I have been able to get by for most of my career with the most basic of math skills. But, with the advent of starting my own small business, not only did I need to re-learn some math techniques, but I needed to brush up on some basic accounting and geometry as well!
I am of the opinion that math is NOT like riding a bicycle. If you don’t use all those formulas and skills you learned in high school and college math classes, I think they do just fall out of one’s head—especially for a non-mathematically inclined English major like me. So, leaving the world of nonprofit management and fundraising behind and embracing some new vocational adventures has required me to go back to the math book to learn about currency conversion and international finance, book keeping and self-employment tax configuration, international time zones and all sorts of mathematical “story problems” that present themselves every day. Who knew that at the age of forty I would need some of that stuff I let go of decades ago?
There are resources available—community colleges and community education programs often offer adult education courses in math. With the advent of the internet, you can also find some great online courses and study resources for brushing up on specific math skills. There are also educational programs available on cd-rom that you can purchase at computer stores, book stores, and educational supply stores that can give you the opportunity to get some needed or lost math for your business in the privacy of your own home and when you have the time.
Just because you can’t remember everything you learned in that 11th grade Algebra class or that one term of personal finance you took years ago, doesn’t mean you can’t re-learn some of that math for the benefit of your home-based business.
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