.

Ways to keep learning are:

• Take a Course — There are numerous places to take courses and learn today. Many business coaches teach others how to start and run successful businesses. A lot of colleges and universities offer courses as well. Those who have succeeded before you offer many learning opportunities that you can and should take advantage of. You’ll see them if you keep your eyes open.
• Attend Events — In-person and online events are fabulous ways to learn something fast. Not only that, you’ll also make connections that you would not otherwise make. It might feel strange and outside of your comfort zone but events are excellent ways to stay involved in learning new things in your niche.
• Find an Internship — There are paid and unpaid internships available if you keep your eyes open. If you’re very new to a niche, or you find a guru that you enjoy following, ask them if you can intern for them for a set period of time free. Be willing to devote 10 to 20 hours a week, and be ready to learn.
• Follow Movers and Shakers — The people in your industry who are very popular, famous or infamous, have a lot to teach you. It doesn’t matter how much of an expert you are; you can always learn something from someone else. Use social media to locate these movers and shakers and follow them. Read what they write and read what they recommend. Agree or disagree with them; you’ll learn something new.

Once you realize that continual, lifelong learning is something that you’re going to be involved in forever as a business owner, you’ll come to love it. Learning new skills will keep your business fresh, your audience happy, and it will keep you from either being bored or becoming extinct. Remember, we don’t use an abacus for math anymore. Don’t be left behind.

Do you have a favorite place you like to take a class? Leave a message below and let me know.