FactFinder Quick Reports. Your source for population, housing, economic, and geographic data in the U.S. Use it to uncover everything from economic projections for specific industries and geographic locations to population trends and housing statistics by country, state, county, or city. (www.factfinder.census.gov).
■ Statistics Canada studies and reports. In addition to carrying out a Canadian census every five years, Canada’s central statistical agency conducts surveys on virtually all aspects of Canadian life, the results of which can be viewed at the agency’s website (www.statcan.com/menu-en.htm).
■ Economic Census. The U.S. Economic Census provides a detailed portrait of the nation’s economy once every five years, from the national to the local level. Use it to gauge what is likely to happen in a particular industry or geographic region. (http://factfinder.census.gov/jsp).
■ Industry Statistics Sampler. Takes data from the U.S. Economic Census and provides snapshots of particular industries. Use it to discover historical trends as well as the current facts about a particular industry. (www.census.gov/econ/census02/data/industry/index.html).
Fee-based resources
Many research resources for up-to-date business industry information require that you pay—sometimes quite a lot—for their data. (Free access to some of these resources may be available through your public, college, or university library.)
■ ABI/INFORM Global. Offers abstracts and full-text articles from leading publications. You can find out anything that’s been published about a particular market or industry in a major business or trade magazine by searching through this database (www.proquest.com).
■ Mintel. A global supplier of consumer, media, and market research. You can use these custom reports to find out what is going on in a broad range of markets and industries (www.mintel.com).
■ Plunkett Research Online. Provides market research, company profiles, analysis, trends, statistics, data, and business information. This is an excellent resource for researching potential competitors (www.plunkettresearchonline.com).
■ Standard & Poor’s NetAdvantage. Comprehensive gathering of in-depth business and investment information. One of the top business databases, this provides independent research, data, and commentary on stocks, bonds, funds, and industries—all of which helps entrepreneurs get the “big picture” of what’s going on in their chosen markets and/or industries. Note: available only through libraries (www.netadvantage.standardandpoors.com).
■ Business & Company Resource Center. A premier online research site that is of special use to entrepreneurs, Business & Company Resource Center has its own content and search engine that allows users to look up detailed information about potential competitors; often available at public libraries (www.galegroup.com/BusinessRC/).
Successful Business Research
The basics of business research and a wealth of both free and for-fee research services are listed in a companion publication to Passion to Profits. Successful Business Research walks you through how to get verifiable numbers to support your business plans in a step-by-step manner. Harnessing the often-difficult-to-master power of the nation’s leading public and private data sources, this book not only takes you to the information, it shows you how to filter it, interpret it, and use it to your business’ advantage. Find it at your bookseller or at www.PlanningShop.com
worksheet: Industry Research
This is a good time to test the research waters by using some of the free resources listed on the preceding pages to begin to uncover facts about your chosen industry or market. Use the worksheet below to record some rudimentary facts.
| Question | Research Reveals | Opportunities Suggested by Research Results |
| Describe the economic history and past business trends of this industry or market in terms of the following characteristics: —Demographics —Market size —Competitors —History of industry | ||
| What are the future projections for this industry or market? | ||
| What are the demographics? | ||
| What is the size of this market or industry? | ||
| Who are the main competitors? |
| chapter |
| 4 |
Your Business Concept
You’ve articulated your personal and business vision and identified opportunities in your area of interest. Now it’s time to start honing in on your business concept.
Meeting needs is the basis of all business. You can devise a wonderful new machine, but if it doesn’t address some real and important need or desire, people won’t buy it, and your business will fail. Even Thomas Edison recognized this fact when he said, “Anything that won’t sell, I don’t want to invent.”
Typically, entrepreneurs get their original business inspiration from one of four sources: 1) previous work experience; 2) education or training; 3) hobbies, talents, or other personal interests; or 4) recognition of an unanswered need or market opportunity. Occasionally, the impetus comes from the business experience of a relative or friend.
As you begin to move from defining a business opportunity to a concept, keep in mind that a successful business incorporates at least one of these elements:
■ Something new or improved. A new product, service, feature, or technology, or an improvement on an existing product or service encompassing more features, lower price, greater reliability, faster speed, or increased convenience.
■ An underserved or new market. A market for which there is greater demand than competitors can currently satisfy, an unserved location, or a small part of an overall market—a niche market—that hasn’t yet been dominated by other competitors. Sometimes, markets become underserved when large companies abandon or neglect smaller portions of their current