How to have continuous learning along the entrepreneurial journey

Knowledge is not static. It constantly expands. Each day always brings something new to the table, which is why growth and learning are essential parts of human nature. Continuous development builds up a person, and many leaders and entrepreneurs get to where they are right now because of their thirst for learning.

How do you keep on upskilling yourself and expanding your knowledge while on the entrepreneurial journey? There are plenty of ways to consistently expose yourself to new things and widen your understanding of various concepts and information. 

Read books and other materials

There are multitudes of reading materials that can provide you with pointers, tips and insights on improving yourself. Business leaders and visionaries have also written countless books that can give you a peek into their minds and experiences. Apart from books, there are magazines and online posts that give additional information and remind us of already acquired knowledge that we can take with us to our day-to-day lives and into our business.

We had shared several lists of books on this site. There are books recommended by EO members, biographies of known business leaders, books on persuasion and negotiation, books by women business leaders, crisis management books, and books written by EO members.

Listen to podcasts

Podcasts that cater to the needs of entrepreneurs are a great resource of information and inspiration. There are plenty of known podcasts online and we’ve compiled 20 of them that can be helpful to entrepreneurs. Apart from this list, there are also some amazing podcasts by EO that feature different entrepreneurs and business leaders and covers various topics across many industries.

Attend seminars, workshops and learning events

What better way to learn from the more experienced and the experts than to have first-hand interaction with them? When you attend seminars and learning events you get the opportunity not only to listen to them but also to ask questions and clarify things. Among the benefits that entrepreneurs get when they join EO is access to opportunities, events and executive education programmes. 

EO members share some of the learning events that they find have helped them in their professional growth. John Anderton, Founder and CEO of Butterfly, found that he learned a lot from “the whole-day sessions on elements from Scaling Up, e.g., People,” referring to EO’s Accelerator Learning Days, which includes workshops and pre-work, such as readings from Verne Harnish’s book, Scaling Up.

There are EO learning events that stood out for Anthony Holdstock, Director and Owner of Sharp & Carter, and he cited them, “I really liked Warren Rustand’s event on raising high-performing families and I enjoyed the Gabby Leibovich session (Catch of the Decade).” Warren Rustand’s event was attended by the families of EO members, which made it even more meaningful.

Whilst for Mark Calabro, Co-Founder of HungryHungry, the event that he found helpful to his journey was the "Battlescars of Business" with Gus Balbontin. “He was fantastic, and he really stretched my mind with the way I think about education and the world,” Mark shared.

Experience things

They say there’s no better teacher than experience itself. It’s even more exciting when the things you’ve read and heard are put into practical use and you even learn more along the way. Many entrepreneurs and business leaders learn from their experiences, taking into account their strengths, weaknesses, limits and capabilities that can often emerge in a particular situation. Even institutions that provide formal education acknowledge the importance of experience, which is why practicum and internships are included in courses and school programs.

Observe and reflect

Learning is often as simple as using the five senses. Be conscious of things you encounter each day. There are instances wherein you may not be in the thick of things, but you can observe and learn from the things and happenings around you. You can watch how someone you look up to does things in their business or listen to the experience shares and tips from your mentor. Whether you experienced something yourself or somebody did and you only witnessed it, follow it through by reflecting, filtering the things that you’ve seen or heard, and picking out the lessons that you can take with you on your entrepreneurial journey.

Think about the best way on how you can further hone your skills, talents and capabilities. Don’t be afraid to acknowledge your weaknesses so that you can expand your learning and improve yourself. How do you make sure that you continuously develop yourself as a person, entrepreneur, and business leader? Share with us your tips below.

20 Podcasts for entrepreneurs

The beginning of the 21st century saw the rise of podcasts as a new way of sharing information to the public. It broadcasts content and distributes them as audio files using apps or the internet. Entrepreneurs saw the value of podcasts in increasing their knowledge as they can conveniently listen to them anytime they want.

When you are in-between meetings, driving to work or back home, doing your exercise or wanting to spend a peaceful night without overworking your eyes, you can easily turn to podcasts to hear the insightful tips and inspiring stories of those who have traversed the entrepreneurial journey and made it successfully.

