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Table of Contents

General Business Information...... 1

Financial Information...... 2

Demographic Information...... 3

Directories...... 3

Market Research Tutorials...... 4

Search Engines...... 4

Selected Market Research Resources

The SBDC National Information Clearinghouse

General Business Information:

  • American City Business Journals - Business news for large US cities. Search for articles on industry trends, compare similar businesses in other cities, and check competition.
  • American Demographics Magazine -Discover trends, obtain marketing ideas, and identify markets for businesses that market to consumers; fee for full text.
  • Edward Lowe Foundation - The Ed Lowe Foundation maintains a searchable database of articles, book chapters, and SBA publications dealing with a wide variety of small business issues.
  • EntreWorld (Kauffman Center) - The Kauffman Foundation supports entrepreneurial education. Their website provides a good source for training materials.
  • Fedstats - Internet portal for U.S. government created statistics. Start here if you are not sure which government agency produces the statistics you need.
  • FindArticles.com - Search for full text articles of newspapers, industry trade periodicals, and general business magazines.
  • Forbes- Online version of Forbes magazine.
  • Inc Magazine-Search for general business trends at this popular business magazine’s website.
  • Manufacturing.net - This is a portal site for manufacturing industry information and links to suppliers.
  • NAICS (North American Industrial Classification System) - The new system that will replace the SIC within the next few years. NAICS was created in order to compare and track the economies in Canada, Mexico and the United States. The 1997 US Economic Census is reported by NAICS. NAICS codes can be located at the NAICS hyperlink above. See also: SIC.
  • SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) -All establishments are assigned a classification by the Federal Government for statistical and other reporting purposes based upon their primary business function. Most private and public statistics are reported at the SIC level. SICs can be located at the SIC hyperlink above. See also: NAICS.
  • Small Business Sourcebook (Gale Group)– Annual source of information related to starting specific types of small businesses. Typical entries include article citations for start-up info, associations, trade publications, reference works, statistics, supply sources and databases.
  • SmartStart Your <State> Business (Oasis Press) –A book series with general business information specific to individual states. It includes federal and state agency contacts, sample legal forms, business plan guidelines, marketing information, and human resources advice.
  • Stat-USA - Statistics for international trade and domestic industry; some of the resources require a fee.
  • Strategis -A Canadian government perspective of American business utilizing statistics.
  • Valuation Resources -Offers links to associations, industry reports, and other pertinent industry specific information (classified by SIC); some require a fee.

Financial Information:

  • Almanac of Business and Industrial Financial Ratios (Dr. Leo Troy; Prentice Hall) – Annualpublication of ratios and industry norms in actual dollar figures derived from IRS data. Each industry includes performance indicators such as total assets, cost of operations, wages, asset turnover, and profit margins.
  • Federal Reserve Banks -Federal Reserve Banks provide statistics, conduct surveys, and research special topics. For instance, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City maintains the Center for the Study of Rural America.
  • Financial Studies of the Small Business (Financial Research Associates) - Similar to RMA, but surveys only small and micro-business industries for service, retail, contractors, wholesalers, professional and manufacturing. Provides assets, top 25% in sales and five year trend data in a small loose leaf binder.
  • IRS Small Business Resource Guide - Overview of specialized small businesses, including financial concerns and tax related issues.
  • Market Share Reporter (Gale Group) – Annual publication organized by SIC categories (industry groups). Reports percentage of market held by leading companies in each category covered. Usually gives total market size for each category.
  • Risk Management Association (RMA) Annual Statement Studies – A traditional resource for ratios derived from statements of commercial bank borrowers and prospects. Organized by 4 digit SIC code, most editions contain only national averages. Available in print or on the Internet as a subscription.

Standard & Poor’s Industry Surveys – Subscription based surveys in 52 industries. Each topic contains trends, comparative company analyses, and forecasts. Each survey is published independent of the other topics.

Demographic Information:

  • American Factfinder (US Census) -Finddemographic and economic data foraparticular geographic area. See also:
  • MOSAIC Lifestyle Demographics-Population segmented demographically according to the styles of living in communities; 12 basic groups briefly mentioned here but more detail is available for purchase.
  • Household Spending: Who Spends How Much on What (New Strategist) - Gives household spending averages based on Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Expenditure Survey. Includes 35,000 different spending records from homes and cars, to apparel and food. Also contains average spending by age and gender.
  • The Sourcebook of ZIP Code Demographics (ESRI)-Annual demographic information by zip code including population, race, age, income, and expenditure data for entertainment, automotive, food and more for each ZIP code in the US.
  • State Data Centers -In partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau, State Data Centers provide estimates and projections and other economic data for each state.
  • See also: and .

Directories:

  • American Society of Association Executives - Some trade associations are listed on this site.
  • American Wholesaler and Distributor Directory (Gale Research) –Publication of wholesalers and distributors sorted by product category and by state.
  • Catalog of Catalogs (Woodbine House) – Billed as “The Complete Mail-Order Directory” this resource contains the descriptions and contact information to 14,000 catalogs. It is indexed by subject and by company name.
  • Corporate Information - Search for data about a specific company. Mostly for public companies, but some private company data is also available.
  • Directory of Manufacturers' Sales Agencies (Manufacturing Agents National Association) – Alphabetic list of manufacturer’s sales agencies and by state; section on selecting a sales agent. All companies included are members of the Association.
  • Encyclopedia of Associations (Gale Group)– Annual publication to thousands of National and International organizations. Contains contact information and descriptions and has an index for name, key word, and geographic area. (Online version is Gale Ready Reference.)
  • Franchise Handbook –Online version of the handbook, which lists franchises by industry or name. See also for a directory and articles supporting the franchisee and their startup.
  • Thomas Food Industry Register - Online subscription or 3 volume set of food manufacturers and suppliers to the food industry.
  • Thomas Register of Manufacturing -This widely used directory includes national listing of most manufacturing firms.
  • Trade Shows – Fill in the blanks and obtain a list of upcoming trade shows for a particular industry, domestic and foreign locations.
  • Virtual Community of Associations -Locate industry associations from this site.

Market Research Tutorials:

Search for a company online

Typical steps to find information on a company

Industry Information

Small Business Administration

Sample Business Plans/Business Planning Guides

SBA Women’s Business Center-Provides startup business tutorials for anyone, including women, and helpful links for further information.

Search Engines:

Simple Search Engine: Google

Search Engine w/ Directory: ;Yahoo

Multi-Search Engine: Metacrawler ;Dogpile

Please e-mail additions and/or corrections to Judith K. Johnson at Revised November 2005.

This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of SBDCNet and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. SBA. This U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Grant is funded by the SBA. SBA’s funding is not an endorsement of any products, opinions, or services. All SBA funded programs are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis.