Our blog of the day, courtesy of MYOB, The Pulse: Written by Matthew Snelleksz
For those business owners out there who want to stay ahead in the game and build a thriving business, then here are some tips so you too can become a student of business. Knowledge is power, and constantly being hungry for business knowledge will turn you from a student into a master.
- Learn from other people’s business
It’s not good enough just to only focus on your own industry or within your own business circle. Business owners sometimes can become too narrow minded, or too focused on their neck of the woods. They often miss out on huge lessons from other industries and markets that could create innovation and growth in their own business.
- Read widely
As a student of business, you need to read about business. There is a wealth of knowledge in the marketplace that can be gained from reading certain business books, business magazines and digital media.
Allocate 30 minutes a day for business reading to feed your entrepreneurial brain. Do it first thing in the morning before your business day becomes hectic and overloaded. Cut out magazine articles and bookmark blogs and websites that interest you and will build your business skills and knowledge so that you can grow into a better owner, manager and leader.
- Embrace decentralised learning
I will jump on a plane to go anywhere in the world to do a business course, attend a workshop or seminar, or listen to a keynote speaker. As a student of business, you need to think far and wide and seek out the best business courses and training to enhance your skills to grow and innovate your business. This is called decentralised learning — venturing beyond your locality, unconstrained by geography, where being a student of business knows no bounds.
For example, what would happen if a major competitor of yours attended a trade show in Las Vegas and you didn’t? What if whilst there, they discovered a new and exciting product that they could import back home that was of a better quality and at half the retail price of the products that you are currently selling in your business? Would you start to lose customers? If you want to be a student of business then you need to be at the top of your class; otherwise your competition will leap ahead.
- Learn from those who have gone before
By being a student of business, you will get your own direction and sense of self-worth. It means learning from many teachers adding your own creativity and understanding to it before implementing it in your business. Don’t just follow the crowd. Sit back, take in what is needed and what is useful for your business and then discard the rest.
Mix with like-minded business people from whom you can learn, but do not make the mistake of becoming a mindless “groupie” who mimics or imitates what others have done. Cherry pick words of wisdom and harvest the best ideas, but then implement these in the context of your own business. - Never stop learning
Every day, every week and every year make it your goal to become wiser and add to your armoury of business skills and knowledge. If you want to continuously grow and reinvent your business, then make a commitment to learn a little more about business every day. A student who continuously learns a little every day does better than the student who just crams the day before the exam.
What next?
Each year set a target in your business for it to be better, stronger and more profitable than it was the previous year. Seek out the skills you are currently lacking. Find out what industry knowledge on new products and services you need to know in the next three to five years in order to stay ahead of the competition. Surround yourself not with those business people who just talk and boast about being a “business person,” but rather with those who quietly and shrewdly go about building a thriving business that you want to emulate.
When you stop learning, discovering, and growing, so does your business. Don’t fall into the trap of business stagnation. Always be looking for ways to enhance your business skills and knowledge by learning to be constant student of business.
See full article: http://myob.com.au/blog/how-to-be-a-student-of-business/#ixzz3X8zdFB4U