Taking Charge of Your Business Education

With the school year ending, I’ve found a subject that makes me jump on the soapbox.

Back when my mother was teaching high school, she’d frequently regale my father and me with classroom stories. One of the ongoing themes was Mom’s reaction to that perennial question, “Why do we have to learn this?”

Needless to say, this question did not bring a smile to Mom’s face. Nor did its evil twin, “Is this gonna be on the test?”

Truth be told, Mom and her fellow teachers had a tough time persuading students to develop their intellectual curiosity. Pursuing knowledge for knowledge’s sake isn’t on the agenda of the average high schooler.

But life lasts a long time. You can never be too sure about what you need to know out there.

Case in point: I make my living as a graphic designer and photographer. A while back, I was working on a design project. I wanted to add an accent to the type, but I just couldn’t get the right look. So, I decided to apply a bit of knowledge that I’d gained in a college calculus class. Voila, the accent came out perfectly.

Remember all of those teachers telling you that no knowledge is wasted? They were right. This graphic designer is very glad that she has the problem-solving tools of calculus at her disposal. And she’s even more grateful for the four years of high school math that enabled her to succeed in college calculus.

Of course, this begs the question of what this present-day graphic designer and photographer was doing in a calculus class. The answer is simple: I had to take calculus in order to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in economics. (Yup, that was my college major!)

My university did have an art school, but it didn’t attract me. The focus was on fine arts, and, even as a college student, I realized that road would be a tough one. Especially when it came to making a living.

Unfortunately, I left university with very few salable skills. As in, the sort of thing that would motivate an employer to hire me. And I really struggled in my twenties because of that.

Things got better in my thirties, as I had acquired some job experience. Then I hung out my shingle as a Web designer, and it was back to square one. I had no idea how to do business, get business, and run a business.

Part of the problem lay in my work experience. Most of my career had been spent in academia, and believe me, life as a university employee doesn’t prepare you for the business world.  I think that the rest of the problem lay in our educational system, which is focused on teaching people to be employees. I’m now of the mind that every school should be integrating business skills into the curriculum. Even if it’s just having Junior Achievement coming in to mentor the kids.

So, since I was a business ignoramus, it was time to get educated.

One of the first and most important things I learned was from a book by a lady who once had quite a reputation as a business networking guru. I even went so far as to join the networking group she’d founded, and let’s just say that her book was better. The key takeaway from her book was that you figure out what you should be offering by:

1. Determining what you know how to do.
2. Determining what you like to do.
3. Understanding what the market will pay you to do.

I’ve found that reading is an essential part of my business education toolkit. I encourage you to read books, newspapers, magazines, websites, and blogs (like this one). Participate in online discussion groups. (FreelanceSwitch’s Forums are pretty lively, so give them a try.)

Take short courses, seminars, and workshops. You’ll be pleasantly surprised to learn that quite a few of them are free or low-cost. Find business-related podcasts and give them a listen. My personal favorites are Leslie Burns Dell’Aqua’s Creative Lube and Freelance Radio .

Be sure to keep up with the news. Pay attention to what the media are telling you – and what they are not.

Do volunteer work. It’s a great way to polish your existing skills and learn new ones. And get to know people who’ve been in business for many years. They will be some of the best teachers you’ll ever have.

The most important lesson that I’ve learned is that it’s not enough to be in business. You must also be a student of business.