Last Updated on February 2, 2023 by Ellen
Wondering why you need data management tips for a small business? Don’t think that just because you aren’t a Fortune 500 company you don’t need to manage your data. No matter how small the amount of data you collect, you still need to have a data management plan in place. If you’re a small business owner, it may seem like data management is overwhelming. But, once you have a plan in place, the process will be much simpler.
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Data Management Tips
Not managing the data you collect properly can result in costly mistakes and problems. By following a few simple data management tips, you’ll be able to create a data management process flow that works for your needs.
Create a System
We collect a variety of different types of data as small business owners including tax information, receipts, check stubs, contracts and contact information. You will need to create a system that allows you to collect data the same way each time. If you decide to save your contracts as the agency name and the date the first time, but then save it as the product name and the date the second time, it will be much more difficult to manage. Using the same data management methods each time is important.
Determine your Needs
How much data will you be storing? The first step is to determine the amount of data storage you need available. Will you be storing this on an external hard drive? Or, will you store it in the cloud? Will you store older data differently than data you reference regularly? How long will you need to store the data? Will you use master data management software?
Backup Procedures
What data management techniques do you have in place for emergencies? You should have backup procedures for all of the data that you store. What if your hard drive is corrupted? What if the cloud system is compromised or the data is accidentally deleted? Or, what if your blog is hacked? Determine how you will back up your data and how you’ll access that information in an emergency.
Outside Help
There will come a point in time when you cannot handle all of your data management by yourself. When this happens, you will want to hire outside help to manage your data in an efficient way. You only have so much time in your day to handle the needs of your business. When data management starts taking more time than you want to devote to it, you’ll want to look into master data management as an option.
So, do you have any other data management tips that work for your business?
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Ellen is a serial entrepreneur who owns 9 profitable blogs, two printable stores, an online vintage jewelry business, and a variety of other work at home endeavors. She shares tips for working at home successfully.