This is a short article if you have had that thought when it comes to working with your business data. As an entrepreneur, you want to use your data to grow and improve your business. However, you’re not feeling particularly data savvy and breaking something is a real concern. Let’s address that issue head on. As far as I’m concerned, entrepreneurs SHOULD break their data. And yes, that includes you.

What Are You Really Afraid Of?

When you’re learning how to work with data, there is a lot to deal with. New software, learning some math (but less than you think), and figuring out how to answer your questions.

It’s easy to find yourself feeling overwhelmed. But it’s a feeling that goes away when you have the right instruction, support, and practice plan.

Still, when you’re overwhelmed, a sense of paralysis can easily set it. It’s the feeling that you don’t know what to do next, or where to start. And that’s where the statement, “I don’t want to break anything,” typically comes out.

Yet breaking something is rarely the real issue. Instead, what is almost always at the root of feeling overwhelmed is a fear of failure.

“What if I can’t figure it out?”

“What if I do something wrong?”

“This isn’t what I’m good at.”

I get it. Self-doubt sucks.

But you’re an entrepreneur, right? Isn’t the whole point to be self-reliant? To prove all those who doubted you wrong? To take on the world, build a business, and be successful?

If that is the case, then bet on yourself when it comes to learning how to use your data. Realize that it’s uncomfortable because it’s new, and trying new things can be a little scary.

Heck, starting a business from scratch is SUPER-SCARY. But you’re still doing it. So, let me help you get over your fear of failure, and embrace a new way to move forward.

Why You Should Break Your Data

The simple answer is you learn from trying new things. Sometimes you’ll be successful, and other times you won’t be. But if you’re not trying new things, you’re not learning.

A more nuanced view is that failure is the greatest teacher. When you try something new and it works, you tend to move onto the next task quickly. You receive the positive reinforcement of success, but that is short-lived in the grand scheme.

In contrast, when you fail, you have to think more deeply about the problem in front of you. You must dissect why your attempted solution failed and diagnose an alternative approach. To be blunt, failure forces you to think about your problem more than you had previously.

From this, it’s easy to see that making many attempts at new activities will speed your learning curve. And that, my friend, is why you should be breaking your data.

Work with your data. Make mistakes. Learn. Grow. Rinse and repeat.

When you start to feel overwhelmed about working with data, capture that thought and replace it with, “Let’s break it!”

You Don’t Really Break Anything

You read that correctly. The idea that creates the most relief among people working with data is knowing that they won’t actually break anything.

You’re not going to break your software….trust me. Unless you’re a skilled programmer, data analysis software is HARD to break.

You’re not going to destroy your data. Why? Because I always teach you to work with a COPY of the data.

Never jeopardize the original data. Save it in its own folder before you start working and use a copy for your analysis.

Also, never save your data copy or any of your outputs in the same folder as the original data. You’ll protect yourself from accidentally overwriting the original data this way.

Now, if you happen to make a mistake and destroy the data you are working with, that’s no problem. Delete the damaged copy of your data and start over with a new copy of the original.

Using this simple technique, you can make as many mistakes as you want without ever truly breaking your data. You can make as many copies of the original data as you need until you become proficient.

Let’s Go Break Stuff!

If you’re an entrepreneur new to working with data, don’t let a fear of failure slow you down. Take proper precautions to protect your important data and systems. Make copies and practice in a different location on your system. The tools you need to learn aren’t difficult to learn, but they require practice. You’ll make mistakes, but that’s okay. You’ll learn a lot and become more successful than you could ever imagine. You’ve got this and I’ll be here to support you every step of the way.

Besides…sometimes it’s fun to break stuff and learn new things! 😉