7 great web resources to build your knowledge and grow your business
“Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing.” – Warren Buffett.
Almost every person who starts a small business begins from a position of not knowing a whole lot about what needs to be done. Learning while doing is fine, but some people don’t learn quickly enough to be successful.
Further, many others get to a certain level in developing their small business and then their knowledge stops increasing. They reach a sort of equilibrium between the amount of money they’re making and their desire to gain more knowledge to see what the next level looks like and discover how to get there.
Many in this situation have merely adjusted to a certain pain level. Things may not be great, but they’re making ends meet so they learn to live with it. This is sad because honestly, taking a small business to more profitable levels, isn’t as difficult as one might believe.
The most important things you need are desire and the willingness to take a risk. If you have those attributes, then you must find some places to increase your knowledge. You’re on my website, so it looks to me like you’re a good candidate for supersizing your small business brains, so let me steer you to some excellent online-resources.
SCORE. The Service Corps of Retired Executives has been around since 1964. It offers all kinds of free counseling and mentoring for small business owners and entrepreneurs. The website has a lot of solid resources. However, developing a relationship with someone who has “been there, done that” can be invaluable. Find your nearest chapter and connect.
The best business books. The link I’ve provided here will take you to the best-selling business books on Amazon.com. Be sure you’ve read the classics – don’t just focus on what’s hot today. After the classics, find the titles that will build you up in areas where you’re weaker.
SBA. I want to point you toward the training section of the SBA website and its listing of Small Business Development Centers. You’re going to find a wide range of topics covered here and if there’s an SBDC near you, make yourself familiar with what they offer.
Wall Street Journal blogs. The Wall Street Journal itself is behind a pay wall now, but you’ll find a lot of important current information covered in its free blogs. Small business owners are always short on time, this is a good page to scan each day to stay on top of what’s going on.
Crowd-sourced knowledge. The Internet allows you to ask questions in forums where anyone can answer. Sometimes the answers are absolutely brilliant and from people who have an incredible depth of knowledge and experience. Two of these are Quora and the Small Business Forum. Quora takes questions on any topic under the sun; you’ll find many small business and money-making questions explored there. The Small Business Forum is an old-school website with topics and threads.
I encourage you to explore some of these resources and dig up new knowledge and information. Build relationships with experienced business owners who have successfully grown their companies. If you find inspiration, the desire to grow and willingness to take risks will follow.