In the information age, businesses generate tons of data on almost everything they do. Many companies are taking advantage of this by turning to data analytics to gain valuable insights from their data to improve their business.
The concept of entrepreneurship isn’t new, and it has evolved to include different styles and techniques as technology has advanced over time. Business intelligence and data analytics have become fundamental tools in modern-day entrepreneurial thinking and implementation.
With the right data analytics software and business intelligence, there’s no limit to what you can do as an entrepreneur. Data and analytics can give you the information you need to help your business succeed in various ways, including by increasing efficiency and gaining more customers.
What is entrepreneurship?
Entrepreneurship is the process of creating a new enterprise or taking an existing business into a new market with the hope of becoming successful. Entrepreneurs work within a specific field and are experts in their industry.
Some entrepreneurs start businesses to satisfy their needs, while others sell products for profit. Whatever your motivation, entrepreneurship requires an ongoing commitment from its founders.
When you take on this responsibility, you must have as many tools in your toolbox as possible. One of those tools should be data analytics.
For instance, if you want to know what works (and doesn’t work) with your customers, track their behavior online and off. Use this knowledge to design more intelligent marketing campaigns.
What is data-driven entrepreneurship?
Data analytics is a powerful tool for entrepreneurs in today’s competitive market. Incorporating data can help you understand your customers, identify trends and make informed decisions.
To better understand and interpret such data, you can enroll in an Online MBA program with a significant concentration in business analytics and data management. You can find some of the best online MBA programs at accredited institutions such as Aston University.
Their program connects you with the entrepreneurial community as you familiarize yourself with data storage, integration, cleaning and retrieval. This program will also prepare you for an elite-level certification in some of the most popular software, including SAS, SAP, and others.
Data-driven entrepreneurship aims to make your business more proactive rather than reactive. By incorporating data into your decision-making process, you can stay ahead of the competition and better serve your customers.
For example, if you are in the retail industry, data could tell you how many people visited your store and how much they spent during their visit. This information might reveal gaps in services where customer needs have not been met which might lead to innovative solutions.
9 types of entrepreneurships you can pursue
While some people may define an entrepreneur as someone who started their own business, you can pursue different types of entrepreneurships.
Each type of entrepreneurship has its benefits and drawbacks. As a result, it’s up to you to decide which one best matches your skill set and ambitions.
Small business entrepreneurship
A small business entrepreneurship is owned and operated privately by an individual or group. There are many types of small businesses, but the main categories are service-oriented businesses, product-oriented businesses or hybrids.
The service-oriented small business entrepreneur typically provides accounting, advertising, consulting or massage therapy services. The product-oriented small business entrepreneur typically makes goods, such as clothing or food products.
Lastly, the hybrid small business entrepreneur may provide services such as consulting while making clothing products.
Social entrepreneurship
Many people think a business is for profit, but it does not have to be. A social entrepreneur creates companies and organizations intending to improve society.
These include businesses that provide goods or services to underserved communities, create jobs in impoverished areas and develop environmentally friendly products. They are committed to the idea that companies can help tackle social problems while still being profitable.
For example, a business might seek to alleviate poverty by employing those living below the poverty line or producing eco-friendly clothes made from recycled materials.
Large company entrepreneurship
Large company entrepreneurship refers to entrepreneurship within a large corporation, with the goals of establishing a new venture or taking over an existing one.
Regarding companies’ life cycles, large companies tend to have a finite number of life cycles. For example, once the company has matured, growth might slow, and the entrepreneur might need to change the company’s strategy for it to thrive.
A viable option is pivoting, which is the process of tweaking or switching the core product or service to address customer needs and market conditions.
For instance, companies like Google and Microsoft are considered prominent entrepreneurs because they create products and services based on consumer demand. They can sustain innovation and provide goods that meet people’s needs.
Scalable startup entrepreneurship
A scalable startup is a business with the potential to grow rapidly over time. Scalable startups typically have a business model that can grow with little incremental investment.
You can often refer to these businesses as lean because they don’t require significant capital infusions to grow. Scalable startups are technology-oriented and often offer software, telecommunications or computer hardware services.
People often attribute their scalability to these industries’ reliance on technology and ability to expand quickly through increased production, marketing efforts and customers. Some examples of these types of entrepreneurships include Facebook, Uber and Instagram.
Technology and innovative entrepreneurship
Technology and innovative entrepreneurship are exciting fields for anyone who loves to be creative and solve problems.
This type of entrepreneurship is perfect for people who want to use their design, programming, engineering or science skills to create new products or services.
To pursue this kind of entrepreneurship, you must think creatively and solve problems. There are also opportunities to expand your creativity by taking on side projects in different fields.
