In the business world, we spend a lot of time talking about investments, diversification, and training. But we rarely discuss these terms within the context of our own self-improvement. Perhaps it’s time we begin?
You are your greatest asset. Money, intellectual property, products, and employees are great…but you’re nothing without your own knowledge, wisdom, and expertise. And if you’re going to be successful for years to come, you have no choice but to invest in your own growth and development.
4 Self-Improvement Investments Savvy Entrepreneurs Make
Study the most successful entrepreneurs, business owners, and executives on the planet and you’ll find that they are all religiously committed to self-improvement — personally, professionally, or otherwise. And if you make the same commitment, you can share in their rewards.
Here are a few timely investments to consider making:
Communication
Few investments will yield a better return than improving your communication skills. More specifically, you should get serious about learning how to enhance your virtual communication skills. The future is almost certainly going to be defined by virtual interaction (predominantly) and knowing how to be efficient and clear with SMS, email, and video will serve you well.
Confusion is one of the biggest internal pain points for businesses. And it often stems from an inability to properly communicate expectations or instructions. By learning how to word things, follow up, and delegate, you’ll experience an entirely new level of efficiency.
Next-Level Marketing
It doesn’t matter if you’re in marketing or not, every entrepreneur should have an advanced understanding of next-level marketing. In other words, you need to know how to move the needle for your business. (Even if you’re not the one executing it.)
There are plenty of ways to learn marketing, but the good news is that free online resources are more abundant than ever before. For example, you can take a free SEO training workshop and learn how search engine optimization impacts various aspects of your business. (It’ll only take you an afternoon.) The same goes for design. There are plenty of free graphic design courses that will give you enough tools to know how to talk to your design team.
Networking
You’ll never regret making an investment in networking. It can feel futile at times, especially when nothing is happening after you invest, but the long-term payoff is tremendous.
Networking is often treated like something you “do,” but it’s really an investment. You’re planting relationship seeds that will eventually turn into profitable and meaningful relationships. Invest your time and energy in things that have the highest ROI now and great things will happen later.
One of the key principles of networking is to give. Instead of walking into networking relationships looking to get something, enter with open hands. By giving everything you have, you make yourself stand out. You also attract people who appreciate you and see you for who you are. Eventually, all of the relationship “equity” that you’ve built up will allow you to leverage these connections for your good, too.
Stackable Skills
It’s easy to become so laser-focused on the one thing you’re really good at that you actually end up compromising your ability to add value to others. One of the best investments you can make is an investment in stackable skills.
Skill stacking is basically the process of acquiring multiple skills that are unrelated yet can be combined together to provide better value.
For example, let’s say you’re a copywriter. Stackable skills include SEO, coding, graphic design, and even public speaking. By adding these skills to your toolbox, you instantly become more marketable and valuable to the marketplace.
The beautiful thing about skill stacking is that you don’t have to be exceptional at each skill. You only need to be above average. By being above average in multiple areas, you’re able to compound your value across the board.
Set Yourself Up for Success
It’s impossible to boil success down to a clean formula or recipe. But we do know many of the elements and ingredients that go into determining success. And if you look at people like Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, Oprah Winfrey, or even LeBron James, you’ll find that they are students of the world. Personally and professionally, they’re committed to invest in themselves by pursuing self-improvement. You’d be wise to do the same!
