Danielle Zeigler

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10+ Low-Cost or Free Continuing Education Resources

One of the most important things you can do for yourself, no matter what your profession, is to continue your education. As an entrepreneur this is even more vital. Staying on top of industry trends and changes and sharpening your skills is entirely on your shoulders as a business owner. Thankfully, there are TONS of free or low cost options these days.

10+ Resources for Low-Cost or Free Continuing Education Courses:

1. Coursera Coursera offers weeks-long free or low-cost classes from some of the top universities, such as Yale and Stanford. Find classes in everything imaginable, plus receive certificates for completing the courses. I've had my eye on the entrepreneurial classes and nutrition classes.

2. Skillcrush Skillcrush is an online community helping people learn digital skills to help find more lucrative and fulfilling jobs, no matter what your background is. The courses aren't free, but they'll help you convince your boss to pay for the investment (and they're comparatively very cheap).

3. Skillshare Skillshare offers free classes on everything from fashion to HTML. The website states, "Skillshare is an online learning community to master real-world skills through project-based classes. Our mission is simple: provide universal access to high-quality learning." I haven't personally tried this site but I'm excited to look around. I've heard great things from friends in the industry.

4. Lynda.com Lynda.com has video tutorials for skills like photography, web development, design and business. For $25 a month you get unlimited access to all of the videos and for a little bit more you can get documents to work along for hands-on learning. I've used the site in the past and found it very helpful when trying to learn new software.

5. Codecademy The tagline says pretty much all you need to know- "Learn to code interactively, for free." The coding is broken down into manageable chunks. I've used this site and found it very valuable.

6. Treehouse Treehouse has a variety of classes for the tech industry from web development and mobile apps to starting your own business. Prices are from $25-$49 per month.

7. Udemy I've heard really great things about Udemy, but haven't used it yet. The site states, "We’re the world’s online learning marketplace, where 4 million+ students are taking courses in everything from programming to yoga to photography–and much, much more. Each of our 18,000+ courses is taught by an expert instructor, and every course is available on-demand, so students can learn at their own pace, on their own time, and on any device."

8. Muse University This is a new-to-me site that I can't wait to check out. The site helps you figure out what you want to do and then helps you work on the skills you'll need to achieve it. The classes seem to be a little more general, like how to network, prepare for interviews and be more productive.

9. Google Analytics Academy If you have your own website, blog or work with any websites, it's important to know how to use Google Analytics. Google offers free classes to help you learn more easily.

10. The Ultimate List of Educational Websites

Have you used any online continuing education courses? What did you think?