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Becoming Better at Running a Business Includes Developing Your Skills
The best business people are always seeking new ways to improve, and in the fast-paced, increasingly digital world we live in, you can’t afford to rest on your laurels. Your ability to learn and adapt to the changing times is crucial to your success, as you’ll find some of what you thought you knew to be valid changes, and the ways of old become outdated.
This isn’t to say that the fundamental skills you’ve learned so far will become useless, of course: the core pillars of a great business strategy will continue to be necessary. Instead, confidently combining the traditional stuff with newer methods gives you something of a superpower.
Our collaborative blog, Becoming Better at Running a Business, includes developing your skills and critical strategies for reaching new heights as an entrepreneur.
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Becoming Better at Running a Business
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Work on Your Ability to Learn New Things
To be a successful, innovative businessperson, you must embrace and commit to lifelong learning. The business landscape continues to evolve rapidly, and you must quickly identify gaps in your knowledge and educate yourself appropriately. There are many different paths for learning, and the ideas below are meant to help you get started
Online Courses
In 2024, you can almost guarantee that whatever skill you want to learn, there will be a dedicated online course for it – and they’re usually not very expensive (gone are the days when these sorts of courses would cost a person thousands of dollars). Platforms like Udemy, Coursera, and LinkedIn Learning have each made waves for promoting user-friendly, convenient learning on a vast range of topics, so if you ever feel out of touch in a given area, head to those services first.
Workshops or Seminars
Workshops or seminars are a great way to get a unique, often hands-on, perspective on whatever you want to learn. Usually, they offer a deep dive into one specific area where courses tend to be broader, which can lead to unique insights you wouldn’t have gotten from anywhere else. Since the pandemic, many seminars have been given online, so it’s best to stay current on websites like Linked In so you don’t miss out on these.
Formal Education
If you must delve even deeper into a given topic, there aren’t many better ways than through formal education. This is also one of the only ways to become accredited with a legitimate qualification, which can make a significant difference for potential employers.
It’s a more significant commitment than most learning methods, but a degree or diploma from a high-ranking institution is the best substitute if you want to advance your knowledge.
The Importance of Networking
There are fewer networking events than before the pandemic (and far more Zoom and Teams meetings), but that doesn’t mean networking has become less essential. Surrounding yourself with the right people and making lifelong friends in your industry will always be very important for business (and nearly all careers).
Building your network on LinkedIn can be a significant first step. It’s the industry standard platform for meeting and connecting with like-minded individuals, so it’s wise to create an account if you don’t already have one. Once active on the platform, you may want to consider a complementary site to extend your networks.
Another excellent idea is to join associations and organizations related to your expertise; these can be in-person or online. Seek out groups where people in your industry connect.
Finally, always look for meetups and conferences that interest you. LinkedIn is a great way to find these. Be open to other global and local possibilities to stay current on unique opportunities.
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Stay Up to Date with the News
A good businessperson always remains informed – whether they’re qualified in the latest trends. Regularly consume news from reliable sources, read the best business magazines, and follow significant figures in your areas that interest you.
Monitoring the latest trends in this way will help you stay up-to-date and anticipate what’s coming before it happens. It will also give you fresh ideas to brainstorm your next steps. This will help you identify market opportunities and grasp critical economic shifts.
Interviews with key leaders in the field offer novel insights for you to digest, so you should also seek out business podcasts specific to your area of expertise. Podcasts now go far more profound than they did 15 years ago, and the beauty of them is that you can listen passively while you’re getting on with something else.
Embrace Current Technology
Today, you won’t get very far if you don’t embrace current technology. While the debate over whether many modern technologies are net positives or negatives rages on, when it comes to business, it’s irrefutable that there are tons of new tools that can vastly improve your workflow.
Some Key Areas to Consider:
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platforms
For many businesses that deal with many customers daily, CRM has proven to be a vital asset. A CRM software package (and there are many of them) aims to significantly improve the relationship between you and your customers in various ways, including customer retention rates, enhanced personalized interaction, accurate data-driven decisions, increased conversion rates, and more.
It delegates elements requiring extensive human input to an intelligent software environment that keeps everything in one place. Thus, you can immediately see what’s improving and what’s not and make changes instantly.
Data Analytics
Data analytics platforms –like Google Analytics or Tableau –help you better understand your audience and how you’re performing. These packages let you take a bird’s eye view of your operations and observe the raw data, determining your campaigns’ effectiveness. This sort of global data allows you to make evidence-based decisions on where to go next, taking much of the guesswork away.
