Learning to code can help entrepreneurs stay ahead of the game

A recent study found that Britain will need 745,000 additional workers with digital skills to continue growing the economy over the next four years, but businesses are struggling to keep up with demand. As large companies invest money and time in plugging the shortfall, will small ventures be left behind? Learning to code could be a starting point for entrepreneurs that want to keep pace with this growing need for digital skills.

Not knowing code can put tech entrepreneurs at a disadvantage. Daniel Thompson, founder of software development firm D4 Software says if you’re running a website or app or selling online, understanding code is a necessity. If you have a large amount of customer data you want to analyse online, you’ll also need code. “Inside a tech startup, you’re either a coder or a sales/marketing person,” he says. “Anyone who thinks they are the ‘ideas guy’ or a general manager is just dead weight.”

For companies outside of the tech sector, coding knowledge might not be vital but Thompson says it can be a huge productivity boost – for example, being able to automate an IT process using code will save you a lot of time from having to do it manually.

He adds: “The people who can’t do it might not think it’s all that important, but over the course of a few years [as a coder] you’ll gradually rise above your peers in terms of what you can achieve.”

While not all businesses are developing a smartphone app or running an e-commerce platform, most are dealing in data and code of some form or another, whether that’s websites or customer details – and that’s where even a basic knowledge of the fundamentals of coding can help.

Amelia Humfress is founder and CEO of Steer, which runs training workshops in building apps and websites. She believes coding training can be beneficial no matter what your area of business.

Coding knowledge can change your approach to projects, the way you look at digital content, and your ability to cost and plan technological initiatives, says Humfress, but you don’t necessarily have to send the whole office on a crash course.

“Putting your team on a coding course won’t replace the need for experienced developers [but] it will help improve communication between departments and get projects delivered on time,” she says. Humfress explains that there are lots of terms developers use that non-coders aren’t familiar with and by picking up a few of these will make it easier to work on tech-based projects together.

Steer’s courses are one to five days in length and focus on completing projects (such as an app or website) rather than learning theory. There are plenty of options online too, with timings and pacings to suit any schedule and most budgets. Treehouse, for example, offers basic plans that start at $25 a month for one person, with tailored pricing for businesses.

Treehouse’s Mary McPherson explains that for many small businesses, having one or two people up-to-speed with coding can be sufficient and it can make sense to hire outside help. However, she adds that “the payoff for being able to build, maintain and grow your own site or app is very compelling.”

Decoded is another digital training firm ready to give individuals and teams an intensive coding crash course. The company has helped more than 3,000 businesses large and small across 40 cities around the world in its four-year history.

Kathryn Parsons, Decoded co-founder and co-chief executive, says: “CEOs and entrepreneurs need to culturally prepare for a shift in skills. The future is written in code, so it’s crucial for small businesses to invest in making their staff digitally literate if they want to thrive in a market where innovation is the road to success.”

Entrepreneur Dickie Wilkinson recently launched a creative marketing company. He is a self-taught amateur coder who says he’s “mostly just learned through Googling stuff”. For Wilkinson, the impetus was when his clients – mostly small businesses, such as solicitors, estate agents and accountants – began to ask him about their web design. While he had insight on what good design looks like, he wanted some background knowledge on how it is built too.

Wilkinson believes learning to code has helped his business. He says: “One of my biggest frustrations in dealing with web designers is the idea that coding is some kind of dark art. Things are just shrouded in tech jargon and, as a business owner, getting to grips with that helps you to feel you’re getting good value for money [with a web designer].”

Dan Burt, managing director at consultancy SparkHR, says there’s a huge shortage of people with the requisite digital and coding skills in the marketplace and businesses are beginning to panic. He says graduate coders are in short supply. He explains that to find people with specialist skills, entrepreneurs are having to tap into the overseas digital talent pool.

Duncan Cheatle, founder of The Supper Club is one such entrepreneur. He recently launched his own tech business recruitment platform, Rise To, with the help of developers in Poland. Cheatle estimates it was three times cheaper to outsource coding work to the eastern European country compared with the UK.

While hiring developing talent from abroad might be the most cost-effective route for some startups, developing in-house expertise could be more efficient in the long-run. We’re not yet at the stage where coding is vital for entrepreneurs and small business staff, but it can certainly make a significant difference.

“In reality, it goes back to the needs and goals of the company,” says McPherson. “If the business is just looking to maintain a website, then having an employee that can work with the specific platform and language is important. There is no one size fits all answer.”

Five essential coding languages to learn

HTML and CSS: the basics of websites, enabling you to learn the skills to create a comprehensive site from scratch. Learn at Steer (5 days, £1,800 per person)

Javascript: adding Javascript to the mix means more complex, interactive websites and even mobile apps are within your reach. Learn at QA (1 day, from £439 per person)

Java: Java offers basic building blocks for making mobile apps and unlike Javascript needs to be compiled and can run outside a browser. Learn at Treehouse (online, from $25 a month)

C#: one of the general purpose foundation languages, like Ruby or Python, that can be used on both computers and the web. Learn at Learning Tree (4 days, from £2,095)

SQL: structured query language helps with handling data in databases, from input to output, and can also be used on the Web. Learn at Pluralsight (online, from $29 a month)

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