Hustler entrepreneurship
A hustler entrepreneur is someone who pursues a variety of entrepreneurial endeavors to make money and find the right one that fits their skills. Hustler entrepreneurs usually have knowledge of multiple industries and can pick up new skills quickly.
They usually start small and prefer to put in hard work rather than capital to grow into a bigger business. Their motto is: If you want to build something, it’s not always about starting with a large-scale vision.
Sometimes it’s about starting with nothing and making it work. One way to get started as a hustler entrepreneur is by working for yourself as an independent contractor or freelancer.
Imitator entrepreneurship
An imitator entrepreneur is a company or person who creates something similar without adding much value. For example, you might be an imitator if you were to create a clone of Snapchat and add features such as extra security.
When looking at imitators, you need to make sure they are sustainable. Imitators are only good if they continue their business model and avoid becoming complacent by finding ways to continually improve their products.
Researcher entrepreneurship
Research entrepreneurship is a type of entrepreneurship that focuses on the research and development of new products and services. These entrepreneurs usually start their businesses with the help of an established company, such as a university or government entity.
They work to solve problems with innovative solutions designed to satisfy an unmet societal need. Research entrepreneurs leverage data, logic and facts rather than instinct, emotion and hunches when making decisions.
Buyer entrepreneurship
A buyer entrepreneur doesn’t create or sell anything. They find a way to buy products as cheaply as possible and resell them at a profit.
This is the most accessible type of entrepreneurship to pursue because you don’t need any additional skills or resources other than your ability to find bargains.
They are not always involved in the day-to-day operations, but they ensure the company meets its financial goals. These types of entrepreneurs are typically the most successful when it comes to building wealth.
7 ways data analytics can help you become a better entrepreneur
Running a business successfully isn’t easy, especially if you’re new to the process. While data analytics can be daunting at first, it can make all the difference in your entrepreneurial endeavors.
Using data analytics to understand your decisions better as an entrepreneur can be the difference between success and failure. Here are seven ways data analytics can help you become a better entrepreneur:
You can keep track of your progress
One of the ways data analytics can help entrepreneurs is by assisting them in keeping track of their progress. A simple way to do this is by tracking your monthly earnings and comparing them to the previous year.
The comparison will give you an idea of how you’re doing, which can help you make decisions about what direction to take your business in.
For example, if your sales are declining, you might want to come up with some new marketing ideas or offers before things get worse.
You can understand your customers
Understanding what your customers want and need will help you better market your product. You can do this through surveys, focus groups and other research methods.
By understanding the customer’s needs, you can tailor your product to their wants, making them more likely to purchase it.
Data analytics can improve your marketing
Data analytics can help you with marketing by showing you what ads are working and which are not. This insight will allow you to spend more time on the ads that work and less time on those that do not.
Another way data analytics can help your marketing is by analyzing your social media presence and showing you how effective it is. If your social data shows that followers are dropping, this could mean that your followers are no longer interested in what you have to say.
Better up-selling and cross-selling
Up-selling and cross-selling are great ways to increase the average ticket size and make your customers feel like they’re getting more for their money. Up-selling is when you suggest an additional, more expensive product or service to your customer.
Cross-selling is when you offer another complementary product or service to a customer who has already made a purchase. Having data on what products people are interested in can make up-selling and cross-selling much easier.
Streamline your operations
Data analytics can help you streamline your operations by ensuring there are no inefficiencies.
For example, if your social media team puts out too many daily posts and does not drive engagement, it might be time to evaluate the posted content. This action will allow you to spend more time improving your product or service and less time performing tasks that don’t add value.
Make better decisions
As an entrepreneur, you know that data can help you make decisions faster and avoid costly mistakes.
However, it can also hold you back from taking risks by showing you the absolute worst-case scenario. Knowing how to use data strategically is one of the most critical skills for any modern-day entrepreneur.
After all, data analytics helps entrepreneurs:
- Identify key opportunities
- Find ways to increase profitability
- Detect fraudsters before they damage your company’s reputation
You can analyze your competitors
One of the best ways to use data analytics is to monitor the competition. Keeping tabs on your competitors will help you determine what they are doing right and what you can do better.
It’s also an excellent way to learn more about their customers. If they have gaps in their offerings, this may be an opportunity for you to grow your own business by offering that service or product.
Wrapping up
Data analytics is powerful and can improve your life as an entrepreneur. From marketing to finances, data analytics can help you grow your business and become better at what you do.
You can start by looking at the basics, such as how many people visit your website. Then move on to more complex analyses such as which of your products are most popular or whether there is any correlation between two things that might not seem related.
Whatever you do, always have goals in mind before starting anything new so that you know what success looks like for your business.
