"Formal education will make you a living. Life experience will make you a fortune."
So the question becomes, as an entrepreneur, just how much education do you need in order to build a successful business?
Is life experience enough?
As women, we often contemplate our worth when it comes to education.
Many of us have followed the age-old path of primary school, high school, university or college, graduate with a shiny certificate but then what? After being told what to do for more than 15 years, we are then thrown into the big, crazy worlds armed with our university qualification in a shiny frame.
But for many, you chose the path of leaving high school and making your own way in the world. Some might have returned to study as mature-aged students, or fit it in around your work and family lives, but what brings the most success? Formal education or life experience?
Personally, I think it is a mix of BOTH!
At advertising school, I was taught that you can't break the rules until you've first learnt them - the same applies in business.
Entrepreneurs are often inspired by the things we see, read and breathe every day.
Our dynamic surroundings and inspiration create our life lessons and sparks wealth-building thoughts and actions. And I think it makes for a very dull entrepreneur if the core of your business is not driven from this heart-centred and personal place.
Here are ten life lessons that many of us have learnt along the way that a diploma cannot compete with – what are the lessons you have learnt in life?
There are no mistakes, only lessons waiting to be learned.
Don’t waste today. Get out and take life by the horns.
Acknowledge, accept and celebrate your success and achievements.
Do what you love and love what you do.
Be yourself. You are unique, so believe in you, promote you and stand by you.
Surround yourself with inspiring and positive people who will embrace your successes and push you further.
Never stop learning. There is no end to growth and knowledge.
Don’t wait for an opportunity as time matters. A year from now you wish you had started today.
Seek out a mentor or coach as knowledge and experience are power, as well as guidance and efficiency.
Creating opportunities works so much better than waiting for opportunities.
BUT WAIT! On the other side of the fence is formal education and I have to say I believe in that TOO if you want to build 'excellence'.
It is such a myth that building a blog and pouring your heart out day in and day out will create a successful business. I'm not saying it can't happen - but it is very RARE! (A bit like winning the lotto)
Therefore, there’s a good reason most online businesses will never make an income - they are copying what they think others are doing without understanding the nuts and bolts of the strategies behind the glossy blogs!
There is an art to online and coaching businesses and thankfully this art can be taught.
Think about it - a doctor or lawyer values years of education to become an expert and for most of us we were not bought up with a natural understanding of how to be an entrepreneur or business owner - so what makes us think we can be an expert at something we've never learnt?
It 'can' be done of course - but learning from a mentor or training program will get you there a zillion times quicker!
For this reason, I do believe that investing in your business education is VITAL if you are after SUCCESS - just don't fall into the trap of feeling you have to follow any business system to the 't'...
Bring YOU to the table! (remember, you break the rules once you've learnt them ;-)
(Psst: if you’re a health coach or wellness entrepreneur looking to learn about business, check out my UPswing Mastermind program here!)
I know without any doubt in my body that my business would not be where it is today if I didn't continually invest in education.
And, of course, I continually mix my life experience, advertising career experience and coaching business experience together to create unique offerings with my entrepreneurial flare.
I see so many new health coaches thinking they need to go learn even more about nutrition despite them already getting a qualification.
They don't feel 'expert enough' - but what they are really lacking is business education, not lack of health knowledge, and no amount of extra courses on nutrition will remove that fraud feeling if you don't understand what to do with all that awesome knowledge after learning it.
Related Post: The 6 Secrets to Believing You’re an Expert Health Coach
So I say - get educated on how to run a successful business THEN do your entrepreneurial thing and break all the rules and take on the world.
Let me know in the comments below, do you value investing in education as an entrepreneur? Or do you prefer to work things out as you go?
Love,
Amanda xx
PS. Do you get nervous when it comes to sales conversations? Grab my FREE Soulful Sales Script so that you know exactly what to say to potential clients! Click the button below to get your copy now!
Did you find this post helpful? Please share it with your friends by pinning the image below!
