Database Articles For Your Ebook

[DominicW]

When Thomas released the very first version of the software builder, I not only bought it but wrote an ebook on database software development based on my experience in many years of building products that TSB now makes in a lot less time.

I sold the ebook on the warrior forum but thought I would give it to you guys free to use or read. I am only including parts that I think are useful to you.

I would like to think resellers of the TSB software or affiliates could use this material to build their own ebooks or free articles to help promote the product to would-be software developers.

If it doesnt work for you, then no harm done - it was free! If it does work for you, use the content at will! I will release it under the condition that you can not use my name on the document if you modify it in any way. Use for personal or commercial use. (I believe the best legal license would be Creative Commons where I keep rights to the original material and I release you from attributing it to me in your work)

I will post it in chunks below.

[DominicW]

Database applications by simple definition are computer programs that store data and/or manipulate that data for the purpose of calculations and reporting. Additionally, internet servers can also host these types of applications however we will concentrate on PC software applications for the purpose of this book.

Typically a database contains records, and each record contains fields. Fields are simply single information placeholders.

To illustrate, let us take a customer database which will be a simple roledex for the sake of our example. We will call our database CUSTOMER INFORMATION.

Here is a look at some data that we collected from one customer:

CUSTOMER INFORMATION
-Record #1
--First Name: Bill
--Last Name: Johnson
--Phone Number: 515-555-1212
-Record #2
--First Name: Shelly
--Last Name: Winters
--Phone Number: 515-555-1211

The database is the collection of all the customers and their information. The database is CUSTOMER INFORMATION.

Each record is a collection of data for each customer. BILL JOHNSON's information is a record in the database (record #1 in this case).

Each field is a detailed piece of information about a each customer. Fields appear in each record. FIRST NAME is a field inside the database.

This is a simple text database example, but fields can also be images, files, calculations, dates, monetary information etc. More advanced databases can have these types of fields and more.

Databases have a more valuable use when storing large amounts of information, as small amounts could simply be kept on paper or in a list. Additionally, databases can keep multiple types of data that are cross refrenced. An example would be an accounting software for a small business. The accounting database would contain customer information, invoices, expenses, bank account information and other industry specific data such as inventory or payroll. In fact Intuit Quickbooks is just a big database application.

Database content can be accessed in multiple ways. First is through a graphical user interface, called GUI by programmers, which is simply a window on your computer that contains the data, one record at a time or multiple records in a spreadsheet format (columns and rows).

Secondly, data can be accessed through reporting. Reports pull data into a printable document that is formatted to look a specific way. For example, an invoice in our accounting application would be a report that fills in specific customer data such as name, address, zip code, project name and cost for the service. The report might contain static template items such as our logo or a thank you note at the bottom. Static content is content that never changes no matter what information you put into the report. Dynamic content is the content that is based on a database record (name, address, etc.)

Grouping data in a database makes it easier to retreive data later. Grouping can look different in various applications, but in essence it is just a simple field that has one of a few/many fixed items. An example is a field in an accounting database that might ask which group a customer fits into, such as PROSPECT, BUYER or RESELLER. If we keep these items fixed throughout a database application, then we can search for a list of all BUYERS and print them in their own report. Grouping data is a good way to keep large databases simplified as the user can quickly access segments of their information in a few quick steps.

[DominicW]

The keys to developing a profitable database application are in the details. Here are a list of things

you should consider or ask yourself to make sure your application has long term value and builds above

market average profits.

1. Force yourself to focus on a specific idea that solves a specific problem.

The entrepreneur's curse is to find opportunities in everything...a successful business owner on the other

hand finds the single most profitable opportunity and uses laser focus to build a powerful niche business

model. An application that keeps track of your pet's vet visits and also contains a list of your auto

maintenance is a good example of a WTH!? application (what the heck!?) Applications that do not have a

single purpose have no lasting power in the market place. One could argue that an accounting database has

many different sets of data, but they all meet a specific goal or organizing business finances.

2. Research is important in any business venture.

Researching starts as a wide process, where a database developer will look at various industries to

identify specific problems that could be addressed with a smart database application. The first place you

should look is within your core competencies! What is it you do, outside of developing great software

ideas? What are your hobbies? If you have a full time job outside of software, what is that and what

kind of data could be better kept for daily use in your job?

