As a small business owner, you bring an incredible amount of value to your business. To get a company up and running to the point where it is profitable is no easy feat.
A business is something that requires you to devote a lot of attention and dedication to its success. Because it is so time consuming, you might get so busy running your business that you forget about yourself and the value that you can and do bring to the table. As your business grows and evolves, so should you. It's impossible to be a master of every aspect of business, so you will need to identify what aspects of your business you are least familiar with.
As a small business owner, you're required to wear many hats - marketing guru, sales consultant, project manager and perhaps even finance and operations! Unless you happen to have plenty of experience in every single one of these areas, you will need to learn how each division of your business operates. In order to optimise each division within your business, you should consider the option of undergoing personal development training. For an example of why this is important, consider leadership - once you begin to build a team, you will need to learn how to communicate and lead your team effectively.
Personal growth is the process of growing stronger, more confident and more effective as a person and as an agent of change within your life. Personal growth looks different for everyone. For some business owners, it might be pursuing long-term educational goals, or developing a new skill. For others, it might be more abstract, such as improving self-confidence or learning how to manage conflict in relationships.
Why Business Owners Should Focus on Personal Development
Here are some benefits of personal development that business owners stand to reap:
- Your hidden talents are brought to light and honed, giving you a chance to flourish in ways you never thought possible. You can't know for sure until you give it a shot, right? A personal development journey may reveal abilities you didn't even know you had - talent in aspects you excel in and could use to expand your business.
- You increase your efficiency and productivity. Through personal development, you can learn how to empower yourself to achieve even greater results by learning new things and developing new skills.
- Personal growth = professional growth. Your professional life will improve as your personal skills develop, and your personal development journey is the root of your growth as a business owner. An investment in yourself is never wasted!
- Personal development increases job satisfaction and motivation at work. Investing in your personal growth will inspire you to put in more effort at work. When there is a clear path to follow, you’ll feel more satisfied. Your productivity and the general productivity of your company will increase as a result.
How to Get Started with Personal Development
As discussed above, personal growth leads to career development. Bearing that in mind, here are 5 ideas to get you started:
- Read. You probably hear this often, but that’s only because so many successful business owners can attest to it! Read often. Read as much as you can. Set a goal to read and finish a set number of books in a year, even if it is just one book a month. Not only does reading expand your knowledge base and enhance your vocabulary, it also helps keep you sharp by stimulating your mind and improving your critical thinking skills.
- Sign up for an online course. Online courses are a great way to develop a new or existing skill. You will never run out of options about which courses to pursue. The sky's the limit here, as your options are nearly endless. With platforms like www.udemy.com, you can learn how to do anything from coding to marketing, all at an affordable price. Most online courses are relatively short-term, meaning you can acquire new knowledge and skills in a short time span.
- Talk to a mentor. This could be a business or life coach. If you feel stuck in your role, or feel like you aren’t growing, talk to someone who can help you uncover your limiting factors and guide you along the necessary steps for you to take.
- Find your inspiration. Who do you admire the most? What qualities do you love about them? Think about the person that you want to be most like and ask yourself, “what do they do that makes them so successful?” If you can figure that out, you can replicate the formula they use to find success in your own life.
- Set goals. Goal setting is the single most effective way to make significant and long-lasting changes in your life. Set realistic short-, medium- and long-term goals for what you need to achieve and put a plan in place to realise those goals.
Personal development is a continual, unending journey - there is always more that you can learn about yourself as you are constantly growing. It is essential that we continually develop our skills as we progress through the various stages of life.
What phase of life are you in now, and what skills do you need to learn?
Use the personal SWOT analysis to pinpoint your strengths and weaknesses, and then focus on improving the areas where you are weakest.
Download your template here:
