Why Is A Personal Education Plan Critical To Growing You And Your Business?
A personal education plan is much like a business plan. At its core, a business plan lays out your pursuit of business opportunities. A personal education plan is also a pursuit for opportunities, but instead of within your business, it is within yourself.
Breaking Down A Personal Education Plan
There are many names for a personal education plan. A personal development plan, an individual learning plan or a personal ongoing plan to name a few. Regardless of the name, they all outline the same thing, a long-term process that is constantly under review, aimed at improving workplace skills and your overall knowledge.
Whatever your ambitions, you need to action this with a structured approach and highlight the areas to overcome and what you need to gain to grow. Now, this will take a bit of humble pie and a massive realisation that you are not perfect and need to change. We're all on an individual journey and in this article, I’m going to share ways you can use a personal education plan to level up and build a stronger and more successful foundation for both you and your business.
How do I know my ways work?
Simple.
I’m walking, talking, living proof.
Let's Begin!
Do you often say to yourself:
Why hasn't my business changed?
Why has there been no growth in my business?
Why don't I have good relationships with my peers or customers?
Why does my job feel like a chore?
In case you were curious, this is where you need to go grab yourself a knife and fork to cut yourself a big slice of that humble pie I mentioned. For this to work, you must actively let go of external blame. Be that your employees, the business, your competitors, the market or COVID you need to release your blame mindset and instead focus on YOU. To be candid in this explanation I’ll put it like this.
YOU are the one holding yourself back from your full potential and success in your business.
What Do You Want?
Before you begin to build your personal education plan, sit down, away from distractions, and write down five things you want to achieve this year and five things you want to change about yourself.
How Do You Get It?
The four critical areas of a personal education plan outline the goals you want to achieve (you completed this step at the start). The next step is to determine where you are, identify the things you want to learn and achieve, and then review after every course.
Upon reviewing your plan and what you have already learnt, you will find that you might need to do a few courses on the same subject to help it 'sink in' before you genuinely can implement them in your life.
Take a deep breath, a step back and realise that you don't know everything; some things will be new to you and some will need to be re-learned.
Do You Have A Growth Mindset?
Think about this carefully, vulnerably and honestly. If you answer “no”, then where you are now, your business will. Not. Grow.
Not sure what a growth mindset is?
Those with a growth mindset believe that even their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work.
Research by Dr Carol Dweck states that it's not just our natural abilities that bring us success; it's whether we approach work with a "fixed" or "growth" mindset. Read her book if you need more clarification Mindset: Changing the Way You Think to Fulfil Your Potential or if you’re just keen for a great read!
Starting any educational journey with a growth mindset is non-negotiable.
Dr Dweck states that people with a fixed mindset tend to assume that they're born with a particular set of skills that they can't change. In contrast, people with a growth mindset believe that intelligence and talent are just the starting point, and that success comes through attitude, effort, and learning.
As a marketer or entrepreneur, we confidently assess the strengths and weaknesses of a business and then dive into the opportunities and threats with a SWOt analysis. Why is it that often we are so uncomfortable carrying out the same activity on ourselves?
The only way a personal education plan will work and have a significant impact is to understand more about yourself, why you do the things you do and what you need to change. What are your strengths? Your weaknesses? What can you grow on (opportunities)? What is stopping you (threats)?
Your Next Steps For Your Personal Education Plan
Consider Hiring A Coach
Hiring a professional coach or consultant to assist with growth in your business. Coaches or consultants can provide a brutally honest perspective on specific problems within your business. It's quick and effective because you immediately implement changes when someone else has identified the areas that need to change. For starters, simply having an objective party examine your day-to-day can help identify weak points and push for improvements in places you might be blind to.
Read Why every Entrepreneur should have a coach or mentor on how and why this is effective.
Online Courses And Self-Learning.
Once you've carried out a thorough self-audit and identified your goals for growth, it's time to work out how to reach them. This is where you start to research and map out all the courses you want to do for the rest of the year. I would aim for at least two a month.
You won't have to subject yourself to TAFE or University courses. There are plenty of online courses written by reputable teachers. Platforms like Udemy and General Assembly are a great place to start looking.
I will be running some courses over the next few months, so check out my learn page if you are looking for something about email marketing, self-care, and understanding your business.
When mapping out what you want to do, it's always a good idea to write down what you specifically want to learn. Be prepared and ready before the course starts to take on all the new information.
Begin Networking And Making Connections
Surround yourself with like-minded individuals who share your hunger for new information and success. I've found my tribe through Clubhouse. I even have my own room, 'Small Business Work Hub'. Be sure to join my room and get amongst the conversation. Always keep in mind that networking is a two-way process; what you have to offer is just as important as what you want from other people.
How Will This Benefit You?
Empathy! You'll hear stories from others who share the same struggles. It puts your body and mind into a good headspace for change knowing that there are others out there like you, you feel more empowered to make your life and business better.
Ok, That's It From Me.
Remember success isn't simply waving a magic wand and things "just happen"; it takes planning, strategy, adapting when things don't work and being proactive.
Be prepared when the unexpected happens. Educate yourself on your weaknesses and look for ways to grow. Don't wait for when you have time and money because the reality is you never will unless you start today.
YOU are the most important thing in your life, but YOU are always holding yourself back from potential.
I believe in you. Let's kick the sh$t out of this year. Remember to check out my learn page to see if any of these courses can work for you.