My son just earned his driving permit.  When he slips into the driver’s side and carefully adjusts the mirrors and seat, I realize that everything is new to him.  Yet at some point, he’ll run on autopilot and driving will seem second nature to him.

When I look back at my career and think about every job I’ve ever had, I realize I’ve experienced the same thing. At first I’d learn everything I could and then eventually I’d go into autopilot.  There was nothing new to learn, my boss refused to do anything differently and I quit using my business skills.

Working from home has changed everything.  As my own boss, I can’t afford to sit back and coast through each business day.  Instead, I make a conscious effort to develop more skills. This keeps me in the loop and keeps my business from being left behind.  There are a few ways to do the same.

• Sign up for webinars in your field. You could spend a solid year (virtually) attending every webinar offered on the Web and still you couldn’t attend all of them. The good news is that because there are many free, quality webinars out there, your only investment is time.

• Read whatever and whenever you can. The Internet is filled with articles on almost any topic you can think of. So why not take advantage of free advice from experts around the world? Advice from business books will cost you more, but if you switch to ebooks you’ll spend less than you would on a traditional book and you’ll be able to take hundreds of books with you at all times that weigh next to nothing.

• Get involved in online forums. Forums are a great way to network with others and build business relationships that will help you grow your business. The bottom line is that you don’t have to meet face-to-face with someone to share ideas and information.

• Enroll in classes you can take online or in person. Either way, classes involve time and money. Decide whether the investment is worth it.

As my son continues to develop his driving skills, I continue to learn new ways to grow my business. I’m also getting better at not pressing an imaginary brake while he’s driving.