Diligence

Waking up an entirely new database is just a flat-out joy.

Building them is an exercise in accretion. Little by little they come to life, then start performing, and pretty soon they're dancing. I flat out love this phase.

Diligence™ is the best work I've ever done with a database. It builds off everything I've learned about making checklists for small business workflow for 35 years. Honestly, the database and I are both dancing right now.

I got some really valuable free help from a stranger this week. His name is Brian Dunning. Brian is a luminary in the FileMaker world. I've never met Brian, but I've been on his site a lot lately, which I'll link below.

Let me set the stage here to show how valuable I think databases can be when done right.

My rule for enterprise databases is to NOT import any old names you can download, rent, or whatever. Enterprise databases - for independent entrepreneurs - should be used just for real, true contacts that you've made or want to. Then your database should control all the resulting quotes and orders, as well as the vendors in your supply chain.

Also, just to set the stage, these are databases for tracking business data, not storing photos, and movies, and music. There are better platforms for those, in my opinion. I use these databases for organizing workflow in small enterprises.

At the end of Banner Graphics' run, after 25 years of commerce, we had about 15,000 individual records in our database. In the modern era, where data capture is easier, I have friends with good current businesses that are 5 years old or so, and have about 5,000 to 10,000 individual records in their files. So, from launch through the the formative years, file size for these databases is typically about 3-4 MB to about 10 MB.

For most small businesses of one person, or just a few people, this would represent a typical number of contacts and related business records.

So I was thinking about the right way to put a marketing piece together showing how simple and fast it is to back up your data in this size range - when you have it organized effectively.

Back to Brian Dunning and his free help. Brian's site lets you download files with many records. The data is computer generated, so it's not for real use, but having access to lots of free records for testing a solution was really valuable.

I first downloaded 500 records and stretched out Diligence™ with a big bunch of new records. Very helpful.

What I noticed when I was getting the 500 free records from Brian's site, was that he also offered downloads of 5,000 records an - get this - 350,000 individual records.

I am far, far out of the loop with database cool kids. I'm a startup guy. I had no idea that files could ever be this big. In case anyone wonders what the most individual records you can put into a FileMaker database, I now know. The answer is 64 quadrillion. Really.

So enquiring minds wanted to know. What does a Diligence™ database with 350,000 individual records feel like? How big a file is that?

I now know, thanks to Mr. Dunning and his free downloads.

A Diligence&trade file with 350,000 records is just under 260 MB.

The entire thing backed up to a memory stick in a USB hub in about 45 minutes. I know it would have been faster if I'd plugged the memory stick directly into the computer, but that's still impressive to me. The file took up only one quarter of the 1 GB memory stick (cost about $10).

What was even more impressive to me was the way a 5,000 record Diligence™ file backed up under these conditions.

The 5K record file was 5.7 MB. About the size typical of many independent entrepreneurs after 2-5 years

This backed up in 5 seconds.

New entrepreneurs are especially vulnerable to the problems that arise out of doing backups when their important stuff is spread all over.

For anyone who's backed up from all the widespread folders, and programs, and places we store business stuff in, you know the process can be a mess. Many people postpone backups because their system is so time consuming just locating it all.

I'm using the photo above to illustrate that memory stick backup test for the Diligence™ graphics.

This was a pretty cool backup test. A typical file for many established independent entrepreneurs of 5,000 records, at 5.7 MB, used about one half of one percent of the available memory in a cheap, $10 memory stick.

This would represent all the key business data of a small enterprise for let's say 3 to 5 years. All the contacts, all the orders, and quotes and vendors, and all the analysis you've done.

All this backed up in 5 seconds. I'm really thrilled with this.

This is the kind of business security that any independent entrepreneur can understand and appreciate.




Many thanks to Brian Dunning for the gift of all the free records that made these tests possible. Please visit Brian's site for a bunch of great information

A data converter to check my math