As a business owner, especially one who spends lots of time online, it can be easy to want to take every small business training course that you come across.
They all sound so great and you just know that this is the one course that will make your business a success.
Well, I hate to break it to you, but most of those classes are not what you need to be successful.
In fact most of us don’t actually finish the ones we buy!
So how do you decide what training courses and quality management systems like www.9001simplified.com are worth the money and which ones you should skip?
Here is the process that I go though to decide if I should buy a course.
Why is this the first step? Because without knowing where you want to go how do you even know what training you need? Buying training just because it sounds neat with no plan on how it fits into your business is a great way to waste money.
Sit down and map out what your goals are and how you are going to achieve them in the next year.
If a year is too much or too overwhelming start with three months, the important thing is to set goals with financial targets so you know exactly what you need.
Once you know what your goals are you can determine where you will need help completing your tasks to achieve those goals.
For example, if you decide that you are going to grow your Facebook page, but you know nothing about how to do this then that is on your skill gap list.
Some more examples to get your creative juices flowing include creating graphics, writing, lead generation or setting up Salesforce.
Next create a list of classes that you already own and have access to.
Then decide if any of those classes fit what you need on your skill gap list. If you already own the class and you just are not implementing it or have not taken it yet, then use that class instead of paying for a new one.
Another option you should consider for filling your gap is if it is better for you to outsource or learn how to do it.
For example, I hit a point where I was spending too much time editing videos – and they were not even very good when I did! Thus I needed to decide if it was something I wanted to take a class on or outsource. Since it is not my area of expertise and should not be what I am spending my time on, I decided to outsource instead of spending time and money on a class.
Investing in your small business training is important for its continued growth. Just make sure you are buying the right course for your business, otherwise it is just wasted money.