Looking to Improve Your Technology Skills? Look to YouTube

While it’s hard to say anything positive about the COVID-19 pandemic, it has given many business owners the motivation to pick up a few more technical skills. Many have sought to improve their own grasp on the software, marketing, and telecommunications that their business relies on each day. As these business owners have done so, they have often turned to a very popular resource: YouTube.

The Internet as a Self-Serve Education Resource

While small business owners undoubtedly have some business acumen, there’s a good chance that their IT skills aren’t quite at the same level. Software is a common business tool in 2020, so many entrepreneurs have embraced the opportunity to remedy that disparity. Many have learned more about how to properly use their software’s features to better manage their businesses, and how they can teach these skills to their team when business resumes.

YouTube is a popular resource for many as they improve a litany of skills. From cooking, mechanics, business tips and other tricks, video has long been shown to be a great learning tool. In an online study that examined autodidactism (a fancy word for self-teaching, and what you’re doing by reading this blog), it was shown that nearly 60 percent of people preferred YouTube, but resources also included free as well as paid online courses, blogs and other online articles, and podcasts in their list of preferred educational online tools.

How Improving IT Skills is a Business Win

Think about it: with improved technical skills and a better understanding of the technology, entrepreneurs are in a better place to come up with methodologies that can make them more organized, save money, improve productivity, and otherwise make their business more efficient. Considering that there’s currently a pandemic interfering with business operations for many, efficiency is a highly desirable quality right now.

An employee that takes advantage of this time to improve their skills for the company also stands to benefit. Such employees are often promoted more quickly, are paid better, and rise to become team leaders. These are the people you want working for you when productivity is more crucial than ever.

Software Mastery is a Desirable Skill

Software is generally useful. However, once someone gets to be familiar with all a software title’s capabilities, this usefulness is thrown into overdrive. Most employees never quite reach this level. They tend to peak about where they understand how to best do the job they most use the software for.

However, some employees are now going beyond that to learn what their tools can do, learning more about the management software and operational applications their company uses and raising the bar in management’s eyes. This opens the opportunity for the whole team to generate more revenue or reduce greater costs with the features of their line of business software, and therefore, benefit the entire organization.

In the business world, the old saying “knowledge is power” certainly holds water. Take advantage of our knowledge by returning to our blog for more information about the IT your business relies upon, or by calling SMART Services at 586 258-0650 for assistance.