Succeeding in the world of small business and entrepreneurship isn’t a matter of how much you know going into it. It’s about how much you’re willing to learn and grow along the way.
A business owner’s reality is uncertainty — especially in the early years. On average, most businesses aren’t even profitable until year two or three. And this doesn’t account for happenings that occur outside of the norm.
When facing adversity, the one thing you can control is your adaptability. Invest in continued learning for yourself early and often, and you’ll find pivots much easier to make should the need arise. To start, consider the following free training resources covering everything from money management to digital marketing.
YouTube
If you can learn how to install a ceiling fan on YouTube, you better believe topics on entrepreneurship will be easy to come by. The platform is a no-brainer for knowledge sharing (and ASMR videos apparently).
Check out the Stanford Graduate School of Business YouTube channel, for example. There you’ll find inspirational talks and lectures geared towards the business-minded. Business Meetings with Garyvee is also a great resource for finding motivation with actionable insights.
Skillshare
Skillshare brings a little more structure to their video offerings with classes categorized across a wide variety of subject matter. Each one is broken down into modules with discussion sections, projects, and additional resources.
There’s a whole category, for example, dedicated to entrepreneurship classes. Additionally, you can use Skillshare to explore interests outside of business such as creative writing, music, and more. The basic membership is free with a premium option available.
Moz
Moz is a treasure trove of information for all things SEO. If you’re currently working to optimize your businesses online presence, turn to their SEO Learning Center for guides on everything from link building to keyword research.
Moz also offers a number of free SEO tools to utilize as you begin measuring your efforts online. Plug in your URL for free domain SEO metrics and prioritize keywords for targeting using their Keyword Explorer.
HubSpot Academy
As far as marketing and social media are concerned, HubSpot is a leader in helping businesses grow online. And while you may not need their marketing and sales software right off the bat, it doesn’t hurt to take advantage of their free course and certifications.
You can get certified in a number of areas such as social media marketing, email marketing, inbound marketing, and more.
BizLaunch
Not to toot our own horn but while we’re on the topic of free business resources, we’d be remiss not to mention our own resources. We work to create content that supports small business every step of the way.
If financials aren’t your strong suit, utilize our free small business tools — like our cash flow forecast and balance sheet. We even have a startup cost calculator for those in the earliest stages of business planning. Additionally, you’ll find an archive of helpful webinar recordings to bookmark and watch anytime.