There is a common misconception in leadership books and management seminars that we create our own

opportunities. This could not be farther from the truth, in fact this kind of thinking is actually

harmful to entrepreneurs as after every failure they blame their own ability to bring an idea to a

profitable fruition. The fact is there is only one person that can create opportunities that you can take

advantage of: your competition. In business, opportunities exist within the emptiness that your

competitors do not fill. Why would you simply develop a software program that does the exact same thing

that a competitor's application does, market it at a similar price point and then hope that it can steal

marketshare?

This is where research becomes deep. We have to delve into a specific industry or problem and find a

profitable opportunity.

If we can find an emptiness within an industry or application type, and fill it with competent

development, we can then market ourselves as unique and cater to a market that desires the solution that

your uniqueness provides.

One of the excercises that serves me best when coming up with ideas is to block out 3 days from the time I

find the 'idea' I want to follow to the time I start the planning process. In this time I do nothing else

but scour the internet and industry trade journals (available at your library or local mega-bookstore)

looking for other applications that provide similar or the same solutions. Do not limit yourself to just

Google, this is one of the greatest diservices you can do for yoursef. Use Yahoo, Ask, MSN, AOL and any

industry specific search engines/directories you can find. Spend time, this will help you be very

efficient later in the process and can save you weeks or months of changing directions once you get

started.

3. Can't I just be cheaper and call it a strategy?

While being cheaper in price can be good, it is often misunderstood by business owners. First, the

correct term in business strategy is Cost Leader not Price Leader. This means your cost of doing business

has to be less than the next guy or gal. This is true in any business.

If the software you use to create your application, marketing expenses and your time (in development,

fixing and updating, as well as support) come to a substantial lower cost than what you think your

competitors have AND you can still make a decent profit at a lower price tag - then go ahead and be

cheaper.

Buyers attach value of a product to its price. Keep this in mind and avoid over discounting a product.

4. I just plan on giving away my product...do I really have to put a lot of time into planning and

research?

A one night stand in terms of product development does nothing to create long term profits. You can not

dress up frog in expensive clothes and call it a prince just as you can not take a substandard product and

dress it up with really great marketing and hope that people will see it for more than it is.

To achieve a true viral affect, a product has to have such a great value that people can not believe it is

free. This is what creates word of mouth marketing. I don't think I have ever recommended a low end

product just because it was free, however I have recommended many free products that competed on a very

high level with high priced alternatives.

Spend the time and create something that you are proud of and that has long term possibilities.

[DominicW]

Where strategy defines our mission in business, planning defines the steps we take in each stage.

To properly plan, we put pen to paper (or mouse to Windows!) and start working on a general idea of what we want to accomplish.

Here is a step by step preplanning stage question and answer list:

1. What is our mission in one sentence? Every decision we make in developing a software application should be weighed against this statement.

Example: My application will provide the end user with a innovative way to store his affiliates contact information including offline mailing addresses and phone numbers of his top producers to help build a stronger relationship.

2. What fields of information do we want the database to store. Is there anything special about any of the fields we want to note?

Example:

First Name
Last Name
Email Address
Phone Number
Mailing Address
City
State note: limit to 2 characters
Zip note: limit to standard 5digit dash 4 digit format
Website Address 1
Website Address 2
Website Address 3
Paypal Email Address
Note Section note: 5 lines minimum


3. Sketch your layout on paper or in your favorite drawing program.

What information should be grouped together?
which fields should be located at the top?
Which fields should be at the bottom?
What color scheme would support our end user the best?
How big of a window will support the information without being 'too much'?
What reports do we want and what should they look like?


4. Share your plans with a close associate that shares the same industry needs. Remember to choose this person based on trust as you are sharing a revenue producing product idea with them. If necessary, have them sign a non-disclosure contract which limits them to not sharing any information about your product with anyone else. Get feedback, ask them what other information they would want to keep, or what other pieces of information flow through their business that they need on a regular basis?

5. Take this feedback and tweak your planning to accomodate any changes you think are necessary.

6. Decide which software best meets your needs to accomplish your overall goal and supports what information you want to track. Here are some database software that you can investigate:

Thomas Belknap's Profit Tiger Application Maker - http://www.warriorforum.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=232624
My Recommended Tool For Database Development
Windows Based
Low Cost Compared To Competitive Products
Protected Database Product, Keep Your Work Safe
Added Marketing Features, Including Banner Ads And HTML Load Screens Directly Integrated


Filemaker - http://www.filemaker.com
Windows and Mac based
Quick Learning Cycle
Developer Version Allows You To Build Executable Programs (allows your users to use without having to license Filemaker!)


