Reading isn’t for everyone. Some love it, while others consider it a chore. I have a coworker who can count the number of books he has read on one hand. He says he just doesn’t enjoy it and finds no interest in it. You may feel the exact same way as him, but did you know that reading is one of the best small business growth strategies?
Reading helps you become more educated, and knowledge is power my friends. But what should you read? Here are some suggestions on things you, as a business owner, should be reading:
Newspapers– Newspapers are great for a couple reasons. First off, they provide you with updates of happenings in your area. Things such as law changes, new regulations going in to effect, bills that may be passed, tax adjustments, etc. This is valuable information for you as a business owner to know. Any one of these things could affect the way your business works and it’s better to be in the loop, then hit completely blindsided when a new bill or law is passed.
Plus, newspapers have comics in them so when you need a break from all of your learning, read the funnies!
Magazines – Subscribe to a magazine that deals with your industry. These provide great articles usually written by experts in your industry. For instance, if you own a landscape management company, subscribe to Lawn and Landscape Magazine. If you own a snow plowing business, subscribe to Snow Magazine. It’s actually one of the best bets because you pay a monthly subscription, and get tips and tricks in every issue. It’s less money than attending industry conferences, while still keeping up to date on the latest trends.
Blogs – Blogs are a good alternative to a magazine subscription if you just aren’t feeling like paying the subscription costs. Blogs are my personal favorite because I just scan them in my free time on nights or weekends. Like magazines, experts in the field usually write them (depending on where you are looking) and they provide good tips for free! Some great blogs to pick up small business growth strategies are the Deluxe Small Business blog, the Entrepreneur blog, the Intuit Small business blog, and American Express’ OPEN Forum blogs.
Emails – Instead of mindless hitting delete through your emails, read them. I am guilty of this all the time. I subscribe to receive emails from different sources and then never read them. But I obviously subscribed for a reason right? Emails provide everything from information about upcoming events, to free documents you can download, to discounts on products. I suggest you stay subscribed to at most three emails. Make time once a week to review them. You will benefit by both keeping your inbox clean and learning new things to help your business.
Bonus for all of these? Almost all of these can be read online. Now some people just prefer the physical copy to a computer screen, and that’s perfectly fine, but if you aren’t as picky go green! (And while you’re going green, check out our paperless field service software!)
You’d be surprised how many little tricks you pick up from reading. You may not use the advice or knowledge you gain right away, but if it’s a good enough idea, you will remember it when you need it most. So go on! Get reading!