As a business owner, how much learning have you done about your industry?

Do you think you’ve done enough, or could you push yourself to do more?

It’s really important to keep pushing yourself to learn more every day and we encourage our staff and clients to do this consistently.

Fact: Most of the people who successfully start their own business have already had relevant business experience before they start, most often as employees.

The reason for that is you’re naturally going to build your business knowledge with experience. That’s why as Aspire, we love to take Apprentices into our organisation. The best way of learning about an industry is to actually work in it.

Top tip to improve your learning on the job would be to find a mentor.

Learning is always easier when you’ve got someone who has been there and done it and bought the t-shirt and it’s always a good idea to choose your mentor wisely. It’s best to pick someone who has had success in their business and is on the same wavelength as you.  Don’t just look to your colleagues and managers – ask outside your organisation, some companies actually have a mentor programme and even some schools and colleges have their own pupil schemes  which is amazing.  Those young folk will see having a mentor as a normality!

Fact: All leaders are readers.

If you actively expand your knowledge with written or audio books and fully engaged in the learning process and take tangible steps to improve your knowledge, then you can build your business skills quicker and put yourself one step ahead of the competition.  Let’s face it, that’s where we all want to be.

Fact: You should never stop learning in your career

Never stop challenging yourself. Find ways to take yourself out of your comfort zone, and really force yourself to get good at the things you’re not good at. Everybody enjoys practicing the things they’re good at, but when you turn your weaknesses into strengths, that’s when you can make a huge difference to your business.

It’s much easier to have the desire for knowledge if you’re passionate about something. Here at Aspire we all share the same passion for our jobs and love learning. It’s never a chore when you’re truly passionate about your work and learning about it doesn’t feel like a job anymore. If you love the industry you’re working in, then you will probably enjoy learning about it in your personal time as well. Learning becomes a constant pursuit.

Finally: don’t Stop!

Keep practicing what you’ve learned and keep building upon it. If you don’t, you’ll be stuck in a rut and continue in the same ways for the next 20 years

Learning is in our Aspire culture statement.  We advocate that we continue to improve our knowledge to give the best service to our customers.

Want to put us in that spotlighted chair and test our Specialist  knowledge? You’re always welcome at Aspire