Business Growth 101: The Importance of Personal Development

Well hey there! Today I’m going to talk to you about something so important that it transforms the lives of small business owners everywhere. In fact, it doesn’t just transform the lives of business owners, it can transform the lives of everyone. 

The importance of personal development is so huge that it affects every single part of your life. That’s right. Every. Single. Part. 

Personal development has become a bit of a buzzword and maybe it sounds huge, expensive, and something you’d have to attend a conference for. But that’s not the case at all. You can work on your personal development in small, simple steps every day. 

When it comes to running your own business, you might think, “personal development? Ha! I need business development!” But you know what? They go hand in hand. By working on your personal development, the effects on your business will be massive. 

Want to know more? Sure you do! Keep reading for my ultra-simple guide to growing your business through personal development. 

What Is Personal Development Anyway?

Personal development is the actions you take to invest in yourself. No, I’m not talking about buying that new pair of shoes in the store window!

When you take action towards self-improvement, you’ll be putting yourself into a growth mindset and adopting a more open attitude. The priorities you have for your personal development are unique to you. 

They might include: 

• Taking a class and gaining further education
• Working on your health and fitness
• Learning a language
• Practicing your communication skills
• Using a gratitude journal
• Changing your negative beliefs around money, relationships or business
• Drawing up goals and a plan to meet them
• Working on your self-awareness

Personal development is anything that adds to who you are and builds or strengthens your skills. It’s called “personal” because it starts with you. But it has sweeping effects across your life. 

If we never engaged in any personal development, in ten years we’d still be exactly the same as who we are right now! By striving for personal development, in ten years you’ll look back and marvel at how far you’ve come. 

The Importance of Personal Development

Life is not a race! We’re not all the same, our priorities are different, and our routes to personal success won’t look the same as anybody else’s. That means the choices you make when deciding what parts of yourself you want to work on are 100% up to you. 

When you make those decisions, you’ve already begun to empower yourself, putting you solidly on the path to personal development.

As the amazing author Jen Sincero says in her bestselling book You Are a Badass, “If you’re serious about changing your life, you’ll find a way. If you’re not, you’ll find an excuse.” 

No more excuses! Personal development is the means to change your life.  

Understand Your Values

We tend to put more effort into the things we truly care about. The things we truly value. But sometimes we get distracted, follow the paths of other people, and lose sight of our values. 

A key step in personal development is to work out what’s important to you. Maybe your values are honesty, openness, and diligence. Maybe they’re freedom and family first. 

When you hone in on your personal values, you can measure everything in your life and business against them. If you’re doing things against your values, you’ll find an area of conflict. Aligning everything in your life to your values will help show you the path you should be following. 

This alignment flows into your business too. Are close family relationships top of your values list? Why not integrate your family into your business?

Grow as a Person

We don’t stop learning when we leave school. Our confidence, emotional intelligence, and relationship skills are all things we can focus on for the benefit of ourselves and others. 

When you pursue personal development, you’ll be growing as a person. If you want to become more appreciative and stop taking things for granted, why not start a gratitude journal? A simple step like this fundamentally changes the way you think and helps you approach everything with an open heart. 

In his book The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, John C. Maxwell talks about the only person you should be comparing yourself to is who you were yesterday. This is such a powerful point. Personal development is about improving yourself, not about being better than other people. 

Focus on Your Goals

I’m sure you’re a kick-ass multi-tasker but you can’t do everything at once! Personal development is a life-long pursuit so focus on the goals that matter to you most right now. 

Many personal development goals aren’t all that measurable in numbers, but they are in feeling. Want to feel more comfortable networking? Educate yourself about it, start small by having a coffee with a fellow local entrepreneur, and build from there. When you leave a networking event feeling elated, you’ll know you aced that goal.  

If your goals seem like faraway dreams that you don’t believe you can achieve, I have a book for you. Annie F. Downs’ fantastic book 100 Days to Brave will guide you through that negative self-talk and show you that you’re absolutely capable. This is a book that has the power to change your life. 

Broaden Your Skills

Many skills are transferable across your life and your business. From confident communication to amazing calligraphy skills, building and strengthening skills is a key type of personal development. 

When you push yourself to learn new things, you’re teaching yourself that learning is attainable for you. This helps open you up to even more opportunities and a can-do attitude. Vital for business!

Develop a Growth Mindset

Personal development is crucial for business growth, even if you’re focusing on improving parts of your life that don’t seem related to your business. 

Prioritizing fitness? Great! You’ll have more energy to grow your business. The hard work you put into keeping fit will also put you into a growth mindset. If you can lift those weights when you couldn’t before, why can’t you launch a new service that you couldn’t before?

Pursuing personal development shifts your attitude from fixed to growth. This has one of the most powerful knock-on effects on the way you do business. You’ll shift from, “I can’t” to “I can!”

Pursue Personal Development to Grow Your Business

Behind every business, you’ll find people. Behind your business, there’s you! The importance of personal development is mammoth when it comes to running a successful business. No matter how many steps you break your personal development into, every day you’ll be improving. 

It’s not about becoming a new person, but building upon the amazing person you already are. With focused priorities, clear values, and a growth mindset, your personal development journey will help fuel your business growth. 

Love the sound of personal development and growing your business? Check out Larissa Jones’ story about how she transformed her life and built a business from scratch.