Whether you’re an employee or a business owner, expanding your skills is a fantastic way to make yourself more valuable and build your income. Learning a new skill could open up new career opportunities for you or help you improve your business. Although you can learn quite a bit at work, to really get an edge over our competition, you’ll need to also learn new things when you’re off the clock. Here are a few of the best ways to do just that.

Read

This is one of the simplest and most effective methods to learn a new skill. Considering the vast amount of written content out there, you could learn just about anything you want by reading.

Depending on how in-depth you want to go, you could pick a book that focuses on one specific skill or a book with a more general look at a range of different business-related skills. Don’t forget that there is also plenty of helpful content online to help you learn, and the best part is that much of it is available free of charge.

Take Online Courses

Online courses give you the opportunity to learn a useful skill just like you would in a class, except you’re learning from your own home and on your own schedule. There are many online course sites full of courses, and you could learn everything from coding languages and Oracle training to social media marketing.

You can typically see the course format before you purchase anything, which can help you judge whether a course is the right choice for you. Make sure you also read some of the reviews to verify the course’s quality.

Attend In-Person Training

If you learn best in an environment where you can interact with other people, then you could look for training classes and seminars in your area. In most cities, there are many organizations offering different types of training classes, along with the classes available at any local colleges. With each option, there should be classes available on nights and weekends to accommodate people with day jobs.

Find a Mentor

A mentor can be invaluable in developing your skills and understanding how to use those skills in the real world. And you’ll likely learn quickly since you’re getting one-on-one attention.

Finding a mentor can be tricky, as you not only need to find someone willing to take on that role but who also has the skills you wish to build. One option is asking around throughout your professional network. You could also check LinkedIn for friends and friends of friends who fit the bill.

Watch Informative Videos

Reading isn’t the only way you can learn from online content. Instructional videos are becoming more and more common, giving you another way to learn a new skill. You can look for videos that focus on a specific skill or those that help broaden your understanding of a topic. TED Talks are a great choice for the latter, but you can also simply look up videos of speeches by major figures in the business world.

The good news for you is that there are more ways than ever to pick up new skills during your time off. Just by looking online, you can find all kinds of blog posts, articles, videos and courses that can help you learn almost anything you want. If you’d prefer to learn in person, there’s no shortage of options there, either, including seminars and college courses. Think about your preferred learning method and use that to help you decide on the right option.