You will quickly learn that in business, learning the ropes isn’t so much about eking out a fortune to be in university or any other business course. Getting your hands dirty can teach you as much or even more about entrepreneurship than a formal class. The real wonder of doing things on your own arises from the use of the internet, where information is rampant, free and incessant.

With resources at your fingertips, there is much to sift through but here are a few places you might want to visit, coffee (or tea!) in hand.

You can start with a site that the BBC itself recommends. Biz/Ed is a known resource amongst business students and teachers. It offers insight into current issues on business. It is also a venue for discussion, research, and problem based learning. Learning materials are organized into areas of study such as Accounting, Business Studies, Economics and others, that provide for easy access to notes, presentations, activities, current topics, etc.

Listening to experts can impart knowledge that you wouldn’t usually encounter during your learning arc. SmallBizPod at offers practical advice in podcasts for start ups and businesses of all sizes. There is a blog updated every few days and a separate area for business news that may be pertinent to you. Articles tackle existing issues such as environment in relation to business, the maze called finances, and others. As a whole, the entire site is dedicated to bringing you real entrepreneurs, who share their insights and trade secrets.

Internet business has its own resource in Internet Business Mastery. Similar to SmallBizPod, Internet Business Mastery is a community of internet business entrepreneurs who are ready to share their wisdom. They can offer advice on how creating a killer website or on streamlining your business. From making your business profitable to giving you the necessary tools to financial freedom, they offer a wealth of tutorials, tips, and secrets in the form of videos, articles, and podcasts.

Studying the competition also gives you something that school definitely won’t. Those more successful than you have developed new (and probably exciting) ways of making their business more profitable. Take their ideas and make them your own, or create a new twist on how they do things. Be it a new system of automation or a more efficient way of handling payments.

Be truly wise: learn from others’ mistakes more often, so you won’t have to learn from your own.