BUS 116
Entrepreneurship
Research Guide
Industry Overviews
The following databses provide industry overview information in addition to full-text articles from the latest journals, magazines and newspapers. You may access the following databases from any computer workstation on campus. For off-campus access, please follow the instructions found on the library’s homepage under “Off-Campus Access Instructions”.
Business Source Completeis a definitive scholarly business database, providing the leading collection of bibliographic and full text content. Additional full text, non-journal content includes financial data, books, monographs, major reference works, conference proceedings, case studies, investment research reports, industry reports, market research reports, country reports, company profiles, SWOT analyses and more. Academic Search Complete
Search by company name for articles from journals, magazines and newspapers.
Demographics
The following websites provide demographical information necessary for conducting market research. The US Census Bureau collects and compiles statistics at the national, regional and local levels. The websites listed below will provide US census data. You may access these sites with the provided url or from the Websites link on the library homepage. Breadcrumb Trail: Websites/Reference Websites/Statistical Resources.
American Factfinder ( http://factfinder.census.gov) is an easy to use, searchable site from the U.S. Census Bureau that includes housing, population, economic and geographic data. Explore the Factsheet, People, Housing and Business tabs on the left side of the page.
State and County Quick Facts ( http://quickfacts.census.gov) provides quick and easy access to facts about people, business, and geography for states and counties in the U.S.
U.S. Census Bureau (www.census.gov)
The U.S. Census Bureau collects and compiles statistics at the national, regional and local levels. 2002 Economic Census/stats available within states.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov)
provides a wealth of statistical and occupational related information. This site is particularly good for wage, earnings, and benefit information. Section on Consumer Expenditures within Demographics is also helpful.
Chamber of Commerce
Most sites will have demographics for their respective city or town along with licensing information. This is also an excellent site to find businesses within the county. To find, go to Google and type the name of your county and “chamber of commerce” (Exp. Radford VA “chamber of commerce”).
Regulatory Information (Business licenses/taxes, etc.)
Virginia.gov prov ides citizens & businesses a single, electronic gateway to all government-related information including taxes and licensing.
Licenses: Business Resources/General Resources/VBIC/Licenses & Permits/County Contacts
Taxes: overview of tax requirements as well as links to acquire FEIN and register a business
FirstGov.gov is the official U.S. gateway to all government information and provides links to millions of web pages from the federal government to foreign nations around the world. The link for Business and NonProfits provides statistics, laws and regulations and tax information.
Suppliers
Switchboard.com ( http://switchboard.com/) national yellow page directory
Thomas Directory ( http://www.thomasnet.com/)
ThomasNet, is the most comprehensive resource for finding information on suppliers of industrial products and services in North America
Yahoo Directory ( http://dir.yahoo.com/)
Search by keyword (exp. Dog supplies wholesale)
Go Wholesale.com ( http://www.gowholesale.com/)
Directory of online wholesale companies. Search for businesses by keyword. Excellent way to find competitors in specific geographic locale as well as identify wholesalers (type keyword and wholesale, exp. nursery wholesale)
Compiled March 2007 by Alison Cockram
If you have questions regarding any of these resources or need assistance finding
additional information, please Ask a Librarian.