InstantComputerBiz.com: Fwd: Over 1 million served

Monday, March 9, 2020

Fwd: Over 1 million served

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Lillian Pierson (@Strategy_Gal) <lillian@data-mania.com>
Date: Mon, Mar 9, 2020 at 8:59 AM
Subject: Over 1 million served
To: João <joaoa.dsilva2019@gmail.com>

João,

Question: What does it take to build a business that has:

(1) Helped over 1 million people learn to use data to generate business value

(2) Helped businesses generate greater profits by getting strategic with data, without the hefty costs that come with hiring the big guys...

???

Answer:

… 8 years.

… 9 different countries.

… 1 so-so job in local government.

But most importantly, lots of intention, pivots, and patience.

Hi there, I'm Lillian Pierson, PE, Data Strategist to Fortune 500 companies and CEO of Data-Mania, LLC.

If you're here, you might know Data-Mania, LLC as a small-but-driven team dedicated to helping businesses get big results with data and analytics through high-quality training and powerful online programs. (Everything we do is designed to produce profit-forming strategies from data initiatives, including those that involve AI, IoT, analytics, data monetization, data visualization, data science, and data engineering.)

But what you probably don't know is how we got here – or why it matters to you.

By the way, when I say "here," I mean this….

– Educating approx. 1 million data professionals worldwide through books & courses, thanks to prestigious partnerships with LinkedIn Learning and Wiley publishers.

– Training everyone from nonprofit executives to foreign governments & supporting everyone from a micro-lending organization in Uganda to the largest oil company in Saudi Arabia (and even several thousand young big data entrepreneurs in Colombia).

– Working with a whopping 10% of Fortune 100 companies

– Building a solid online community of over 650,000 #tech workers.

Yes, our highlight reel is impressive in its own right, but what's even more interesting is how it all came to be.

See, in its early days (aka 2012-ish), Data-Mania LLC was a one-woman show. (Yes, that one woman was me.)

Before becoming my own boss, I was in the public sector, working as a lead analytics developer for the local Orange County Government.

It was one of those "great-on-paper" jobs. We had all the necessary pieces in place to use data & tech to drive the change the organization so badly needed – that is, in theory at least.

(If you've ever worked in the public sector, you can probably guess what I'm about to say.)

The problem was the whole "in theory" part.

Unfortunately, the culture just wouldn't allow it. There were too many hoops, too many barriers, too many unrelenting policies.

I couldn't figure out how to get my ideas heard – let alone find someone willing to act on, or advocate for, them.

I also couldn't allow my passion for data to go to waste. I saw the potential, and I knew data technologies – and the strategic use of business data – could change the game for so many organizations.

So, I left that security (& salary) behind to create my own company – one where I knew I could use my data & engineering expertise to support organizations that were ready to implement upon, and benefit from new data initiatives.

I deeply believe in the power of data to transform businesses and the lives of people that lead them.

So, in 2013, Data-Mania, LLC was born - to fill a gap that desperately needed to be filled.

For the first 4 years as CEO, I traveled the globe to deliver quality in-person data advising and training for corporate clients. My travels took me everywhere from factories in Malaysia to tech giants in America. To date, I've visited 4 continents, 9 countries, and 21 major cities to deliver data training and advising projects to our growing base of corporate clientele. I've also personally supported both small businesses and massive organizations like the US Navy & National Geographic Partners.

For awhile, it was exhilarating. It was fun. But it also… wasn't quite right.

One day, despite raving clients & an otherwise thriving business, I had to take a step back to look at the bigger picture.

See, during this time, I'd worked with over a hundred clients, bestowing them with cutting-edge data science knowledge. But I eventually became aware that bestowing my clients with data science knowledge alone wasn't enough...

Because the truth?

For every business with a shining case study about how data and AI transformed their organization, there are more businesses underwhelmed by the ROI from their data operations.

Data has tremendous value and can easily boost a business's bottom line, but it can also wreak havoc if it's not managed effectively – and strategically.

I realized that, while my training was highly valuable, organizations didn't just need an in-house data scientist. They needed a well-trained higherup – aka someone who both understood data topics and also thought about things at the organizational level. They needed someone to help them develop their strategic plans for successful data transformations (that is, if they actually wanted to see the full results their data could deliver).

On the personal front, there were challenges as well.

Not only was I growing a business those first several years, I was also growing a family.

It's an understatement to say that it was "hard" leaving my baby girl at home with my loving husband - while I jet-setted off to a new country (and cuisine) every month. (I love travel, but at a certain point, this just wasn't practical or satisfying anymore.)

Add to that the fact that I was definitely overworked (and sometimes underpaid), and I knew I had to pivot if I ever wanted to find the work/life balance (let alone make the impact) that I really wanted.

My point? My clients and I both needed a change.

Luckily, that change came in 2016, when Data-Mania, LLC moved full force into providing data literacy specifically to business leaders. (One of the best moves we've ever made.)

From there, we continued to evolve, expand & create exciting new offers that benefit business leaders and their organizations at a deeper level. These run the gamut from 5-day seminars to private corporate workshops.

Beyond that, I also brainstormed fresh, innovative ways to continue to deliver our transformative expertise to businesses the world over...just preferably without leaving the comfort of my villa office (or my baby girl).

Finally, in early 2019, we made another huge change in the Data-Mania LLC game. After producing 4 online courses with LinkedIn on topics from data science coding to tech careers, I saw first-hand the sheer volume of businesses & lives you can touch when you train online.

This was the ticket – and I knew it. So, I officially stepped away from face-to-face training, put my head down & vowed to bring an even bigger, better data training program to the Internet.

The goal? To train business leaders on how to generate massive business value by developing and executing upon data strategy, no matter where they are in the world.

(The Internet is kind of incredible, don't you think?The whole world is literally at your fingertips. It's almost mind-blowing if you think about it.)

Today, Data-Mania LLC's program is open and ready to support organizations in a wide variety of industries.

And? As a team, we're more dedicated than ever to creating a massive, extremely scalable impact upon the businesses we serve & the people who lead them.

The bottom line? Your organization deserves better results from its data.

And at Data-Mania, LLC, we've brought the means to create better to your fingertips….whether you're reading this from Boston or Berlin.

Always here for you,