There is no doubt that banks turn out some of the smartest people you will find in the society today. The reasons are not far-fetched. Firstly, they seek to recruit the best minds you have in the labour market. They also invest heavily in training their staff. Given that this sector has had about the fiercest competition you would find in any industry - granted that brewery/bottling and telecom sectors have their fair share - it's easy to see why they want skillful and knowledgeable workers. Because banks are literally on their toes, the simply have no choice than work to stay on the cutting edge of ideas. Now, that's a resource that is available to you to tap and build your own capacity.
Opportunity You Can Access
If you are wondering what this has to do with you since you don't work for a bank, then there's something you need to learn. Simply, that's that it's so easy for you to acquire broad-based financial knowledge by relating with banks, provided you desire to learn. You have four primary opportunity areas.
First, when banks seek to market you (whether one-on-one or through open fora), they provide a lot of relevant information that should sharpen your understanding of financial transactions. If you ask questions, you will learn more. If you consider that you can receive marketing interfaces with different bank-marketers in one day, which gives the benefit of multi-perspective and filling of gaps, you will realise what a learning opportunity that can be.
Secondly, when you use banks and process transactions, each step is a learning experience. This is more so when you process a particular transaction for the first time. If you bother to ask questions with a view to learning, you will become financially wiser by the day. Cumulatively, you will acquire knowledge that is not merely to fill the head, but is there to help you operate smarter and achieve better results in what you do.
Banks have specialised desks on various areas of business where those versed in a special field are deployed. Managing SMEs, for example. Or agriculture. Import trade. These are specialised fields of business where banks take care to train people who work on their transactions. If you engage them, you certainly can tap into their wealth of knowledge to improve what you are doing.
Banks also do offer formal advisory services, whether as a business product or as ancillary benefit to their customers. Even when it has to cost a little money to enjoy such financial advisory, it is worth every dime. Don't hesitate to plug into such opportunities to hone your skills, deepen your knowledge and expand experience. Your ability to perform well in personal life and business has a lot to do with your level of financial literacy. Banks, you must realise, are one of the best sources of that education.
Tapping This Knowledge Base
There is no other way to begin to tap into the knowledge base available in banks than by getting to deal with banks. There are individuals and business owners who think they have to amass millions before they can open a bank account. They will easily argue that their capital is too low to permit or necessitate banking. What they fail to realise is that working with a bank can help accelerate the pace of their progress. Don't fall into such self-defeatist thinking because you will only slow down you rate of advancement. Using banks will feed you with the ideas that can generate more business and money, apart from the financial support you can get.
Some people are worried about charges they could suffer at banks. Well, besides the other benefits of banking, you judge what price is too much for all the financial knowledge you can acquire by simply interfacing with bankers.
It's important to, even you you have a basic banking relationship, to have that inquisitive attitude, which is the best way to learn. What this will mean is that you become more disposed to experiencing various offerings that may also be of immense benefit but which you may shun out of timidity. Nobody is recommending dipping your hands into whatever banks offer. You need to evaluate products. But don't fight shy of ideas that you can learn from and eventually find rewarding. You may find online banking frightful, right? Yet, this is a service that you can safely use to great benefit. You also probably don't have a simple ATM card. Your money isn't going to disappear, as you may fear, just because of the machine. They've been in use for ages across the globe and the technology here has also stabilised.
In all, the opinion here is that the educational benefit of dealing with banks is something you shouldn't waive off. Bankers get properly trained, most times, and can impart a lot of ideas to you.
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