Microsoft Access - http://office.microsoft.com/access
Windows Based
Part of MS Office (some versions)
Users Need A License To Run
Hard To Protect Your Work Because It Is An Open Database, Except By Password


Alpha 5 - http://www.alphasoftware.com
Windows Based
Promotes Themselves As Having Advanced Features
Users May Need A License To Run
Hard To Protect Your Work Because It Is An Open Database, Except By Password


OpenOffice.org - http://www.openoffice.org
Windows, Linux Based
Free Platform, Free For End Users To Have
Hard To Protect Your Work Because It Is An Open Database, Except By Password


Kexi - http://www.kexi-project.org
Linux Based
Free Platform, Free For End Users To Have
Hard To Protect Your Work Because It Is An Open Database, Except By Password


7. Work on a price point. Price in accordance to competitive products, value and ease of use, uniqueness of product and features, overall end benefit to the user and finally, how much you have invested in software and time to build, update and support the product. Some low end applications sell for as little as $9.95 and some of the higher end software can sell for up to $1500 per user!

Another option is to offer a product for free in return for something else of value - usually contact information for future or immediate marketing efforts. The only way this is effective is to force a password or registration before a user can install or use an application. Look at Thomas' software to help fulfill this need.

[DominicW]

We discussed wide and deep research, here are some ideas divided into those same categories.

The Wide

Customer Database - Keep track of customers, current product purchases, future product interests, memo fields to track phone and email conversations for future reference.

Leads Database - Even more important to the lifeblood of an organization, tracking leads and referral sources can be daunting for sales people. A leads database could keep all contact info, memos covering past conversations, memos covering needs assessments and product interest as well as an area showing who referred that prospect so you can track who is helping you build your business. Great for sales people, trade shows, marketing campaigns etc.

Invoicing Software - Great for 'table vendors' like craft show vendors and tradeshow booths. The reporting feature of your database will be setup to look like an invoice so after each customer is added, you can print the invoice on demand. Include fields like product, quantity, subtotals and totals. Remember tax and shipping if applicable.

Recipe Database - Great for organizations to sell with recipes already loaded into it. Search features are a bonus for this type of software. (Search for 'chicken', etc.)

Quotation Database - Great for speakers and writers to draw key quotes using a search feature, it would come loaded with quotes. (Search for 'Thomas Jefferson' or 'motivation', etc.)

Affiliate Database - Keep track of key affiliates and website addresses.

Passwords - Keep track of online passwords.

Contact Database - Industry specific database of contacts, preloaded. (example: buyers, vendors, publishers etc.) The vitamin manufacturing industry had a database with similar intentions at one point that listed material production companies such as companies that provided ground Echinaecia.

Human Resources Database - Helps HR managers keep a database of potential hires, and would include schooling, strengths, personality test results, contact info etc. of each candidate.

Employee Database - An employee database could keep employee 'folders' in electronic and printable form. Keep track of payscales, evaluations, write ups, hire info etc.

Security Database - Security desks need a way to verify the identity of the person attempting to gain entrance to an apartment building, office building or closed membership club. A security database keeps verbal passcodes, image of the person, contact information and key verifiable information such as a birthdate.

Home Asset Or Company Asset Management - Anyone that has home owners insurance, renters insurance and commercial insurance should keep track of the valuable assets in case of a claim. My wife is an employee at a company where they keep track of assets in a Excel spreadsheet...hardly the best way to organize information.

Member Organizer - Store and search names of members in a church, business group or non profit organization.

Attendee Tracker - Track attendees to a seminar, tradeshow or conference.

Business Idea Journal - Great way for entrepreneurs to jot down opportunities for later research. This should include a large memo area for the user to freeform write and brainstorm.


The Deep


Niche industry applications have more market penetration power. Remember, targeting a specific industry helps your users understand your knowledge of their business and increases their feelings of credibility about you and your product. Possibilities include:

Jewelry Store
Flower Shop
Antique Store
Music/CD Store
Computer Repair Shop
Dry Cleaners
Print Shop
Furniture Store
Craft Show Vendor
Comic Book Store
Baseball Card Store
Hair Dresser/Barber
Audio/Video Store
Local Hardware Store
Local Electonics Store


Thinking outside the norm can build a stronger profit stream. Here are some tips to get your brainstorming started.

