Training courses and professional development is one of the first business expenditures to be cut whenever money feels like it is getting tight and too often it’s avoided completely when a business is first setting up.  Successful businesses prioritise development opportunities where ever possible.  So why are business courses and professional training so important to your business success?  Here are five reasons why spending money on a high quality business course is money well spent.

1.      Psychological Contract

The psychological contract is often referred to in relationships between staff and employers, but it can also refer to the unwritten, intangible agreement between yourself and your business, that describes informal commitments and expectations.  Simply; When you invest money into your business development you now have “skin in the game” and you create an expectation of yourself to do the work to justify the spend. With the psychological contract, you are more likely to put into action the tasks that will help your business achieve financial success.

2.     A good business course (like the Better Business Owners Course) will help you with the “Why’s, How’s & What’s”.

The “Why’s, How’s & What’s” are those uncomfortable questions that keep you up at night – not the “What am I going to have for dinner kind of questions, but “Why am I doing this?”, “What was I thinking starting a business, should I get a real job and be a responsible adult?”, “What on earth do I need to do to keep money coming in” and “How do I make a difference in the world, stay profitable and not kill myself working 90 hour weeks”.  Going through the focused lessons in the Better Business Owners Course is a little like therapy.  No therapist is going to “fix” you.  But they will ask the right questions and give you the tools necessary for you to implement them, answer the questions that keep you up at night and ultimately build the business you want for yourself.

3.     Your competitors are doing it

It’s highly likely that the most successful businesses in your industry are investing in training themselves and their staff for future success.  With modern day business being in a constant state of flux, the adaptability, clear processes and business acumen that can be learnt and developed are going to keep your head above water.

4.     Knowledge Exchange & Networking Opportunities

Training courses and online mastermind groups are a great way to find new connections on a similar path to you and your business.  They can bring about an exchange of knowledge, experience and traditional networking opportunities. Knowledge is meant to be shared, and being part of a group of like-minded individuals not only give you access to more knowledge but also to a way to discuss it and kindle new ideas.

5.     You don’t know what you don’t know

In business, just as in life it is very easy to plan for and learn what you need to for the things you already know about.  For example, when you start a business you might know you need some way for customers to pay you, so you go about researching payment systems like Stripe online, it seems simple, the other businesses in your business group are using it and you can go and pick up the hardware at your local office supplies store.  But what you don’t know is that your industry is at high risk of charge backs and Square tends to hold funds on high value transactions and that your own bank might actually offer faster settlement of payments and a cheaper transaction fee on each payment.

Understanding your entity structure, recognising your target market, having the right contracts in place, utilising efficient systems and processes, knowing how to read your financial statements, track your spending, then forecast your future cashflow, whilst knowing where you are going in business, building great relationships and creating a saleable asset is the absolute game changer you’ve been looking for to make all the hard work pay off. It’s the biggest business hack most people overlook.

The Better Business Owner Course is designed to give you the tools you need to start and run a business in the current economic climate. We go through topics like Networking, Branding and even Occupational Health & Safety and Compliance to make you a truly Better Business Owner.

Action Items

• Be intentional, set yourself a budget and save 10% of your monthly net income to invest in your business and yourself
• Sign up to the Better Business Owners Course and get kick-start or transform your business (for a limited time only when you sign up before the end of May 2024,  you can pay just $825 (normally $1750) for this 8-week course. Think of what you could do with the savings! Use code 50offlaunch at checkout. This code is valid until 22 May 2024.
• Commit to reading at least one new book a month about money, business, or personal development.

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