back to school | online classes and resources to upgrade your creative business skills

Back-to-school is typically about the kids, but it’s also a great time for adults to think about their own educations, too. The options for brushing up on old skills or learning new ones are cheaper and easier to access than ever before, so let’s start off the school year by taking our own skills to the next level. Not sure where to start? Here are a few of my favorite online resources for learning everything from branding to blogging, programming to photography.

If you haven’t tried an online course or webinar before, you’re in for a surprise. They can be a cheap, sometimes even free, way to grow your skillset right from your home or favorite coffee shop. Many of them allow you to move at your own pace meaning you can work it into your schedule and not the other way around. Plus, the variety of courses available is basically limitless. Let’s get started – 

CreativeLive – Featuring courses in photography, video, design, business, audio, music, crafting and software training, CreativeLive offers free, live online workshops by bringing the world’s leading experts directly to you. Anyone can watch their live online workshops for free and interact with instructors in real time, or classes can be purchased to watch at a later date. I recently signed up for Lisa Congdon’s Become a Working Artist workshop through CreativeLive. I’ve only completed the first session but I’m looking forward to finding out what it takes to break into the art world, reach new audiences and build a vibrant, rewarding career in art! I also recommend Melanie Duncan’s class Unlock the Power of Pinterest if you’re interested in learning how to harness the power of this social media mega-tool for your business.

Brit + Co – If you’ve always wanted to learn a new craft or skill, then Brit + Co has you covered. Their videos are beautifully produced, and you can even snag all the supplies you need by purchasing kits for each skill directly on their site. Are you a new business owner? Check out their tech and design classes. Topics include brand identity, logo design, small business money management and HTML + CSS coding. Just want to learn something new? Check out beer brewing, succulent gardening or jam making!

Skillshare – Skillshare is an online learning community with more than 3,000 classes. For $8 a month, or $96 a year, you get access to their catalog of classes that cover everything from Photoshop to SEO, personal finance, animation, HTML, recipe, design and copywriting. Without a paid subscription, you can enroll in several hundred classes. The classes are bite-sized, usually less than a half hour, and you can take them at your own pace on your own time. Another thing that’s great about Skillshare is that you can sign up to be a teacher and share your own talents. I recently completed the Getting Started with Email Marketing free course. I’ve always been curious about this aspect of promoting myself (and I’d been putting it off for quite some time), so when I saw the class, I jumped at the opportunity. It broke down the process into smaller steps that seem much less intimidating and detailed what makes an email marketing campaign successful.

A Beautiful Mess – A Beautiful Mess is a very successful women’s lifestyle company focused on creating happiness every day through a homemade lifestyle. They’ve tackled books, apps and their own product line. In their classes, Elsie and Emma along with guest contributors, share how they approach business ideas and lots of the lessons they’ve learned over the years while watching their company grow. Course topics include – photography, small business advice, scrapbooking, sewing and blogging. In ABM’s Start Small Dream Big course, they will show you how to approach your big idea like a business and set yourself up for success. You will learn how to create a vision and business plan, brand your new venture, launch and marketing strategies, how to evolve with your customers and how to keep them coming back.

Social Studio Shop – Social media is by far your most powerful tool as a creative. It is how you reach new audiences, market products or services and build a recognizable brand. Through their workshops, online courses and one-on-one consulting sessions, Social Studio Shop’s goal is to help you fall in love with social media and genuinely connect with your audience. Do you feel stuck in a rut with your social media? Maybe you’re not sure what you should post to attract your ideal audience? In How to Create Unforgettable Content to Up Your Social Media Game, you will learn key strategies to reach more people, how to build your brand and how to make a bigger impact with each post.

Blogging For Keeps – When I first started my blog several years ago, it seemed all you needed to do was throw up a few words and some nice pictures. These days things have changed. Successful blogs need to be much more strategic about content creation and delivery. Blair and Jess of Blogging for Keeps provide tons of helpful tips, tricks and worksheets to plan, produce and organize clickable content.

There you have it! My top picks for online courses and resources that are sure to make you better and more well-rounded. Additional skills and expertise are never bad things, so go ahead and give one or two of these courses a try. More online courses and resources can be found here – Coursera, Udemy, Udacity, CreatorUp, Lynda, Adobe KnowHow and The Nectar Collective.

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