Continued education for business owners is certainly a benefit that should not be overlooked. All too often individuals believe that once they’ve obtained their dream job or accomplished their goals that the need for further education goes out the door. While continued education doesn’t have to be a top priority, there are plenty of benefits to enhancing your knowledge and challenging your current mindset. Not only for you as an individual but for the future success of your business.
Excuses, Excuses
Aside from assuming they don’t need to be educated any further, one of the main reasons that adults fail to further their education is an excuse known as “life”. Once you’ve finished your schooling (i.e. high school diploma, college degree, certificate program, etc.) life seems to take an unexpected turn and there seems to be little time to further your education. While it is true that life (personal and professional) can get in the way that is no real excuse to stunt your growth or the potential growth of your business. As such, here are a few suggestions on how to overcome the obstacles that life has put in your way.
1. Not Enough Time
It’s true, aside from whatever personal responsibilities a business owner has, there is also the large responsibility of managing an entire business. Whether you own a small business with several employees or you’re a one man show, there is so much that needs to be done, that finding the time to fit in an education can be challenging. While it is challenging it is not impossible. Some things you might be able to do in order to find time in the day to obtain further education might include:
- Taking online courses – Many online college courses allow you to take classes at a time that is most convenient for you. The work is simply posted within a student portal and you’re to complete the assignments within a predetermined amount of time. So if you’re busy running a business during the day, you can easily complete assignments at night. There are many accredited universities that offer online degree programs. For instance, if you view adult programs at Warner Pacific College, you see that many can be taken in person or online.
- Delegating responsibilities – If you’re issue is that you have too much on your plate (personally or professionally) then the best and most effective solution is to delegate more responsibilities to your staff (or members of your family). If you’re an entrepreneur who pretty much runs the show on your own, outsourcing some of your responsibilities to a freelance worker on the as needed basis can free up some of your time. If your issue is at home, asking your spouse or family members to help out so you can focus on education can save you time.
2. Not Enough Money
Let’s face it, continued education courses can most certainly be expensive for the average person to afford. Depending on the type of courses you intend to take up and how long you intend to be in school it could cost you an upwards of $25,000 per year. If you don’t have that kind of money saved up it can honestly be a pain. However, money shouldn’t prevent you from furthering your education. You could try some things that include:
- Applying for financial aid – Just because you’re not “college age” anymore doesn’t mean that you can’t qualify for financial aid. By simply filling out online forms and submitting them to the government, you could easily qualify for grants that will help you to afford your college education.
- Payment plan options – many universities understand that continued education can be expensive and as such will allow you to pay for your education in installments. After accrediting any qualifying financial aid to your education, you could easily ask to have the remaining balance broken up into smaller payments so you can afford it.
- Write it Off – Did you know that education expenses could easily be a tax write off for your business. If you are obtaining a degree for the sake of enhancing your business you may be able to write off this as a business expense and save money that way. This way they money you receive from the tax write off could easily be applied to your education.
No, the game of life is not always black and white, and it can sometimes throw you for a loop that causes you to fall off track. However, if you really want to be a successful business owner, and you believe that expanding your knowledge can get you to the next level of success, then you should begin evaluating ways to further your education. Don’t allow small things like no time or no money to hold you back from being who you’re destined to be. At the end of the day your business will certainly reap the benefits of you investing in yourself.