Back To School For All

Hey “big kids,” back to school season had us thinking… are you investing time in your continual learning?

To enhance your business it’s necessary to stay up to date on the latest technology, business principles, and marketing techniques. Fortunately for us, there are some great ways to continue our ongoing education without spending semesters on end in a classroom.

Here are a few of the ways to continue learning that we like best:

The Internet.

Why not take advantage of all of the resources online for enhancing our knowledge?? If nothing more, find a couple of good sites that write or post articles related to your industry and read them. (If you use twitter you can simply follow someone who posts articles of interest to you and they’ll pick good ones for you!)

Webinars.

Get a great presentation on a topic of interest without leaving the comforts of your home or office.

Entrepreneurs’ Groups.

Industry groups and leads groups can be great sources for presentations on current information and technology. There are other great local resources like Chambers and Economic Development Councils. They put on events that give great information.

Books.

This may feel like back to school on a more literal level, but there are fabulous industry related books out there. Odds are you’ll find some extremely useful books in the business or technology section of the bookstores here in town.

Online Groups.

Whether you find a group with related interests on a major site like facebook or linkedin, or you find a site dedicated to your industry, meeting up with like-minded people online simply breeds learning.

The Small Business Development Center.

Not only does the local small business development center offer great opportunities for learning (like short classes), if you are running a small business, they will help you make improvements to your business.

Publications.

Business publications, both local and national, are another great source for keeping up with the ever-changing face of business. Your continuing education should focus on all of the aspects of your business whether it is specific to the goods or services you offer, or to the issues involved in running a business today.