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Databases for small business: essentials of database management, data analysis, and staff training for entrepreneurs and professionals
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Manning / Anna
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2015
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How data can benefit your small business -- A small engineering company : case study -- A small law firm : case study -- A small nonprofit : case study -- Aligning your database with the goals of your small business -- Chosing between spreadsheets and databases -- Designing your small business database -- Data protection, security, and privacy policy -- Collecting your data -- Cleansing your data -- Maintaining your database -- Searching your database -- Analyzing your data -- Reporting your small business data analysis -- Acting on reports -- Acting on outside requests -- Archiving your database -- Storing your database in the cloud -- Searching online databases -- Training your staff.;This book covers the practical aspects of database design, data cleansing, data analysis, and data protection, among others. The focus is on what you really need to know to create the right database for your small business and to leverage it most effectively to spur growth and revenue. Databases for Small Business is a practical handbook for entrepreneurs, managers, staff, and professionals in small organizations who are not IT specialists but who recognize the need to ramp up their small organizations use of data and to round out their own business expertise and office skills with basic database proficiency--

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Anna Manning 2015

Anna Manning Databases for Small Business 10.1007/978-1-4842-0277-7_1

1. How Data Can Benefit Your Small Business

Anna Manning 1

(1)

Chester, UK

Collecting and analyzing data is important to your small business because it can improve efficiency and profitability. Data can provide a record of what has been going onwho your customers are, what their demographic is, and what theyve bought. It can enable you to find trendsfor example, your customers favorite products. There are hidden patterns in data that are important to your business, such as groups of products that sell together. Data can provide an archive that can be searched.

When those in small businesses find out what an enormous difference their data can make to them they are generally fascinated to find out more. The fact is, for small businesses, data is collected about many aspects of their operations already. All businesses collect details about income and expenditure in order to satisfy tax requirements. Many businesses collect the names and addresses of their customers so that they can contact them.

The aim of this book is to demonstrate that the data you are collecting has benefits far beyond its initial purpose. The book will explain the value of your data and show you how to take full advantage of it. The book is designed to be an introduction to databases and a signpost to further references, should these be necessary.

As a starting point, I am assuming that you have a basic familiarity with packages such as word processing and spreadsheets, but are completely inexperienced with databases. Further, I am aware that most small businesses dont have only one person working exclusively on their data and that most of their staff has several roles in the company. I also assume that your small business is constrained by a small budget.

You may have been using your data ineffectively for some time without realizing its full potential. If this is the case you will be delighted to have the improved insights and data analysis presented in this book. And, if you are simply storing your data without using it for anything beyond whats absolutely necessary, you will be pleasantly surprised to realize that the first and most important steps of learning the techniques for processing and analyzing your data are well within your reach.

Your business could be at one of a number of stages. You could be starting out and be keen to making sure you are fully abreast of the latest technology. You may have been operating for some time and wish to encourage further growth. Or your business may be experiencing challenging times and is looking for help to move forward. Whatever your circumstances, you will find that your data can make a significant difference to the profitability of your business.

What Is Meant by Data and Databases

The following sections describe the meaning of data and spreadsheets. Databases are introduced by using spreadsheets as a starting point.

Data

Data can take many forms, including numbers, text, images, hyperlinks, and sound. Data can be about any subject at all, or be about more than one subject.

Spreadsheets

As mentioned, I am assuming that you are familiar with spreadsheets, some common examples being Microsoft Excel, LibreOffice Calc, and Google Sheets. I will use a spreadsheet as a starting point for describing databases.

Spreadsheets and databases are both used to store and manage data. A very simplistic way of expressing the difference is to regard a spreadsheet as a large sophisticated programmable calculator and a database as a highly efficient electronic filing system that makes data quickly available for look-up and analysis. The main differences between spreadsheets and databases are how they store and manipulate data and often the amount of data involved.

A spreadsheet stores data items (e.g., numbers, text, and hyperlinks) in cells, with multiple cells represented in a system of rows and columns. Values in one cell can be related to values in other cells with the relationship defined by a formula.

Two of the most serious problems with spreadsheets are as follows:

Storing repeated data : The same data may be stored in multiple spreadsheets. If you need to make changes to the data, the same change is likely required in every location where the data is stored, thus increasing the risk of errors.
Finding data : Finding an item of data in a spreadsheet can involve scanning across numerous columns.

Hypothetical Example of a Small Business: Cards for Everyone Inc.

This book uses three case studies for the purposes of illustration: a small engineering firm, a small law firm, and a small nonprofit. They are introduced in the next three chapters. In addition, youll read about a hypothetical example that depicts a small online business called Cards for Everyone Inc., which sells a range of cards online.

Cards for Everyone Inc. buys cards from a range of suppliers and displays images of them on its web site for sale. The web site was designed by a contractor so that employees of the company can update it themselves. The business has three employees: Pat, Zeph, and Leona.

Pat, the manager, has a number of roles, including buying the supplies and marketing the business. Pat must keep the web site up to date as stock levels change.

Zeph and Leona are assistants who process the orders by locating cards in the stockroom and putting them into envelopes for distribution. When new stock arrives, they place it in the storeroom and pass the details on to Pat so that she can update the web site.

A database addresses both of these issues. Repeated data items are minimized by splitting the data into tables (made up of rows and columns) so that, ideally, each data item is stored only once. Very efficient data retrieval is made possible by relationships defined between the tables: they link the data together and make retrieval efficient. explains the pros and cons of spreadsheets and databases in more detail.

The next section gives an example of a database used by Cards for Everyone Inc.

A Database Used by Cards for Everyone Inc.

Typical data for a given customer in Cards for Everyone Inc. is their name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address. Table shows an example database table containing this data for three customers. Each customer is allocated a row in the table, also known as a record . Every record is divided into five columns, one for each part of the record (i.e., Customer ID, Name, ZIP Code, etc.). Every customer record has a unique customer identification number, called the Customer ID. No two customers can have the same Customer ID, thus avoiding duplication.

Table 1-1.

Basic Customer Database Table

First Name	Last Name	ZIP Code	Phone	E-Mail
Lisa	Garcia	MI 48823	517-xxx-xxxx	Lgarcia@hotmail.com
John	Williams	OR 97062	503-xxx-xxxx	Jwilliams@gmail.com
Steve	Jones	FL 33901	239-xxx-xxxx	Sjones@aol.com

Further database tables at Cards for Everyone Inc. contain details of products, suppliers, and invoices. As with the customers, each product, each supplier, and each invoice is given a unique identification number in their respective tables. Identification numbers can appear in more than one table in order to help construct relationships. At this point, these tables are for illustration purposes only; shows a table of five products for Cards for Everyone Inc., with the Product ID in column 1. Notice that the table has a column for the identification number of the supplier in column 2.

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