Rethinking Data Literacy: Beyond the Corporate Bubble
Rethinking Data Literacy: Beyond the Corporate Bubble
Every time I see a data literacy campaign, it’s from a corporate viewpoint. It’s marketed towards corporate organizations, using corporate language and assuming corporate knowledge. But data literacy shouldn’t be confined to the corporate world. It should thrive outside of it, and we need to talk about that more. However, that’s easier said than done.
Corporate organizations have budgets, education teams, and decision-makers who can say, “Okay, let’s do this.” Yet, they often choose not to invest in much-needed data education. Why provide education when employees will seek it out on their own? It saves budget.
But this mindset leads to two major outcomes:
Employees crave investment in their development to feel valued by their organization. When that doesn’t happen, they become restless and consider leaving.
A less educated, disengaged, and apathetic workforce never reaches its full potential.
There’s been a shift recently: feeling disenfranchised, many have left the corporate world to start their own businesses. When you start your business, everything falls on you—from education to purchasing to marketing and data. Business owners are often incredibly intelligent, but they must be jacks and jills of all trades, masters of none. This can cause certain business areas to languish, including data literacy.
People don’t start businesses to fail. They start them to thrive personally and have more flexibility in their lives away from a corporate monolith. Data can be their path to thriving and reaching those goals that were pivotal to starting their business in the first place.
Data is essential to answer the simple question, “How is my business doing?”. Ask a typical business owner this, and they might need some time to dig for an answer. Many take admin days to address this question, often focusing solely on financials. But business health isn't just about financials; it’s about multiple factors that data can help you understand:
What are my business goals this year, and what is my progress?
How engaged is my customer base?
How is my website performing?
Is there seasonality in my business, and do I need to adjust for it?
How is my sales funnel doing, and who is in each stage?
What are my top-selling products or services, and why are they performing well?
Are my marketing efforts effective, and how can they be improved?
What feedback am I receiving from customers, and how can I act on it?
How efficient are my operations, and where can I cut costs or improve processes?
What are the emerging trends in my industry, and how can I adapt?
Data isn’t just about tracking profit and sales; it’s about tracking various aspects of your business to get a comprehensive view of its health. Every small business owner has the opportunity to understand how healthy their business is, and I can help with that. As intimidating and nebulous as “data” might seem, I want to demystify it and educate business owners along the way.
Ready to figure out the health of your business? Reach out to me today.