Following the small app revolution of the 2010s, there have been an enormous amount of productivity tools to hit the market – that is, smaller tools, compared to the above software packages, that aim to improve productivity in one or two key areas.
For example, Notion combines task management, note-taking, and spreadsheets into one convenient package, whereas Monday.com has become very popular because it enables seamless collaboration for project management. There are many, many different tools available, so make time to browse and consider implementing some new apps into your workflow.
Conclusion: Becoming Better at Running a Business Includes Developing Your Skills
There is always more than one route to success. Being a jack-of-all-trades plus excellent in one or two specific areas proves helpful and worthy of your time. What those areas are will be determined by the area you work in, and a foundation in the basics is essential for your continued growth. The sections above are only a snapshot of the ‘road map’ to success. Use them as a springboard to continue learning. It takes a lot of time to embrace and fully understand all the nuances and interconnectivity between platforms.
Accept that you won’t experience growth overnight and might not see anything meaningful happen for many months. Remain consistent in doing your best and be optimistic while navigating challenging times. Being steadfast and loyal to your ideals are differentiators for achieving your desired success.
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Sales Tips: Becoming Better at Running a Business Includes Developing Your Skills
- Commit to your long-term vision for accomplishment(s) to enjoy business success.
- Realize how you want to build your business and avoid errors you see among others.
- Research top competitors to realize how they serve their clientele and how to differentiate your company.
- Brainstorm with trusted peers and partners concerning potential steps for improvement.
- Be receptive to discussing new ideas, including the pros and cons, for better decision-making.
- Commit to ongoing learning to remain ahead of the curve in your industry.
- Walk away from those who insult you; collaborate with those who show appreciation.
- At the end of all communications, ask the other party or people if they have questions to ensure clarification.
- ‘Don’t give up – find a better way!’
- Celebrate Success!
Today’s insights are provided to help you achieve the Smooth Sale!
Resources for Your Business:
Advisorpedia Publishes information to help advisors build their practice, and those interested in the markets choose investments and find inspiration.
Author One Stop, Inc. – Book editing, coaching, ghostwriting, and pitching literary agents and publishers.
BabyBoomer – A trusted media source that collects and curates all the news and resources, plus offers a wide variety of excellent courses for the Baby Boomer generation.
BizCatalyst360 Provides a life, culture, and biz new media digest as a hub of creative expression and personal growth.
CatCat: Build your future one skill at a time.
ContactOut is a web-based platform that enables users to search for contact information and uncover contact details, including email addresses, phone numbers, and other personal data.
Executives Diary Magazine Features leaders from varying fields sharing their inspiring stories, including Elinor Stutz.
Fedica, Realize your followers’ interests and create tailored content to encourage a returning and referring clientele.
Greg Jenkins Consulting LLC – Helping organizations realize the value of diversity to build inclusive, evolving, high-performing cultures.
Growth Hackers – Helping businesses globally grow with lead generation, growth marketing, conversion rate optimization, data analytics, user acquisition, retention, and sales.
Humanology International Institute – The institution that develops and safeguards humanology as a discipline worldwide.
Inclusion Allies Coalition: “Everyone is welcome here.” Learn more to train teams and join the advocacy program.
Internet Advisor: Find the right internet service among 2083 providers across 36,380 cities. Plus, Cellphonedeal compiles excellent phone deals, plans, and prepaid to furnish you with the best options in your area.
Inspired Movie Inspiration is a game changer for most; apply to an inspiring guiding light in conjunction with Producer/Director of the Inspired movie Patryk Wezowski,
Kred Connect with top-rated influencers to learn from and grow your networks.
LinktoEXPERT “It is not who you know – who knows you and what your expertise can do for them, plus understand the value of hiring you.”
Lotus Solution LLC Helps organizations create diversity and inclusion to ensure fairness and work through customized consulting, training, and keynote speeches.
Onalytica: Find relevant influencers for your brand.
SalesPop! Purveyors of Prosperity; How to Compete against Yourself to Excel in Your Career.
Simma Lieberman, “The Inclusionist,” helps develop inclusive leaders from the inside out to champion diversity and build equitable, inclusive cultures at every level.
Yoroflow offers a comprehensive suite of digital workplace platforms to help you streamline your day-to-day operations, manage your finances, and grow your business.
Vunela Provides a unique opportunity to view Videos and read articles by World Leaders.
Win Win Women is the world’s only interactive network and an international community for women. Women WIN when they receive solutions + Experts WIN when they provide solutions = Win Win Women.
