If you are a home-based professional who works on a freelance basis, you are probably well aware that you are in charge of your professional advancement. That is, whether you remain at the same level that you at now or move yourself onward and upward in your career is a product of the choices that you make and the actions that you take. This can be a very empowering thing, as there is no one holding you back from success besides yourself.
Fortunately, career advancement does not require that you spend a great deal of time and money to acquire new skills. There are many great resources that are available online that can help home-based professionals of all stripes advance in their areas of expertise. I have rounded up just a few of the many great offerings out there so that you can know what kinds of things to look for.
Blogs are a great way to pick up interesting ideas and bits of knowledge quickly. I may be a bit biased because, well, I am a blogger myself. There really is a lot of great information for professionals out there on blogs. For example, if you are in sales, Evan Carmichael has a great list of fifty top sales blogs. These bloggers are great sellers, and perhaps their tips and strategies can help you to increase your sales success.
Podcasts, courses, and webinars are also wonderful learning tools for home-based professionals. The Reynolds Center for Business Journalism has free webinars for those who are business journalists and those who want to learn about business journalism. Software Engineer Radio has podcasts for programmers, and the American Society of Cinematographers has podcasts for video producers.
With all of the great professional development resources to be had online, the only question is when will you read or listen to some of them to see what you can learn.