Being a small business owner is often challenging. There are hundreds of skills to learn, meaning that maintaining your business is more than a full time job. Investing your time and money in the right small business course online can make light work of all that effort. With some targeted research and professional courses, business owners can develop their skills, grow their business and reach greater heights.
To help point you in the right direction, we have a few recommendations for areas of study worth focusing on. Undertaking training in these areas will provide you with the skills and information you need to expand your business and work towards your goals.
Learn How to Investigate Business Opportunities
Great business ideas are easy to come by, but they’re much harder to implement. The reality of doing business is that getting your ideas off the ground is a challenge. Worse, even the best ideas don’t always work out in real life, so it’s important for entrepreneurs to learn how to investigate new opportunities.
For those seeking a simple solution, there are plenty of free resources online dedicated to helping you build stronger business foundations. Alternatively, it might be a good idea to invest in courses delivered by business professionals. These courses typically provide you with advice and instruction from seasoned experts who can help you identify opportunities, avoid pitfalls, perform market research and develop stronger marketing plans. Investing your time in learning these skills is one of the best things you can do for your career, and it can save you from time-consuming and costly mistakes as you grow your business.
Develop Your Accounting Skills
Australia’s small business laws mean that it’s often simple to keep your business and personal finances mixed. That’s fine if you’re a sole trader with a side hustle, but it quickly becomes impractical as your business grows. Learning how to manage your business’ finances and keep them separate from your own will set you up for success and help you meet your tax obligations.
Business owners should look to upskill themselves in three key areas:
- How to organise the finances for your new business. This includes establishing bank accounts, applying for an ABN, meeting your tax obligations and setting up payroll systems.
- Forecasting your financial needs. Being able to estimate start-up costs, manage your expenses and develop cash flow projections are all important parts of running a business.
- Assessing finance options for expanding your business. Knowing how and where to apply for small business finance can help you reach your goals and avoid the pitfalls of the loan industry.
Invest in Marketing Classes
Marketing a small business can be one of the most challenging aspects of entrepreneurship. While there are plenty of methods you can use to spread the word about your business, reaching the right customers is difficult and requires persistent effort. Developing a marketing plan for your new business venture can focus your efforts and help you plan for a successful future.
There are plenty of free resources available online that can help you learn more about small business marketing. Your job is to do your own research and put yourself in the shoes of customers to figure out what will and won’t work. At a minimum, you should be looking for more information on topics like:
- Which marketing channels are available (such as social media, paid ads and print ads)
- How you can reach your desired audience and influence their buying decisions
- How to implement your marketing plan and where you should be spending your marketing budget
- Reviewing and evaluating the performance of your marketing efforts
- Refining your marketing plan to focus on the customers and platforms that make the biggest difference
Sharpen Your Communication Skills
Running a business isn’t just about being good at what you do. There is a large human component to entrepreneurship. Small business owners need to develop their skills in dealing with customers, staff, suppliers and business partners.
The best way to develop these skills is to get stuck in and learn on the job. Alternatively, you could choose to invest in a small business course online. Paid business courses deliver bite-sized bits of training to help you develop your communication skills and improve your business. Especially if you’re inexperienced at managing a team or handling interactions with customers. The right professional development course can provide you with a solid foundation for expanding your company.