EO Melbourne members Nathan Chan of Foundr and Tristan White of The Physio Co have podcasts that focus on business and leadership. There are many more materials that you can help you in your growth as an entrepreneur. We have put together a list below of a few examples that can make you gain additional knowledge.

$100 MBA Show

Omar Zenhom and Nicole Baldinu are the persons behind the $100 MBA Show podcast, featuring real entrepreneurs and business experts that share tips and advice or conduct actionable lessons as guest teachers.

a16z

With a tagline of “software is eating the world”, the a16z Podcasts centres its discussions on news, trends and forecasts on tech and business culture.

Duct Tape Marketing

Thought leaders, influential marketers, successful entrepreneurs and business experts grace the podcast as John Jantsch interviews them about their experiences and learnings in their business life.

EntreLeadership

Running a business and leading a team is a challenging job. EntreLeadership acknowledges this reality by helping entrepreneurs become better leaders through advice from CEOs, heads of companies and business owners.

Entrepreneurs on Fire

Entrepreneurs on Fire founder and host John Lee Dumas created the podcast to inspire business owners and fire up their entrepreneurial journey with stories and strategies from those who have been in the journey themselves.

Growth Now Movement

With a mission to teach the world on smart decision-making and living life happily, entrepreneur Justin Schenck talks to entrepreneurs, business leaders and executives on how they overcome challenges and enable themselves to grow in their respective fields of endeavour.

How to Start a Startup

Composed of lectures from experts, this podcast created by Sam Altman and the Y Combinator team at Stanford details the basic steps in establishing and building an enterprise effectively.

Millionaire Mindcast

How do you build your wealth and enrich your lifestyle? Millennial entrepreneur Matt Aitchison turns to inspiring individuals as they share how to overcome hardships and be financially free.

Mixergy

Mixergy features entrepreneurs through interviews and courses that give a glimpse of the entrepreneurial journey and impart business knowledge so you can prepare for it accordingly.

School of Greatness

If you want to listen to game changers in various industries and fields of interest, you can pick some lessons from them through the School of Greatness podcast of Lewis Homes that offers business and self-development sessions.

Self-Made Man

You can be a self-made man yourself and learn how you can hone and improve your mindset, productivity, entrepreneurship, money, health, marketing and relationships through talks by some of the leaders in these areas of interest.

Smart Passive Income

Pat Flynn takes his listeners behind the secrets of making a living online through strategies, advice and interviews on how to build an online business.

Stanford Entrepreneurial Thought Leader Series

Familiarise yourself in the entrepreneurial landscape through the success stories of leaders who overcame the bumpy ride that the journey entails.

Startup

Gimlet Media’s Startup is a documentary series on the entrepreneurial journey that shows how to start a business based on case studies.

The GaryVee Audio Experience

Gary Vaynerchuk, the man behind the GaryVee Audio, presents in his podcast episodes some interviews, speeches, chats and insights on entrepreneurship and other interesting topics.

The Influencer Podcast

If you are curious about how to become an online influencer or learn from one, then this podcast is for you. Julie Solomon will show you the world of successful bloggers, social media influencers and industry experts through engaging conversations with them.

The Top

Highlighting top entrepreneurs, Nathan Latka gets them to share in 15 minutes or less about their businesses, revenue data and other helpful insights.

Tim Ferriss Show

The Tim Ferriss Show Famous showcase personalities within and outside of business wherein they share tactics and tools that helped them succeed in their particular field.

Unemployable

Brian Clark has founded eight successful enterprises, and he shares his lessons and experiences through his podcast. He is joined by guests who also have rich stories to impart to his listeners.

Youpreneur

In Youpreneur, you will find podcast episodes that revolve around building, marketing, monetising and growing your brand and business to make them profitable and lucrative.

Listening to the stories of successful people, especially their struggles and determination to prosper will motivate you to keep going on your entrepreneurial journey. As they share their experiences, you will learn specific strategies, tools and solutions that you can apply to your business. These podcasts are helpful in your growth as an entrepreneur because they present positive ideas that you can bring to both your business and personal life.