3 Ways Taking a Course Makes You a Better Entrepreneur

In my 25 years as a business owner, I’ve spent an estimated 1,123 hours learning in at least 13 different programs.

Those were hours spent on formal learning, not on homework or reading. Some courses were from traditional institutions, spanning several years and culminating in a diploma, like my MA in Interdisciplinary Studies, which I devoted to the Entrepreneurial Resilience of Rural Women Business Owners. Others were short, skills-based online courses like this #Ship30for30 digital writing course I’m taking now.

Without a doubt, every hour helped make me a better entrepreneur.

Here’s how:

1. Learning something new: Every single one of these courses helped me acquire a skill I did not have before. I learned how to overcome money blocks with Denise Duffield-Thomas’ Lucky Bitch course, and how to document my business’ Unique Process with The Strategic Coach.
2. Unlearning bad habits: Some courses showed me what I’d been doing wrong. In Ship30for30, I found out how perfectionism was keeping me from sharing ideas and helping my community, while my friend Betty Healey’s MeFirst taught me how self-care is a required time investment when you are self-employed.
3. Relearning lessons I’d forgotten: Sometimes I had to take several courses to fully learn key concepts. For instance, self-care was a central theme in at least three of the courses I took over the years. Each time helped me deepen my practice.

As an entrepreneur, taking courses helped me develop new capabilities, stop doing things that were harming me, and create a new appreciation for the fundamentals.

What Do You Think?

What’s been your learning journey? How could enrolling in a course help propel you and your business forward this year?

Please share your experiences and thoughts below. Let’s learn from one another and celebrate each other’s successes.

Thanks for reading!