USING BUSINESS PLAN RESOURCES 2015 PowerUP! Competition
2 AGENDA We will cover the following research areas: Research Types and Techniques General Business Plan Resources Legal Structure Market Research Components Your Customers Your Industry Your Competitors Costs and Salaries and Financial Ratios Q & A
3 Market Research Classes at BPL All classes on Monday evenings at the Central Library Info Commons Lab Researching Your Competition June 2, 6:30-8:00 pm Researching Your Industry June 16, 6:30-8:00 pm Researching Your Customers June 30, 6:30-8:00 pm
Types of Research Primary Research Interviews with customers, business owners Questionnaires or online surveys Observing other businesses and customers Competitors websites Work or volunteer experience in the industry Secondary Research Resources Government Data: e.g. U.S. Census Online Databases through BPL: E-Resources Consumer Spending Surveys Trade Magazines Industry Reports 4
5 Creating Surveys for Primary Research BOOKS: How to Conduct Surveys Survey Methodology Online Surveys for Dummies ONLINE SERVICES: www.surveymonkey.com www.surveygizmo.com
Secondary Research Online Online Search Engines: Google, Yahoo, Bing Use Keywords Make sure the word choice and spelling are correct Quotation marks set off an exact phrase: computer industry statistics Search techniques AND = computer & industry in same doc. NOT = computer, except industry OR = computer (all areas) or industry (any) 6
7 BPL E-Resources The library pays for subscriptions to services which you can access for free. Access is through BPL s Website Articles & Databases section. Some E-Resources may be used offsite with a BPL library card number and PIN. www.bklynlibrary.org/articles-databases
General Business Plan Resources Business Plan Handbook Print: Multi-volume set with sample business plans E-resource: Small Business Resource Center Business Plan Pro: sample plans www.bplans.com/sample_business_plans.php Successful Business Research, by Rhonda Abrams Excellent explanation of how to find data & statistics Small Business Sourcebook Print: Multi-volume set covering many industries E-resource: Small Business Resource Center 8
9 NYC Small Business Services New York City s Small Business Services Library www.nyc.gov/html/sbs/nycbiz/html/library/library.shtml Small Business Digital Toolkit for Social Media Launching a Business: Start-up Checklists, Insurance, Legal Structure, Registrations, etc. Business Courses www.nyc.gov/html/sbs/nycbiz/html/summary/courses.shtml New Business Acceleration Team www.nyc.gov/html/nbat/html/home/home.shtml
10 Legal Structures Resources Books - See the book list handout: Legal Guide for Starting & Running a Small Business by Fred S. Steingold Incorporate Your Business by Anthony Mancuso How to Form a Nonprofit Corporation by Anthony Mancuso Websites: www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=98359,00.html www.bizfilings.com/comparison.aspx www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/llc-corporations-partnerships/
Market Research Components Product research Consumer research and buying behavior Industry research and trends Competition and market share Formulate the questions you need to answer to help focus your research. 11
12 Market Research Sections of the PowerUP! Plan that will rely on market research: Market Analysis and Target Market (Section 3) Industry Analysis and Trends (Section 4) Competitive Analysis (Section 5)
13 Sample Sources Market Research Data National SBDC Information Clearinghouse www.sbdcnet.org/ Industry trends, research reports, general info. ProQuest Statistical Abstract of the U.S. Available in print at any BPL branch. All kinds of statistics & their sources. NYC Dept of City Planning http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/home.html Good for community district/neighborhood data
14 Your Customers Who are you selling to? Individual Consumers, Businesses, Government Agencies? What are their characteristics? Geographic and demographic profile What are their buying habits? Psychographic profile
15 U.S. Census of Population 2010 Census offers only basic data: population, age, sex, race, home ownership by geographic area. American Community Survey is regularly updated and provides more detailed, timely info including income. Geographic areas available vary in general searching by county is best for most searches.
16 American Factfinder American Factfinder is the online interface for the U.S. Census. factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml Use Community Facts for quick search by location for popular demographic data Enter type of geography such as county, zip code Select type of data you want on next page from items in blue
Community Facts for Basic Data 17
Select data tables for the geography you selected 18
American Factfinder (continued) Tips when using American Factfinder Make sure to clear selections/cancel when starting a new search. No results may mean the data is not available for the geographic area try a larger area. American Community Survey (ACS) estimates are reliable data. 19
20 Your Customer: Psychographics Consumer Spending Data Consumer Surveys Expenditures & Time Use www.bls.gov/bls/spending.htm Reference Books American Incomes, Best Customers, Household Spending, etc. Also available as an E-resource: Gale Virtual Reference Library Trade Publications & Magazine Articles
21 Your Customer: Psychographics All sources below are E-Resources ReferenceUSA U.S. Consumer Section offers Lifestyles info The Local Market Audiences Analyst - from SRDS SimplyMap - extensive data and mapping capabilities includes both demographic and psychographic information (see Market Segments and Nielsen PRIZM )
22 Simply Map Basics View Tutorial Video to get started. Take class on Researching Your Customer. Start by creating a report rather than a map. Select Variables to find data and select Location to designate geographic area OR you can follow the Wizard prompts. Simply Map also provides business counts, retail sales, crime data and more.