Instead of using a database to collect information, what about using a database to distribute information such as a directory of publishers, radio station contacts, media contacts, non profit organization CEOs, local business owners etc. See the examples above such as recipes and quotes as well.

Added services that can produce more income are great backend sales. What if you sell a Home Insurance Asset database and the user's home is burned or flooded and all computer data is lost? A service you could offer at an additional monthly fee could be the ability for the end user to upload a copy of their database to your website.

Another added service could be updates for the databases you use to distribute information. Every 4 months you may send out a new Media Contact database and charge a quarterly fee for keeping it up to date as an example.

What information might you be able to load into a database other than contact info? What about a database of speech intros for speakers to help break the ice, statistics for all the characters in a video game, cheat codes for video games, short stories speakers can use, species database for flowers found in the northern hemisphere, a bird watchers database loaded with tons of bird information and pictures.

Informational source databases can be very good promotional tools. A database loaded with 101 free business services could include banners and ads for some of your business service websites. A database loaded with every blog service available could include an ad for a product that you sell that helps bloggers succeed.

When you can, include multimedia features such as pictures or audio - but only do so if it will be of use to the end user. I see so many contact managers with a spot for pictures...I don't know about you but I do not collect pictures of a couple hundred vendors, customers and associates...it serves no purpose to me.

Well laid out thoughts will produce more than just a simple program - it will fulfill a need. Don't just build a database with a bunch of fields and slap the name Mortgage Customer Database. Each industry has little nuances that separate them from the rest of the pack. Mortgage customers may have specific pieces of data that should accompany their information such as credit score, spouse information and credit score, and mortgage price range.

Contact a non profit organization, ask them if they would like to sell a database filled with recipes - branded with their information. You sell the project as a large ticket item which they can sell at any price they want - or you can offer to take a percentage of the proceeds. Want to be of more value? Use a company like DiskMakers.com and produce commercial grade CDs with the organizations logo on them. Charge a little over cost to help cover your time in ordering the product. How many churches, craft show vendors, and school groups would benefit from a recipe software program with hundreds of recipes? I am guessing just as many as the ones that sell printed versions (and production costs are MUCH cheaper for a software program than a 200 page book!). You can even charge a small premium for making one with their personal favorite recipes in it to add personality to the product. The end product could have links to their website or donation page.

What other loaded databases might help non profits as a fundraiser product? The possibilities are endless: bird guides, tree guides, landscape plant guides, antique guides, favorite bible passages and quotes from religious leaders, 52 Week Devotional (each record is a week) etc. etc. etc! A non profit zoo fundraising group could sell a database with information on each animal in each exhibit with fun facts and pictures. Pictures Sell! Make it fun to look at and fun to use. What about the local corvette club selling a database with the history of the corvette in words and pictures?

[NOTE!!!!!! Pictures have copyrights attached to them in many cases...check with the photographer before inclusion to save yourself a load of trouble. EVEN images of animals at the zoo - yes even when you take the picture - in many cases are protected by copyright. Legal issues cost money!]

Non profits not spending much money in your area? What about taking the same idea to businesses. What landscaper in your area could distribute a tree or plant guide to their high end customers and prospects?

What about the real estate agent that gives free calendars once a year to his clients? Would he like his name and links on a Michigan Travel Guide - Containing 100 unique and fun locations in Michigan To Visit For Free! (or put your state/region in place of Michigan)...has more wow factor than a calendar (of which I get like 8-10 a year...what could I possibly do with 10 calendars?)

What travel agent wouldn't want a database application filled with 101 family fun vacation destinations complete with pictures and links to their booking site or agency website?

Modeling agencies could distribute a database with full color pics and data on their models.

The list goes on...what relationships do you have that would help you build or sell something of this nature?

While we are making that shift from one medium to another (such as the case of the recipe book going from print to software), what about other traditional print items...which of them could shift to a database application. When my family goes on vacation, we bring my laptop. This allows us to offload pictures and videos from our cameras and look up local events and venues depending on where we are staying. My daughters keep a journal on these vacations, I wonder what a Kids Vacation Journal might do to replace their print journal. They only write in it when they come back to the hotel from the days outings - wouldn't it be fun if they could type in their journal entry and attach a picture they took? When they get back home they could print off the pages they want to share with family or add to their scrapbooks.

[DominicW]

Some final thoughts on building your software:

Make the interface easy and elegant. User's do not like clutter and useless buttons and pictures. Keep it simple and easy to use.

