NCC Blog
A Healthy Dose of Professional Development
These past several months, we have been busily preparing to launch our Ready2Go Training Solutions Membership Community. It has been an exciting adventure for me because I love to learn. I am always making time to attend others’ teleprograms, download their special reports, and invest in programs that help me be a better mom, partner, friend, business person and coach. Because the better I am, the better I can serve those in my life.
And because I believe in the principle of continued personal and professional development, I have been so excited to be able to give people a forum for learning powerful ways to improve their skills and grow their business through our Ready2Go Community.
There are four primary areas that we should be focusing on to grow our business-
- Serving clients
- Marketing
- Administration
- Professional development.
And to have a long term, successful business, we must invest our time in all of these areas – and professional development is NO exception.
When working with my clients, I often notice an imbalance in these four areas. When it comes to the area of professional development, I often see the pendulum swing to one side or the other. One side is business owners spending way too much time, money and resources on getting that “next” credential while neglecting other areas of their business (mostly the marketing area). And the other side of the pendulum is that they completely stop growing all together.
The competition is fierce, and there is always something bigger, better and faster around the next corner, and therefore we must continually be improving our skills in performing our craft, and growing our business. In fact, this is one of the greatest investments we can make in our business.
With today’s competitive landscape, our prospects are looking to hire experts in the industry. They want to know that their money is being spent on someone who “specializes” in solving their problems and meeting their needs. Therefore it is more important than ever to always be “at the top of our game.”
When we are growing we feel like we are more in the game, we feel more marketable, and that we have more and better ways to serve our clients.
- · T. Harv Eker, author of the bestselling book, Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, encourages that you have a budget for education, and that you are regularly involved in some personal or professional growth program.
When discussing his money management strategy he suggests “Put 10% into your EDUC [education] account whenever you receive money, such as your salary. You can use the EDUC funds for your self-education, such as books, seminars and events etc.
Everyone needs to learn, especially in this changing world. Grow your comfort zone through learning and doing. If you are not growing, you are dying! Take this quote from Ben Franklin: ‘If you think education is expensive, try ignorance!’” - Dan Sullivan of the Strategic Coach recommends that you allot time in your schedule for specific activities such as planning, serving clients, and education.
It is important that when you are spending time on growing yourself that you do not feel guilty and allow yourself to be distracted by “all” the other things you should be doing. Instead, think of how you are strengthening yourself and your skills so that you can better serve your clients and grow your business.
We encourage you to make learning a priority in your business. Here are a few simple ways you can do that:
1. Set a monthly or quarterly budget for your personal and professional development and spend it.
2. Schedule time into your calendar to learn a new skill or success principle every week.
3. When you are engaged in an education program – show up 100%. Listen to audios all the way through, attend others’ telecalls and focus on what’s being taught, read articles and make notes, and implement what you learn.
It is amazing how we don’t even allow ourselves the freedom to read a daily motivator that literally takes one minute to complete, or to watch a five minute video that will give us a new perspective or teach us a new skill. There seems to be a voice inside of us telling us that it is selfish or unproductive, or that we should be doing something else, when spending time on ourselves and our professional development is exactly what we should be doing. So allow yourself the freedom to learn.
When we are growing we feel good. We feel empowered by our new found knowledge, and we feel more confident. And then of course, there’s the obvious perk – you’ll have new skills to serve your clients and grow your business.
So next time you are scheduling your time and your budget, be sure to include a healthy dose of professional development. It is good for you and your clients.
Kim Clausen is the
President of Ready2Go Training Solutions, a company that helps personal development professionals create, market and facilitate their own training programs. If you want to take your training programs to a whole new level, check out the Ready2Go Training Solutions’ Membership Community. Get your F-R-E-E Special Report entitled Marketing With Purpose by going to http://www.Ready2GoCommunity.com. Ready2GoTraining Solutions is a division of Ready2Go Marketing Solutions, Inc. http://www.Ready2GoMarketingSolutions.com