Lead photo credit Karyn Kimberly Photography
Toast talks to Saskatoon-based serial entrepreneur Jess Tetu, who coaches us to never stop learning. This column is all about her third key to entrepreneurial success: education.
#2 – Be Tenacious & Commit Deeply!
#3 – Education
#4 – Stress Management & Support Systems
#5 – Network
#6 – Stay Inspired
#7 – Give Back
#3 – Education
No matter what the industry, become an expert in what you do and never stop learning!
There is a huge mistake that I see entrepreneurs make. Once they become somewhat successful, they stop educating themselves and their teams.
The economy, industry trends and customers’ needs will continue to change, and if you do not prepare to change and adapt alongside, your growth will immediately slow down. Plus, your competitors who do adapt and stay educated will have the advantage. No industry will stay the same forever and you need to stay current. Read articles, find studies, analyze current trends, do research, and continue to educate yourself and your team as often as you can.
Tips for Ensuring Continuous Learning: Never Stop Learning
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for and attend industry trade shows, conferences and educational webinars. These can be vital to staying current with trends, can provide new skills or ideas, and can completely re-energize and revitalize your passion for what you do.
Continue your education
Broaden your knowledge to help you learn to be adaptable. It’s very important you let go of the “we’ve always done it that way” mindset. The key is to remain open-minded and prepared to move in a different direction on short notice. The nature of business is ever-changing! As entrepreneurs, we need to constantly re-evaluate our businesses and the market in which we thrive. While doing so, as nimble entrepreneurs we can continuously adapt when unexpected changes do occur.
Make learning fun
Join mastermind groups, create personal and team challenges, and set goals to reach educational milestones. Perhaps it’s encouraging your team to complete an online learning program or to attend an educational webinar. Or it could be as simple as a book challenge. Often, if these challenges are met with rewards, the experience can become a fun opportunity for your team to learn and develop together.
Dive into unfamiliar areas of your business
With the Internet at our fingertips and Google readily available, challenge yourself to learn about the aspects of your business that you aren’t as strong in.
Know the marketplace
Although staying educated in your industry is key, it is equally as important to stay educated in the market and more specifically your customer or client. Ensure that you know who your target market is. Learn as much as you can about the people you’re selling to, so that you can learn how best to serve them with your products or services. This may change as business goes on, so staying on top of your market research is instrumental for business longevity.
Hire a mentor
If you aren’t sure how to grow, you feel unmotivated, lost or struggling, a mentor can help guide you in the right direction and provide you with the tools you need.
Learn from your competitors and moreso from your business idols. What are they doing that you aren’t? What is working for them? What unique things are these businesses implementing, and how can you integrate similar ideas into your business? Don’t be afraid to look outside of your industry for inspiration. Create a list of businesses beyond your specific line of work who you feel are leaders in their fields.
Remember: You don’t always have to “re-invent the wheel.” You can utilize aspects of existing creative ideas that will inspire you to build something that will work for your business. Be creative!
