Planning & Research

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Available from home, 24/7

w w w . a p l . o r g / e s e e d

• Class handout

• Reference books list with explanations and examples (click on the cover)

• Links to the databases

• Links to free, online, government (mostly) resources to find data and small business information

Available from home, 24/7

With your Library Card Number: w w w . a p l . o r g / e

• Reference USA• CUSTOM SEARCH: U.S. Consumer & Lifestyles | U.S. Businesses• Download full records and generate charts/maps

• Business Source Premier• SEARCH on a company• Industry profiles• Economic reports by country

• Small Business Reference Center• Bundles startup information• Market Research content & many Nolo titles

• Regional Business News• Spare indexing; Keyword searching is critical

• Academic Search Premier• Covers numerous academic areas

Search with Keywords

Search with Subjects

Use Facets ( a u t o - g e n e r a t e d )

Use Limiters ( f e w e r re s u l t s )

ReferenceUSA

Business data‒ US Postal Service & Change of

Address updates

‒ Phone Directories

‒ SEC, Annual Reports, etc.

‒ General & Trade Publications

‒ New Business Resources‒ Secretaries of State‒ Public Record Notices‒ County Courthouses‒ Utility Connections

‒ Calling & site searching for verification. Verified info is updated/confirmed every 30 days (from a proprietary feed)

Consumer data‒ Real Estate & Tax Assessments

‒ Voter Registration files

‒ Utility Connects

‒ Bill Processors

‒ “Behavioral data, and more”

Sources

ReferenceUSANotes

Start in Consumers/Lifestyles for an idea of your customer market.• Areas of Interest are scaled from 1-9.

• Results: individuals with medium to high level of interest (6-9)

• Find out where they may be spending their money• Geographic Area• Area of Interest • Income level

• Download: Custom options

• Revise the initial search• Consumer Snapshot category

• Chart: Age & Income Level

• Matrix: Income & 5 Digit Zip

ReferenceUSANotes, cont.

Continue in Businesses to see how many competitors you would have.• Custom Search

• Business Type: Major Industry Group• Retail Trade (52-59)

• Eating & Drinking Places (58)• Eating Places (5812)

• 581220 Restaurant Management• 581228 Coffee Shops• 581229 Deli-Bakery

• Geography• Zip Code: 54911• Radius: 10 miles of 54911

• View Results …you will see all of the existing community businesses that meet these parameters

• Choose a business to examine: Business Demographics• Sales volume• # of employees• Credit rating score

• You can use the map to assist with site selection, too.

Research Companies• contact coordinates• key personnel• annual sales• employee size

Build lists of Prospective Clients• by industry• by location• by size

Connect with People /Network• purchase preferences• income levels• demographic information

Analyze Data• density maps• charts & graphs

Manage Results• what to print• what to download

Search Strategies

w w w. y o u t u b e . c o m / u s e r / R r e s o u r c e c e n t e r

ReferenceUSAFinal Tips

See w w w. a p l . o rg /e / re f u s a if you have problems connecting remotely.

ReferenceUSA’s YouTube channel has a large number of very helpful and informative videos on using the database.

Business Source Premiere (EBSCOhost)

Source Types

Business Source Premiere (EBSCOhost)

Subjects• Entrepreneurship

• Business planning

• New business enterprises

• Operating costs

• United States

NotesIndustry Profiles are mainly international and not the USA.

Market Research Reports tend to connect you with a site where you can purchase the report for a large fee.

Small Business Reference Center (EBSCOhost)

Source Types

Notes• For a friendlier interface (next page), link to this database from the

EBSCOhost link at the top of www.apl.org/e. Once you are presented with a list of databases, scroll down until you see the link to the Small Business Reference Center at the bottom of the page.

• Browse by category (through the friendly interface) for industry info, business basics, startup kits, and business plans.

• Contains many Nolo titles

• Contains Market Research content: in the green header on the friendly interface, click “Publications” and search by Match Any Words for ‘market research’

Small Business Reference Center (EBSCOhost)‘friendly’ interface

Regional Business News (EBSCOhost)

Subjects• Entrepreneurship

• Business planning

• New business enterprises

• Operating costs

• United States

Source Types

NotesMany articles don’t have Subjects assigned; find them with Keyword searching.

Academic Search Premiere (EBSCOhost)

Source Types

Subjects• Entrepreneurship

• Business Enterprises

• Business Planning

• Small Business

• Business Losses

• Risk management in business

Notes• Multi-disciplinary

• Full text for more than 4,600 journals, including nearly 3,900 peer-reviewed titles

• PDF backfiles to 1975 or further for >100 journals

• Searchable cited references > 1,000 titles

• “Is my product feasible? …Has anyone else tried this?”