You may have thought you finished learning when you left college but the most successful people in all areas of life are people who see learning as a lifelong process. Now that you are determined to focus on your online business you need to schedule yourself time to learn. This might not necessarily be book learning although books are always a good source of material. You can learn from your competitors through networking; you can take courses, attend seminars or webinars; you can spend time with a business coach or mentor. Yes, most of these things will cost you money, but this is one area of your business that should not be ignored.
The Importance of Networking
Running an online business can often be a lonely endeavor. The very nature of the business will mean that in many cases you are only contacting other people via email or Skype – the potential for dealing with people face to face, unless you are working for offline clients, is limited. However there are many opportunities for online business people to actually interact with other like minded individuals in your local community. For example many small towns have a business Round Table organization, Lions or Rotary groups and other business networking clubs. You might be working from home but you are building a legitimate business so there is no reason why you shouldn’t join up with some of these groups so you can stay in touch with what is happening in your local area.
Attending seminars and workshops is another great way of meeting new people both in your industry area and who are also working online. There is usually a cost associated with attending these types of functions but again you will be in a position to meet new people who understand your business and what you are trying to do. You will find seminars motivational and informative and you can often meet people who might be interested in working in a joint venture with you in the future which is huge in terms of business growth. If you are living in a really remote area that doesn’t offer a lot in the way of networking groups for business individuals; and for some reason you are not able to attend seminars and workshops then head online and look for webinars in your industry.
Depending on your specific industry/business model you will find many opportunities to learn from people who are already successful in your niche. Many webinars are run to promote new products or courses but most of them also offer invaluable information on the call itself and you may also find someone who can help in terms of acting as a mentor for you as your business grows. Remember there are many different things you can learn about – all connected with your business success. Your local tax office may offer classes on how to set up your books so that filing your tax returns won’t be a major mission. You could offer to go and speak at schools, women’s groups or senior citizen groups about working online, or certain aspects of your business. Think about the skills you have and what you could offer any group or organization you can hook up with – remember networking and even learning is a two way process. Networking should be an ongoing process that will facilitate an increase in your skills and contacts which in turn increases the chances for business growth.
A lot of the “learning” that goes on at meetings and seminars actually occurs when you are chatting casually to people over a cup of coffee at the breaks. Just don’t forget to take plenty of business cards with you and don’t be shy about handing them out. Why Studying Your Competition is so Important To keep up with your competitors (and even surpass them) you have to know what they are doing. Networking, seminars, workshops and webinars are all good places where you can catch up with what is going on in your specific niche. They are also a good place to find out how local and national policies and politics might impact your business in some way.
Remember that every business has both internal and external influences that can change consumer buying trends which in turn will impact your bottom line so you need to stay informed as much as possible about possible threats to your business. Competition should never bother you as a business owner. Competition shows that there is high consumer demand for whatever your business is selling and in the online environment it is often possible for you to benefit two or more businesses come together to create a high value launch (of a product, service or package) that is formed from a merger of ideas and products between the individual companies. For example you might be promoting a new type of software. You are at a seminar where you meet another business owner who is about to launch a new gadget that is a perfect fit for your software. By combining the two products into a single launch that will target existing customers of both businesses you have the potential to market your products to an entirely new market segment resulting in business growth.
Joint ventures between two (or more) companies are a win-win situation for both companies and they are a lot easier to arrange when the owners of the two companies actually know each other. Because the internet is quite an anonymous place personal contact with individuals helps foster trust and a common desire to work together for business growth far better than any email or phone call might. The days of hiding your latest product from the world are long gone. By fostering solid relationships with other business owners you are not only learning about their new ventures you can also get their take on consumer buying trends and how their business might be impacted by local or national legislative changes.
How Learning can Increase the Growth of Your Business
We have already looked at how joint ventures can increase your business but most avenues for learning are going to contribute to the growth of your business either directly or indirectly. The more you learn about your industry area and the more you share what you know the more you are going to be recognized as an expert in your field. This by itself brings an increase in revenue to your company. You will also find that as your own image within your industry grows you will have other business owners approaching you for joint venture deals. Your new knowledge is going to stimulate new ideas that can be used to grow the company even further. Based on new information you learn over time you might recognize a gap in the market that you could target. By staying informed in your industry area you are better placed to notice changes in consumer buying trends. This will allow you to make changes to your product or service line so that you meet new demands quicker than your competition while minimizing any potential loss that might stem from these changing trends.
The main points you should take away from this section is that
1) Learning should be an on going process.
2) Just some of the ways you can learn within your business are through networking with other likeminded individuals, attending seminars and worships or webinars.
3) Your on going learning process will result in increased business growth as you will be better placed to take advantage of joint venture opportunities. You will also be able to notice changes in consumer buying trends and you will have a good idea about what your competitors are doing.
Remember that from a generic standpoint learning encourages your business mind to be open to new ideas while from a specific topic standpoint your continuing education in your field will help increase your ability to be perceived as an expert and that will improve your business’s ability to remain competitive. In this next chapter we are going to look at the concept of business plans and why you should have one for your business.
