You don’t have to be a know-it-all to be the boss. In fact the best bosses are always learning new things, helping them to make wiser decisions. Here are just several ways to expand your knowledge as a business owner.
Take courses
You could firstly consider taking a course. There are courses out there that can offer you all kinds of business skills from leadership to accounting to marketing. There are also companies such as such as Alpine security that can teach you the basics of cybersecurity protocol. On top of courses, consider 1 day workshops on more niche skills such as WordPress skills or Facebook marketing. Courses are likely to vary in price depending on the length of the course and the complexity – for more lengthy courses you may need to save up some funds.
Outsource advisors
Another option could be to outsource advisors to help educate you on business matters. This could be legal advice, financial advice or marketing advice. Many of these professionals charge on an hourly basis. You’re best always reading reviews and testimonials online to find the best advisor for you.
Read books and blogs
It’s possible that you may also be able to learn new things about running a business from reading books and blogs. When reading any form of text, it’s important to check that it’s from a credible source so that you know you’re getting good advice. For example, you may want to avoid reading a book on marketing advice from the 80s as many of the marketing strategies could be outdated. Look for online lists on some of the best business books to get an idea of which ones to buy.
Learn from your customers
You can also learn new things from your customers. For example, customer feedback can be a great way to find strengths and flaws in your business model – this could take the form of feedback forms or online reviews. You can also run market research such as assembling focus groups or using analytics to monitor your customer’s behaviour. Companies such as NGDATA offer this form of customer analytics.
Learn from your employees
You may also be able to learn new things from your employees. In fact, some of the best employers deliberately hire employees that they can learn from. This could include hiring someone with digital skills to help educate you if you’re not savvy with computers. Make sure that you’re regularly encouraging your employees to offer up ideas – brainstorm sessions and one-on-one meetings are great for this.
Learn from your competitors
Finally, you should look into ways to learn from your competition. By keeping tabs on your competitors and the types of products and deals they’re offering, you can borrow ideas as well as finding ways to stand out. Try to read reviews of your competitors to see what they are doing wrong so that you can fill the gap.