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24 What is an Industry? Your Industry An economic sector or broad business which includes many specific types of businesses. Industry Codes - NAICS & SIC Hierarchical classification system for different types of businesses based on broad industry categories designated by two digits; additional numbers have more digits. These codes are used by government, economic researchers and publishers. NAICS & SIC Manuals in print or online: www.census.gov/eos/www/naics
NAICS Industry Codes 25
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27 Industry Statistics: The Economic Census BPL website: Industry Research www.bklynpubliclibrary.org/locations/business/guides See Industry Snapshots and Statistics Sampler which includes Non-employer Statistics and Business Expenses. Tip start by selecting your industry How to Use Economic Census Data for examples of applying data www.census.gov/econ/census/use_data E-commerce Statistics www.census.gov/econ/estats
28 Economic Census Industry Snapshots Industry Snapshots are easy, fast facts & trends: National sales, sales per capita by state (use map), 5 year growth, establishments, and more. http://www.census.gov/econ/snapshots/index.php Use Featured Businesses for easy searching of select businesses. Select All Industry Snapshots for complete listing by NAICS categories. Click More with red arrow for specific business types. Click Go to Industry Snapshot to get charts.
Industry Snapshots: Nationwide Only 29
30 Your Industry More Resources Reference Books Standard & Poors Industry Surveys Encyclopedia of Associations Associations may have statistics & reports, magazines & newsletters, benchmarks Trade Magazines www.tradepub.com free online subscriptions National SBDC Information Clearinghouse www.sbdcnet.org Use the top navigation bar: Market Research Links Small Business Snapshots for market research
31 Your Industry (continued). Brooklyn Public Library - E-Resources http://www.bklynlibrary.org/articles-databases ABI INFORM magazine articles with key word searches Business Insights: Essentials industry overview, rankings, news, associations Plunkett Research Online major industries market research & trends, company profiles, statistics Small Business Resource Center: Business Types for overview, articles, sample plans
32 Your Competition Researching Other Companies Find other companies in your industry OR companies your customers patronize. Consider both local companies and major companies. Learn about their lines of business, marketing, customer service, finances If you are selling to other companies (B to B), you may also research potential clients.
Your Competition: E-Resources Company Research Brooklyn Public Library Business E-Resources http://www.bklynlibrary.org/articles-databases Reference USA Morningstar Investment Research Business Insights: Essentials ABI Inform for articles Plunkett s Research Online 33
34 ReferenceUSA 14 Million US Private & Public Companies Contact and Management Info Company News Estimated Business Data: employees, revenues Approximate Business Expenditures Available remotely with Library Card & PIN. Particularly useful for creating customized lists and gathering information on small, private companies.
U.S. Businesses has Company Info 35
Use Custom Search to find companies by type, location, size 36
Select Your Criteria 37
Business Type & Geography are common search criteria 38
Click on the Company Name for details 39
Business Demographics & Business Expenditures have useful details 40
Data found in Business Demographics 41
Your Competition: More Resources Company Websites Public companies annual reports are in the Investor Relations section. Yahoo Finance finance.yahoo.com Get a profile, news and inexpensive research reports. 42
Your Competition: Print Sources Reference Books (see book list handout) International Directory of Company Histories Market Share Reporter, an annual compilation of reported market share data on companies, products and services Hoovers Handbook of Private Companies D & B Regional Business Directory 43
44 Regulations Find regulations and requirements for your business. New York State Online Filing System www.ny.gov/services/business www.dos.ny.gov/corps/online_filing.html New York City NYC Business Express, click on NYC Business Wizard or Easy Start www.nyc.gov/portal/site/businessexpress Department of Consumer Affairs, Business Toolbox www.nyc.gov/html/dca/html/business/business.shtml
45 Research Tips Be Resourceful in your searching Be Selective regarding your sources and note your sources Be Diligent in using details to put it all together And remember to ask a librarian www.bklynlibrary.org/only-bpl/book-librarian
46 Q & A Brooklyn Public Library Business & Career Library 718.623.7000 option 3 Science Industry Business Library, NYC www.nypl.org/smallbiz/ The PowerUP! competition is brought to you by Brooklyn Public Library sbusiness & Career Library Success Council and Citi Foundation.