Whether you’re fairly new as a home-based business owner or if you have been one for several years, your business growth is highly dependent on your continued personal growth and industry-relevant learning.

You may have your daily functions and operations down to a science, but in order to continue moving onward and upward, you need to continue developing and learning new skills and gathering knowledge that will keep you current, relevant and stimulated.

The world around us (human development/innovation) is growing and advancing at an alarming speed and in the blink of an eye you can be yesterday’s news instead of today’s headline or tomorrow’s superstar if you don’t do your part to progress as well.

The industry you are working within may evolve, expand, grow smaller or transform and you need to be ready when that happens. You need to be aware of your industry’s position in the marketplace and cognizant of where it is heading.

Paying attention to your industry’s standing and mindful of future trends will allow you to make decisions that will support strategic action and position you for continued growth and success.
To conduct business with the assumption that once change occurs, you will make the necessary adaptations could be detrimental to your business, possibly devastating. You want to operate proactively, not reactively; otherwise, you may be left behind the pack, or worse yet, completely out of the race.

• What activities have you participated in during the past year that are posturing you for continued growth?
• What new business skills have you learned? Have you enrolled in any courses to upkeep certain skills or develop new ones?
• What personal skills have you learned (i.e. conflict resolution, improving verbal or written communications, interpersonal relations)?
• What education, training or mentoring have you completed?
• What organizations do you belong to and what is your capacity within those organizations (i.e. member, chair, treasurer, secretary)?
• What publications to you subscribe to?
• Do you work with a mastermind group who keep you challenged, offer valuable resources, feedback and support?
• Do you surround yourself with people who are further along the life and business success continuum than you are?

Seriously evaluate your investment level in growing yourself as a human being and as a business owner. If you see the need for additional investment, take action immediately.

Continuous learning will keep you excited, stimulated and positioned for future growth. It will also keep your mind active and open, which will allow for creative insights, new ideas and a stronger ability to recognize valuable opportunities when they present themselves.

Source: Paul Rice. “Are You Poised for Growth as a Home-Based Business Owner?” http://www.articledashboard.com. Paul Rice www.affilly2.com, www.giftukusa.com, homeincomeportal.com/pauric681.

Related Post: “Feeding the Small Biz Ecosystem,” EBT Blog 04/18/07.

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