Part of being an entrepreneur and business owner is constantly improving your skills so that you can increase your value in the marketplace. Many entrepreneurs attend coaching programs, seminars, and skill-building workshops weekly, monthly, and yearly. They schedule these events into their calendar alongside other important business activities. How are entrepreneurs investing in themselves? To learn how, I sat out to interview some entrepreneurs to find out how they invest and the growth that has resulted.
Laura Posey, Co-Founder of Dancing Elephants Achievement Group that provides sales training services www.dancingelephants.net said, “For me the best parts of being an entrepreneur are the freedom and the responsibility. I love being able to set things up so I can travel when I want. I never have to say “no, I have to work” when someone offers a great escape. I take at least 8 weeks of vacation a year and I work when and where I want. Today, for example, I am at home on the couch because I had a late night and didn’t feel like driving to the office. I also like the challenge of knowing my success is riding on my shoulders. Sure, sometimes I think it would be nice to let someone else make all the decisions and just collect a check, but I know there is no real safety in that. It is just a prison with a comfortable cell.” Follow Laura on Twitter at twitter.com/lauraposey.
Carl King, a creative design & multimedia artist www.carlkingcreative.com said, “My old boss used to tell me, “If you buy a book for $10 and learn something from it, you’ll earn that $10 back.” I don’t know the original source of that quote, maybe it was him. The point of this is: my creative career is completely based on investing in myself, teaching myself new skills, developing my talents. A couple of years ago I went out and bought Final Cut, starting from scratch. I borrowed a DV camera from a friend, bought some cheap lights, and experimented until I figured it out. Now I do video shooting and editing for clients, and it’s added $30k a year to my income. I’ve done this with countless other things. Another one is web design. I bought a couple of books on CSS… and between that and video editing, I now work from home, making more money than I did at my corporate day job (which I voluntarily left to use my new skills). Because of that, I picked up a publishing deal and am now writing a book on it.” Follow Carl on Twitter at twitter.com/carlking.
Tara Wilson, president of Tara Wilson, an event designer and lifestyle firm www.tarawilson.com said, “The top 2 things I’ve done to invest in myself are (1) I joined the Accelerator Program (a division of Entrepreneur Organization for owners with gross sales between $250,000 and $1,000,000) to help me network with and learn from other successful, like-minded business owners. This is a $1,200 annual financial investment and a monthly commitment. (2) I attend leadership conferences in my industry, again to network with and learn from my peers in event design. Since I’m a small business owner (2008 $283,000 gross sales) with 2 employees, I’m constantly trying to learn from other successful companies. The insights and knowledge I’ve gain from interacting with them has helped me shape how my service model as well as improved my strategic thinking. This investment (of time and money) has made me a better business owner with a clearer picture of my future.” Follow Tara on Twitter at twitter.com/SvyGrl.
How are YOU investing in yourself and your business?
Julie Barnes is a Freelance Writer focusing on her passion of entrepreneurship. Julie published “So You Want to Start a Business…Now What?” (http://www.so-you-want-to-start-a-business.com/ ) in December 2009. Julie lives and works in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, KS with her husband Ron and lovable dog Hank. You can visit her site at http://www.onewhowrites.com.
