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Warren Buffet claims that a major contributor to his success is his lifelong habit of reading every day, up to 500 pages per day. While this much may be challenging for many of us, continuing education and lifelong learning are essential for success in a business over the longer term.
Change in all aspects of business is ongoing and accelerating. If, as a business owner or manager, you do not keep up with these changes your ignorance can lead to costly errors. Some education can be gained from experience; many things can be learned more efficiently by more formal continuing education.
I believe that one of the most effective ways to gain additional insight and new skills is to find individuals that have experience in business and to consult with them to learn what worked for them, and perhaps more importantly, what did not work. They can also provide valuable independent analysis about your situation and suggest ways to improve.
SCORE is the volunteer arm of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) that provides confidential counseling with experienced business managers. There is no limit to the number of meetings you can have and there is no charge for this service. There are over 250 chapters of SCORE nationwide with more than 10,000 volunteers who share their experience and expertise at no charge to the business. Visit https://www.score.org/ to learn more and sign up for a free counseling at a time that is convenient for you.
You can also call one of the three chapters in the area: Lancaster 717-397-3092, Pottstown 610-327-2673 and Reading 610-376-3497.
In addition, SCORE has more than 500 webinars on startups, dealing with coronavirus, supply chain disruptions, accounting, legal structures, hiring and many more. Visit https://www.score.org/search/site/webinars for information.
The SBA also provides many online courses on starting a business, marketing, managing a business, financing and women entrepreneurs. Details can be found by visiting: https://www.sba.gov/sba-learning-platform.
Another local source for education is the Penn State Launch Box at the Goggle Works in Reading: https://berkslaunchbox.psu.edu/, 610-396-6400. They have a variety of assistance available including office space and laboratories with equipment for prototyping.
If you are interested in more formal college level courses, there are more than 2000 free online courses covering hundreds of subjects from many of the most famous colleges and universities in the U.S. and around the world including the University of Pennsylvania, Penn State University, Harvard, Stanford, University of Geneva, and many others. These two sites provide a huge selection of these free courses: https://www.coursera.org/ and http://www.openculture.com/.
Find the time to analyze your situation, determine your needs and develop a plan for lifelong learning. Ignorance is expensive and your business survival depends on being up to date to deal with the never-ending changes.
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