I’m going to toot a horn for a second; I’m an avid reader. If I’m not reading several different books then I’m finishing one within a day or two when my schedule allows for the free time. For many people their reading endeavors rely on their hobbies or interests outside of work, but people in my industry know one thing really well – that we have to constantly be learning and what’s the best way to learn? READ!
Today I want to take a look at Reading for Business, which may include tutorials, reviews, features, or news depending on your industry. The easiest examples I can give are ones pertaining to the Design and Development world. If you need to learn to code a javascript navigation menu – you read a tutorial, if you are trying to decide what software to purchase – you read reviews, if you are trying to stay on top of social media applications – you read features, and if you want to know who bought out who – you catch up on industry news. Reading for business happens every day, but you can also go out of your way to read more for your business.
I recently signed up for The Smashing Library which gives me a full year of access to all of the eBooks they have or will release. To date I have 41 eBooks to read from the awesome folks at Smashing Magazine. (I’m currently halfway through reading ‘Successful Freelancing for Designers’)! Other books include subjects like Mastering Photoshop and other programs, HTML Essentials and other development and programming material, and User Experience testing.
If you’re starting or maintaining your own business, entrepreneurial and freelance information are also great to read. For these I tend to follow my sources on social media and sign-up for their blog updates via email. Sometimes its all about business, but often its about how to deal with being in business in general, in which case – it always makes me feel better to know I’m not alone in how I feel!
What do you do for a living and what do you read about your business? If you have any tips or ideas, please let us know below!