Back to School

Being aware that school is starting again for most of our nation’s youth, got me thinking about our own education as it relates to running our businesses.  In my work as a business coach, it is painfully obvious to me that our educational upbringing includes very little of the skills useful to starting, running and exiting a business successfully.  Instead, small business owners (for that matter large business owners, too) are often relegated to learning business skills by “osmosis”, on-the-job-training, or trial-and-error.  Fortunately, that is slowly changing as Entrepreneurship courses and degrees are now popping up in our universities, and business leaders are becoming more comfortable engaging coaches, mentors, and advisors to augment the skills they find lacking.

A basic tenet of success in any field is the commitment to life-long learning.  For business owners, that means more than just being expert at the thing that our business does.  It should mean being expert at owning and running a business.  Those are two very different things.  In Michael Gerber’s book, “The E-Myth Revisited”, he discusses the three hats that business owners often wear, Technician, Manager, and Entrepreneur. Most business owners focus on their Technician expertise, and may brush up their continuing education as the engineer, hair dresser, auto mechanic, plumber, or doctor they are.  But that effort may not result in business success.  Being committed to ongoing learning about being a better Manager or Entrepreneur is rare.

How committed are you to improving your skills as a business owner?  Is your commitment leading to actions that will make you more knowledgeable and give you better results?  Let’s take a look at some simple ways you could start immediately to engage yourself in a better program of continuing education:

• Read – There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of great books about success in business.  When was the last time you read one?
• Online forums, blogs, podcasts.
• Seminars
• Networking – simply engaging with others who face similar challenges can be educational
• Work with a business coach.
• Sign up for a class at your local university or tech school.

Carving our time and investment in your personal development as a business owner is deceivingly critical for business success.  Embrace a continuing education mentality, and you’ll become more competent and effective as a leader.