Databases for Small Business

Book excerpt: 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. Anna Manning—a data scientist who has worked on database design and data analysis in a computer science university research lab, her own small business, and a nonprofit—walks you through the progression of steps that will enable you to extract actionable intelligence and maximum value from your business data in terms of marketing, sales, customer relations, decision making, and business strategy. Dr. Manning illustrates the steps in the book with four running case studies of a small online business, an engineering startup, a small legal firm, and a nonprofit organization. Databases for Small Business teaches non-techie entrepreneurs and professionals how to: Design a small business database from scratch Extract the maximum profit from your data Follow guidance on data protection law Effectively use data collection and data cleansing techniques Train staff to leverage your data