Where to Find Information When You Think Don't Have Any

If you just started your business or a new offer, don't let the lack of previous records or the fact that you're just starting out fool you.

It's wrong to think you have no business numbers at all.

You can still work with business numbers.

I'm going to tell you where you can find information that is relevant for your company and free to use.

Let's follow Chris, our friendly neighbourhood course creator, who is going to find out what the most impactful course she can build next is.

She has plenty of options, even when focusing only on her main skills.

She will research existing courses, what her clients need, and more.

Once she has gathered this information, she will make a decision.

Disclaimer:

I want to be clear from the outset that I am not being paid by any of the companies listed here to advertise them. I am simply using them as examples of well-known companies that I have not necessarily tried myself. I'm using them to clarify what kind of platform we're talking about. It should be read as "including but not limited to".

Different platforms fit different needs. This is about the general approach. If you have another company or platform you know or want to try, go ahead with it!

Let's start!

#1: In-house Data Gathered by Yourself

We must stop making the mistake of thinking that we have no data and therefore no information.

We simply fail to recognise that we already have it or that it is at our disposal.

Chris has already gathered data on her previous courses, including feedback on their success and customer satisfaction.

However, she has not yet collected this information for her future courses.

But she has clients.

She decides to incentivise responses to her survey. She decides to send her survey on her website platform or another platform.

In a week or so, she will know exactly what her clients want: a course they would love to attend.

#2: In-house Data Gathered by Someone Else

If you don't have the time or reach to do the survey yourself, it's best to delegate.

After selecting a possible topic, Chris decides to go further in the research, but is suddenly asked to lead a live workshop on a topic she already made the course on. She decides to move forward with the workshop and delegate the information gathering to another consultancy company, like Survey Monkeys.

In about a week she will have more indepth answers about some details of her future course.

#3: Outside Source of Information for a Price

You need to know about your clients and the world outside them.

You can find already-made insights about the world outside.

After checking with her clients about the possibilities and some course topics, Chris is going to check what's going on out there and what the general interest is.

She goes on Statista, a (paid) website with worldwide insights, and checks about "courses on data".

She is going to create a course on a topic that is less covered but still useful.

There are plenty of already-made insights websites out there – for a price.

She selects the report she needs and starts reading.

#4: Outside Data for Free

This is a great way to get insights that others may not have considered yet. It's also ideal for those who need information about a specific niche.

Sometimes you can find the data, but not the insights.

It's time to roll up your sleeves and do it yourself.

Or you can delegate.

Chris didn't find any recent information on the potential future pay increase her students might receive for this new skill.

She goes on Kaggle and uses the search bar to find a dataset to use. If this fails, she will go through WorldData, UE Datasets, Open City [name of your city], and so on.

Killing the Bias

I have never known of a company that has no data.

In fact, I have found companies in situations where they have no relevant data for a specific insight or information.

That's not the end of the quest, it's the beginning!

Good luck on your search!

Make sure you follow the good practices when getting insights!