Essential things you need to consider before you invest in more business training
It’s 7.28 pm and you’re splayed out on the couch.
And as you wait for your favorite reality TV show to begin, you scroll through your social media feed.
There it is…again…
The course you’ve been one foot in, one foot out for a few weeks – and the early bird offer ends in 1-day.
The price suits your budget – and you’ve seen people you’re connected to sign up for it.
So what should you do?
I’m not your business coach or course advisor, but I’ve got some insights into how to choose business training courses – I hope they help you.
Hi, my name is Kylie and I’m ‘addicted’ to learning.
From Anthony Robbins ‘Unleash the Power Within’ self-development weekend (complete with firewalking) 20+ years ago to voraciously reading business and self-development books.
I love learning, reading, enrolling in online courses and attending live events.
But here’s what I know for sure…
Never buy or enroll in a course or buy a conference ticket on a whim.
If you’re hovering over the ‘purchase now’ button for that $47 e-course at 10pm – pause for a moment.
- “Are you going to buy the course because all your friends and connections online are doing it?”
- “Do you have the time and energy to download and complete the course?”
- “Would your business benefit from the information you learn?”
- “Do you like learning in an online environment or is your learning style better suited to a face-to-face workshop?”
Here’s a quick checklist to use when you need to decide what to spend your training budget on.
- Course content: If you’re going to invest money and time learning, it’s important to check that the content is relevant and up to date. Many online courses are now offering ‘life-time’ access. As a B-School (Marie Forleo) graduate, at the start of every year I get the opportunity to go through the updated program again. Kate Toon’s excellent online SEO training course also offers this with her “Recipe for SEO Success” program.
- Course presenter: It’s very important that the person who is going to lead you through the course knows their stuff but also has a track record of success. Haven’t heard of the presenter or course leader? Google search them and check out their social media accounts. If they’re teaching a course on social media and are the ‘best in the industry’ but only have 578 followers on Twitter and 37 likes on their Facebook page – you may want to reconsider their claims.I recently enrolled in Belinda Weaver’s “Copywriting Masterclass” because I’ve met her in real life, have followed her for 6+ years online and listen to the copywriting podcast “Hot Copy” she hosts with Kate Toon. I also know other copywriters who have completed her training and rave about it.
- Course outcomes: The course description will have obvious outcomes like…”at the end of this training you’ll be able confidently write a SEO sales page that converts…”It’s helpful to re-frame the course outcomes to the outcomes you want to receive from the course. Completing a basic SEO course will give you a better understanding of SEO.This increased knowledge gives your business a hidden outcome of being more confident when you talk to your SEO provider about backlinks, robots txt and keyword choice.
- Coaching and inspiration: Enrolling in a course isn’t just about learning new information. There’s the added bonus of being around like-minded people and being led by someone who knows what it’s like to be where you are now.
Which is why I’ve chosen to attend Brook McCarthy’s “Blogging for Business” course.You may be thinking…“Um, Kylie you’re a copywriter who blogs for people every day…why are you going to this course?”Yes, I write 100’s of blogs a year for my copywriting clients on subjects that include voice acting, trademark law, SMSF, business coaching, accounting, food and wine.I’m taking a day out of my business to get inspired and ramp up my creative juices for my personal blogging journey.To sit and write for 1-day in a supportive environment with a colleague and friend who knows how to write – really well.
- Course community: Most online training courses and many live events know offer Facebook communities or forums as an ‘added bonus’.
Bek Lambert of Unashamedly Creative runs a fabulous freelance e-course designed to provide freelancers in Australia with what they need to know from the start to becoming a profitable business. And her Facebook community, Freelance Jungle is one of my favorite Facebook groups. ProBlogger is an annual live blogging event held in Australia every year. In between conferences, the private Facebook community rocks.
Your action plan…
There’s just one more thing to think about before you hit the ‘buy now’ button.
“Do you have the time, energy, money and dedication to complete and implement this training now?”
If you answered ‘yes’ – hit the button and enjoy your course!
If you’re ‘not sure’ or a ‘no’ – sleep on it and reconsider with fresh eyes.
Because there’s only one thing worse than doing no business training at all…
…enrolling in a course and not implementing anything you’ve learned.
Happy learning!
