Entrepreneurial journeys aren’t all the same, and every business owner has different reasons and motivations for doing what they do.
Even so, what almost every person who has decided to become their own boss will attest to is that entrepreneurship is a voyage of lifelong learning and that investing in one’s education allows entrepreneurs to reap rewards down the line.
True, you don’t need a fancy university degree to take your first steps into direct selling. Nevertheless, there’s no straight path to entrepreneurial success. And the many twists and turns mean business owners should arm themselves with the right skills to adapt, grow and thrive.
With that in mind, here are four benefits to continuous learning and why QNET — through our learning platform qLearn — has always prioritised and encouraged entrepreneurial education.
Knowledge is power for you and your business
Whether you are a newbie or a veteran business owner, pursuing financial freedom can be challenging. Yet the good news is that almost every stress-inducing episode can be improved with knowledge.
The more knowledge and skills acquired, the easier things become, from developing marketing plans to managing finances and team members.
Knowledge also helps entrepreneurs make intelligent decisions, motivate those around them and understand different, complex facets of business, even industries seemingly unrelated to direct selling.
For example, one may think that cybercrime has little to do with our sector. Yet QNET, being an e-commerce-based direct selling company, has been long focused on technology and innovation. As such, signing up for qLearn’s Cyber Security and IT programme, for example, could allow entrepreneurs to appreciate the value of data protection and information management.
Education helps you adapt to changing situations
Not only do trends in business change frequently, but so too do global situations.
Geopolitical conflicts, inflation, pandemics, currency and commodity price fluctuations… all can and do impact business. Hence the need for agility and adaptability.
Entrepreneurial agility, however, is more than just about being ready to change. It’s also focused on managing difficult conversations and meeting skills in flux. Business owners need to equip themselves with the relevant know-how, which is what a course like qLearn’s Agile Management helps do.
Your growth can positively impact your business
An entrepreneur is the heart and soul of her or his enterprise. And while that’s something positive, it can also mean that when you’re stuck in a rut and feeling stagnant, so is your business.
Conversely, thus, when you focus on personal growth, that drive gets automatically translated to work and how you approach it. Furthermore, if you’re actively learning and working at the same time, you’re also able to apply the new knowledge and insights acquired to your business dealings.
This is the reason that many of qLearn’s e-learning modules have been designed to allow student entrepreneurs to put what they’ve learnt into practice immediately.
Learning presents a platform for expansion
Besides the immediate application of freshly-acquired skills, new knowledge can also help lay the foundation for your business’s expansion.
As a QNET Independent Representative (IR), you can decide how to run your business and when to scale operations. Even so, dynamic programmes like Certified Network Marketer+, which allows entrepreneurs to learn from established international experts, can help guide you on what should and should not be done.
Essentially, business owners have to consider many things before expanding operations, including prepping their teams, ensuring everyone is aligned and putting systems in place. As such, leaders must sharpen their skills and learn the finer points of concepts like retention and duplication beforehand.
In short, being an entrepreneur is more than just about deciding to own a business. Instead, it’s about constant and consistent evolution. And equipping yourself with the right knowledge can prepare you and your business for the future.