BYO Job: How to Offer Your Data Skills to a Small Business (Step-by-Step)
Forget job boards for a second.
If you're new to the data world or trying to break in.
The lack of response or rejections can be demoralising.
But some of the best opportunities aren’t advertised, they’re created.
If we go back to basics...every business has data. Whether it's my recruitment agency, the 30-person digital marketing firm or Rio Tinto. They've all got it.
There are opportunities for internships, work experience and even a job in small businesses that need data help but haven’t even thought to post a role.
So don't sit back and wait for the job application response, you can be proactively connecting with businesses that may need you.
If you’re an aspiring data professional looking for experience or even a paid gig down the line, here’s how to approach a small business, pitch your help and maybe create your own job.
Take matters into your own hands...
1. Find a list of Local Small Businesses
Start with:
Local accounting firms
Digital marketing agencies
Insurance or mortgage brokers
Financial advisors
They’ve got data.
But no time. No data maturity. And no one in-house to make sense of it.
Probably not a huge budget for a consultant. That’s where you come in.
Yes, they'll probably have a CRM that needs some data quality enrichment and a stack of excel sheets running the business but that's opportunity.
Do a simple LinkedIn search: Filter by location, company size, and industry. Change the keyword depending on the business type you're targeting.
Filter by location, company size and industry. Change the search word for the type of business.
2. Do Some Light Stalking (the helpful kind)
Before you reach out:
Check their website and socials
Use LinkedIn to see who works there now
Look for signs of growth, confusion or lots of manual work
Find their contact email or the name of the owner/manager (there are free services for this like ContactOut, Lusha and Apollo)
If they’ve posted photos of whiteboards full of numbers, you’re in.
3. Build a Mini Portfolio Piece Just for Them
This is where you stand out. You don’t need insider data, use assumptions or public info:
A sample dashboard that shows “revenue by client” or "customer segmentation" (pro-tip is make this into a personal project - you may be cheeky and use their logo & colours). Bonus, you can build one dashboard per type of business and market it to multiple firms.
Make it short, visual and business-first. Not technical-first. You’re showing outcomes, not tools.
The closer you can get to real data e.g. ABS demographic data from Perth, the better.
You're showing them what good could look like. Possibly like this?
Sample Customer Segmentation Dashboards
4. Send a Short, Sharp Outreach Email & Connect on LinkedIn
You can email anyone these days. And that can help you land in data.
Whether they reply? That's a different matter.
Don't automate this. Hyper-personalise to each person and be genuine.
Here's a sample email below that you want to tailor for YOU:
Subject: Quick idea for [Business Name]
Body: Hey [Founder / Business Manager / Managing Director],
[Business name] looks like it's growing. I saw [xyz - business fact e.g. how long they've been open] on your [LinkedIn or website]. I'm curious as to what are you doing with your data?
For context, I'm a data specialist here in Perth with a [education whether bootcamp, bachelor or self-taught]. Some of the projects I've worked on include [short one line example] and I actually spun up a quick dashboard for [company name] which you can see attached.
I've reached out a few similar business owners in your world to help on an internship or part-time basis with data. From what I can see, there's no one at [company name] focused on the data space.
I know your time is important, so I'm happy to put together a little project plan if you reply with some information about data you have on hand. Would you be interested in a quick online meeting next week and I can share it?
Cheers,
[Name, Contact Details, Signature]
5. Follow Up. Then Move On
Give it 5 - 7 days. If you don’t hear back, follow up once via email and also on LinkedIn:
“Looks like this one slipped through to the keeper, would still love to connect mate!”
Still no reply? No problems, it's expected. There are hundreds of small businesses.
This is a numbers game and the momentum will teach you more than a dozen online courses ever will.
6. Start Small. Grow Fast.
If someone says yes, offer to do a project for free or cheap but make sure it has:
A clear outcome
A defined timeline
The potential to turn into a retainer or referral
Not impending on their time
Business outcomes
One win turns into a case study.
Then you’re no longer an “aspiring” data pro.
You’re just a data pro.
Another win could turn into a contract or part-time role.
If you get to scoping a project or providing value to the company in a meeting, ask a mentor, ChatGPT or me for how to structure that meeting to provide value!
Final Words
You don’t need permission or a Seek ad to be useful.
And you don’t need a job title to solve a problem.
This is how a lot of consultants, freelancers and even founders got started.
No job ad. Just initiative, ideas and a helpful email.
So go build your own job.
Worst that can happen is you gain a project portfolio. Sounds like a win :)
DR Analytics Recruitment
I'm Douglas - former data analyst and Founder of DR Analytics Recruitment. We're putting people first by building a community that connects top data and technology talent with the right companies. Our vision is an Australia empowered by data literacy.
Get in touch to learn more!
📧 Email: douglas@analyticsrecruitment.com.au
📞 Phone: +61 430 846 876
🌐 Website: https://www.analyticsrecruitment.com.au
⭕ Data Community: https://www.meetup.com/en-AU/industry-inner-join/
