The simple fact is that Big Data is more than just large sets of data, it is a revolution in information that reaches and includes anyone with access to an internet connection. The information and capabilities of Big Data are available to all organizations small, medium, and large alike. The size of these data sets may differ from gigabytes to terabytes or even petabytes but the fact is, organizations with a presence online can all begin to access the potential of the Big Data revolution. From simply installing a free version of Google Analytics onto a website, paying as little as $2000 a year for Splunk, or accessing the data already collecting on a website’s structured database, the capabilities of collecting increasingly large amounts of data insights are a reality. The difficulty now lies in knowing what to look for and having the right people looking for it.

Deciding what kind of information will help drive your organization’s success before you start mining data will save a lot of time and frustration. This can be anything from Customer Lifetime Value to email Click-Through Rates to just simply site visits. Define these initial KPIs early then experiment with new data insights as they become available. But just as important, ensure that you have the right people extracting and creating these insights because without them, the data is just another stream of endless information. These people include your analysts, developers, marketers, or anyone with access to your data stream that can provide insight.

Please join me at the Big Data World Canada 2013 Conference on March 5 as I and other speakers present this topic and other related Big Data topics in more depth.

The story about these boxes is important for three reasons:

1. It was a task we had never planned on undertaking.
2. We learned everything from scratch.
3. We didn’t pay anyone to start until we found a reasonable price.

It was very extremely frustrating at first. We had no idea where to start or who to talk to but we not only found what we were looking for, we also found it for a great price with quality work. The final price was literally a quarter that of the highest “bid” for our project. We spent hours searching and calling around until we found someone that would do it for a reasonable price.

Most importantly, when we found that price we bid it down anyways.

Why should you do this?

Well, besides the obvious reason of paying less, it’s for psychological reasons. If you accept their first offer they will automatically feel that they undercharged you. Think about it, haven’t you ever started bargaining for something and when they took the first offer you immediately thought: “I should have asked for more!” That’s why, if you have a bargaining position, always use it, even if you feel like you are already getting a great deal. Plus, this way you find out what the true value of the product is!

Sometimes it takes a bit of trial and error when you’re searching for a supplier. Of course, the goal is to do as much research as possible to limit the amount of loss incurred from any mistakes made from these trials. There are always multiple ways to do the same thing and there is always a payoff between the costs and the quality of any service or product. Sometimes though, the expensive option may not be the best option but not only because of the costs.

Our delivery costs were very high in the beginning because we went with a larger and more organized delivery service. They had large vans and professional drivers but they were incredibly inflexible with our small operation, and incredibly expensive. If we expanded they had a very particular method to charge us that included time, distance, and gas. They also just began venturing into transporting clothing and we were the guinea pigs. Did that matter for us in the end? No, it all came down to costs. They were just too high with this company, we just couldn’t afford them.

What we did notice though, once we switched, was how rigid their method was and how unsuited it was for the size of our company. We are moving from a format of picking up and delivering to individual customers as well as to buildings, how impossible would that be with a company that will calculate every associated cost with each individual client? Again the price would be too high, but also, the time it would take them to make these calculations and get back to us, the opportunity might already be gone!

In short, finding the right supplier may take several tries. In the end, the right choice may have been staring at you in the face the entire time but it takes working with the wrong supplier to realize it. Just make sure it doesn’t cost you too much to find out!

Obviously most businesses aren’t going to be dealing with dry cleaning suppliers unless they are hotels, a business in which its employees wear uniforms, or they are dry cleaning depots. But most businesses are going to be dealing with some type of a supplier.

As a dry cleaner delivery service our main supplier is a dry cleaner themselves. We talked to several different suppliers all with different personality types, services, and different negotiating tactics. The most important point in finding a supplier that you know you are going to have to depend on is someone that you can trust. If you don’t know these people before hand or didn’t have some sort of connection prior, it is likely that there will be trust issues right from the start. If you are planning on having your business operate for years into the future it is so important to find someone that you can build a relationship with.

Before any real negotiations can begin you have to know that your supplier is worth building this relationship with. Ask yourself these questions:

1. Can I work with these people?
2. Are our interests aligned?
3. Do they want my business? (If there is any reluctance on their part don’t waste your time.)
4. Are they transparent about their business practices? (If they are hiding something and you can’t understand why, it might be best not to stick around and find out.)
5. Will they negotiate price?

In our industry price and margins is a very difficult thing to negotiate since nobody wants to give information up. It was worth poking and prodding to find out as much info as we could along the way but often companies are very tight lipped in certain industries. Here are a couple of books that may help in your negotiating tactics:

1. Getting to Yes: Negotiating an Agreement Without Giving In. Roger Fisher and William Ury
2. Secrets of Power Negotiating for Salespeople. Roger Dawson

Okay, so you’ve got a great idea and you think you know exactly how you are going to do it. But wait, there’s a problem. You don’t have any cash!

Well, either did we and no one was all that interested in giving us any either. Unless you have collateral don’t go to the banks because they won’t give you anything unless the can take your house or car if you get behind on your payments. Unless you are starting a biotech firm or something that requires tons of research, it’s unlikely that you will receive any grants. And if you do, you will probably have to invest heavily first.

That being said, DO NOT get suckered into a website promising you all kinds of information on where and how to get grants and loans. These websites are designed to resemble government websites and if you have a partner they will even mention that you call back with the partner, making them sound more legitimate. Here is the link to one of them:

DO NOT USE THIS SITE: http://www.grants-loans.org/

They wanted to charge my partner and me $600 for their “comprehensive package.” When I told them if they could just send me some info first, they said they could only send a one page description! I said fine, and you know what, I never got it!

They are only offering you information that is otherwise free if you just search for it. For instance, I received my funding from CYBF (http://www.cybf.ca/). This is a not-for-profit organization meant for Canadians aged 18-32 and they offer free counselling and business plan help. The phony site I mentioned advertises help getting a CYBF loan. When I mentioned this to CYBF they had never heard of it! Don’t be fooled into giving away your hard earned money, if you have the time do the research yourself. Just because it pops up first in your Google search does not make it legitimate.

This is just in Canada, I’m sure there are plenty for every country out there offering grants and loans. If you live in Canada and you are 32 years or less contact CYBF, it will be worth your while.