Remember your user when adding colors - while many users shy away from bright colored software (causes eye fatigue etc.) there is a group that benefit from colors used to separate data (ADD and ADHD users). Research this and other user centric drivers to decide what the best color scheme and layout is for your product.

Remember that the user is the ultimate feedback machine. Get a final product in the hand of 3 users and compare feedback. Make tweaks before a full blown release. Get the three people to write testimonials if they like the product.

Using the word database seems dry, technical and maybe even daunting to a inexperienced computer user. Isn't Bird Guide, Tree Identifier, Campground Finder, Relationship Builder and descriptive terms better suited to not only describe your product but also market it? I think we all would rather hear Relationship Builder 2008 than Customer Database version 1 - the first brings to mind an end benefit...the other brings to mind an antique software program.

Price increases as easier to explain to current customers than decreases. No one wants to pay $50 for a program today, and see it being offloaded tomorrow at $35 because the programmer can't sell it. Start at a little less than fair price and work up to a better balanced price later.

For subscription based products, both the program and the updates can not be over the top when it comes to pricing. Users will generally pay a premium for the program or updates, but not both. They will look for a long term value such as low upfront cost and average cost for updates or vice versa.

Getting the word out was hard in past years. Now there are services and software that will submit your program to hundreds or thousands of sites for promotion. One of these sites I recently found was: http://www.gsa-online.de/eng/softsubmit.html I plan on investigating them for my next release. In the past I have used software, however the program I used is out of date and the programmer has not kept up with it...so I will be using an online service next.

Many websites offer awards or recognition...one of these is Download.com another is Tucows.com. Download.com offers a program where you can pay per click to have your software get premium placement in their directory. It is one of the top websites traffic-wise for software.

Regnow.com and eSellerate.com (now are merged) are good companies that can provide you with affiliates for your product. Many website publishers will use them to fill out a 'software I recommend' page on their blog or website. They handle everything from taking the money, to delivering the product (and paying affiliates!). They even offer services where you can send out a special email blast to all the affiliates for a flat rate. This is good to promote a high commission software promotion.

Want to do it yourself through paypal? Idevspot.com offers two programs that work great for selling, delivering and tracking affiliates. Digivender sells and delivers the product - PixieAffiliate takes care of the affiliates...you do nothing but check your paypal account for profit. Digivendor even allows a user to redownload his product if he deletes it by accident...trust me that is a headache you do not want to address manually. The only other thing you are required to do is click a button when you want to payout an affiliate manually. The software is professional, well written and well supported.

[MikeM]

Thanks Dominic. I don't have time to read it right now (wife still thinks I should be packing for vacation tomorrow), but I will when I get back

[Alton]

I would like to thank you too, Dominic. I did read it. It is full of information that simplifies the understanding of what all this is about. Everyone here ought to take the time and read it. And, it is packed with ideas. Ideas that spawn other ideas. This should give anyone here who needs it the direction they need to get going.

It was very generous of you to share this.

Thanks,
Alton

[nealtucker]

Thanks Dominic. I don't have time to read it right now (wife still thinks I should be packing for vacation tomorrow), but I will when I get back


Same here, great Info Dominic, thanks for taking the time to post this mouth watering info, cant wait to get
to work on projects put on hold while we look forward the update. :)

[schmutly]

That was a thorough explanation and some very
good brainstorming ideas...Hmmmm .
Thanks for your time in sharing it too.
Robbie :)

[DominicW]

thanks x4

Hope you can use them somehow. More to come I am sure.

[rfighter]

Dominic,

Thanks much for the great brainstorming ideas.

Rob

[Debbie]

Dominic,

I was just getting caught up on threads I've missed... (I'm trying to find answers to my questions before I ask Thomas)... and I found this gem.

Thanks so much for taking the time to put this information in the forum. It's extremely helpful.

Debbie

[ozgirl]

Great info Dominic I been struggling with what to do with software.
This has giving a great lot of thing to try.

Thank you
Annette

[TigerSoftware]

Great info Dominic I been struggling with what to do with software.
This has giving a great lot of thing to try.

Thank you
Annette


Hi Annette,

A lot of my ideas come from my own needs.

I also try to put myself into a customer's shoes. Everyone and I mean everyone can use some type of software to help manage an aspect of their life.

Whether it be a hobby, health issues or business, there is always something in our lives to manage.

Once you start seeing product ideas you won't be able to stop it. haha


Thomas