Would This Idea Work?
Been thinking about this for a while. All I do at work is run reports in Excel, run pivot tables, graphs, etc. Been working with Excel for 10+ years. Was thinking of creating a small business where I take a business data or they let me have access to their database and I clean up the data and run reports. Or if a company has large ugly data and need it cleaned, look for any duplicates, things their co-workers cannot figure out. Are there companies already out there that does this? I was thinking of charging per project. The only cost I see for me is time.
This sounds like a service that would add a lot of value for companies! But at first glance, I don't think the economics will work in your favor over the long run.
Simply put, why does this problem exist? More specifically, why aren't companies paying someone to fix their data and run reports already?
As a total outsider, I see the solutions to data problems like this:
So your challenge is going to be convincing companies that it's a problem worth solving while at the same time charging so little that you don't compete with hiring a junior data person full time.
Could you also run a workshop for companies to teach them better data hygiene? i.e. You show up, fix their data, and then run an hour info session (with slides, etc.) on how to keep their data tidy? This might be a more 'premium' offering and worth the price you'd need to charge to run this as a sustainable business.
Please take my feedback as just some guy on the internet. I wrote out my response above hoping to help you think about your idea from a new angle, not because I'm an expert. I'm probably wrong! Good luck.
IH can't answer that question for you - the biggest struggle for me (and I think most IHers) is validating ideas and finding a fit.
It sounds useful to me, but I'm not a business with data to be reported on :)
Since you do this, you have some insight into: whether it's valuable, company openness to security issues, what it's worth, etc. Since you work in the area, do you have contacts or know where others that do similar work (or have similar needs) congregate? They're the ones you should be talking to :)
I only do this for my company. I think most company probably just hire a person to do reporting. I had a few ideas in the past and when I was way too deep into it, I find out there's already large competition out there that I did not know existed. A Google search brought up nothing, so I figured IH would be a place to go.
This comment was deleted 7 years ago