Learn What You Don't Know

“Learn What You Don’t Know”

Self-Education is so invaluable that people take it for granted. Learning what you don’t know is most important, but so is honing skills you already possess. So you’re an entrepreneur but you don’t know how to use Microsoft Office, or the basics of accounting, or how to pitch an idea. Why not learn these things? There are classes you can take to learn more about MS Office. You can usually find these classes at the library, local colleges, and other business centers. You should know how to type up your contracts, your business plans, even use a word document for capturing your ideas. Along with that, you learn how to properly type. It may seem trivial but knowing how to properly hold your hands, knowing that sitting with your legs crossed while typing causes errors (unless you’re a expert, then kudos to you!), all tie into learning and honing, new and old, skills. All of which contribute to your success. No matter what people say, ignorance is not bliss.

What about accounting? I know, not many of us enjoy math and all of its off the wall concepts, however, learning basic accounting skills not only helps you to know what’s going on with your business, but it also holds your accountants ethically responsible, or staff that handles the money accountable. Not only does it benefit the business immediately but learning basic accounting skills will help you to gain more investors. Why? Investors want to see financial statements like income statements, retained earnings, balance sheets, and more. They want to know that you and your business can handle money, no matter how large or small of a sum. They want to know that you can keep your liabilities, expenses, and assets in balance. They want to ensure you know how much to charge for your merchandise so that you get the most profit from it as possible.

Any other skills you can think of are all important. Of course we cannot learn everything but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t learn as much as we can. Even if you are learning just the basics, as an entrepreneur you should want to know how to do a skill that you hire someone else to do. For me, it’s to be able to hold them accountable and ensure they aren’t running my business wild. You worked hard to bring this wonderful idea to fruition, don’t let someone else bring it down all because you refused to learn more.

Maybe set a goal that every quarter, or every year, you learn something new. Maybe you have a fear of public speaking, join a club that makes you do speeches like a local Toastmasters chapter. Maybe you want to learn more about Adobe Photoshop, get the basic monthly subscription and play with it in your spare time. Want to improve your presentations? Learn about different presentation platforms like PowerPoint, Prezi, and more. The point is, don’t get comfortable with knowing only what you know. Expand your horizons, for your business’ sake, and learn something new. Never stop self-educating.

~Consult Kelly