GETTING STARTED WITH AIRTABLE
5 Key Steps to an Organized Database
Organizing all of your data in one place can have a tremendous impact on the growth of your business and the productivity of your team. I follow 5 steps to bring businesses from the idea stage to a highly organized Airtable database.
Client profile: Startup Colorado (SUCO), an entrepreneurial advocate, equips Colorado entrepreneurs and startups with growth strategies by sponsoring local conferences and initiatives. They were using Airtable, but found they weren’t maximizing its features to best aid their mission. Positive Workspace was hired for consultation on how to take SUCO’s database to the next level by enhancing their workflow and organizing data.
STEP 1: IDENTIFY
SUCO’s use of multiple databases required data duplication and these remote sources hindered the team’s ability to track projects and collaborate using dependable data. We outlined a scope-of-work and goals for managing projects and tracking current and future outreach efforts.
STEP 2: DEFINE
Airtable is highly customizable with a lot of flexibility for specific needs. Positive Workspace provided a re-designed database, combining all data sources into one organized, relational database. By utilizing Airtable’s formulas, automations, task and project tracking, and email notifications, SUCO could make data-driven decisions and work smarter. The scope-of-work, timeline and budget were established before beginning the project.
STEP 3: BUILD
Airtable is a relational database, a type of database that uses related tables to organize information. Positive Workspace built out the current database to a platform that synthesized SUCO’s remote bases of information into one organized and centralized source. This cloud-based platform tracks the edits of every team member and updates information accordingly, allowing team-members to collaborate with congruent information and track projects efficiently.
STEP 4: EVALUATE
There are always multiple “iterations” of a database design before finding the optimal workflow. What matters most is that the final product meets expectations, contributes to business growth, and makes jobs more efficient through automations and notifications. Communication and brainstorming continue until the project goals are reached.
STEP 5: INTEGRATE
With the Airtable design complete, Positive Workspace trained the SUCO team to make sure everyone was comfortable and informed on best practices and short cuts. Support is available for 30 days after project approval to guarantee that users are equipped to fully utilize the system. In addition, a built-in resource table is provided to ensure self-sufficiency in program maintenance and for training new team members.
If you want to talk about organizing your data in one place and optimizing your workflow for better use of time and effort, you can email Diane at diane@positiveworkspace.com or visit Positive Workspace to learn more.