ACRL New England Chapter News Online
Fall 2000, No. 91






Starting a Business: Information Needs and Sources
Business Librarians' Interest Group Spring Program

Julie Jersyk
Northeastern University

On May 24, sixteen business librarians from academic, public and corporate libraries gathered at Bryant College, Smithfield, RI, to learn about information sources for starting a business. Speakers were Dr. Robert Comerford, Professor of Management, University of Rhode Island; Douglas Jobling, Program Manager of the Rhode Island Small Business Development Center; and BLIG colleague Colleen Anderson, Team Leader of the Reference Department at the Hodgson Library, Bryant College.

Following are highlights from their presentations

Information for Business Planners

Robert Comerford, co-author of Strategic Management: Text, Tools and Cases for Business Policy, has taught entrepreneurship, small business management and strategic management since 1975. He spotlighted three major categories of information which are often misunderstood by business planners and explained how they can be used in preparing a business plan. They are:
Industry average financial data.
Into this category fall Industry Norms and Key Business Ratios, published by Dun & Bradstreet, RMA Annual Statement Studies, from Robert Morris Associates, and the Troy Almanac. He selected RMA Annual Statement Studies, "the mother of all financial sources," as the most useful to the small business planner.

The U.S. Economic Census:
The first two columns of data give the total number of establishments and the combined sales.

The U. S. Census of Population
This well-known source can be used in conjunction with the Economic Census as a tool for analyzing local population characteristics. The Census of Population and the 1997 U.S. Economic Census are online at the Census Bureau Home Page (http://www.census.gov).

Comerford, also recommended several books, singling out New Venture Creation : a Guide to Entrepreneurship, by Jeffry A..Timmins, (Homewood, Ill. : R.D. Irwin, 1985) 2nd ed. as the single best source for putting together a business plan. He also recommended the Small Business Administration Home page. (http://www.sbaonline.sba.gov/).

Rhode Island Small Business Development Center

The Small Business Development Center program was established by Congress in 1980 as a partnership program with the U.S. Small Business Administration to provide assistance to small business owners. There are currently 57 SBDC's with 1400 locations throughout the United States. The centers, which affiliate with local or state educational institutions or agencies, provide business counseling, business training, information services, and technology development.

Douglas Jobling was State Director of the Rhode Island Small Business Development Center from its inception in 1983 until 1998. During that time, he established the "Rhode Island Model," which makes extensive use of private sector consultants to provide SBDC counseling free of charge to clients. SBDC's are educational institutions and are not in competition with professional consultants. The Rhode Island SBDC, which is affiliated with Bryant College, offers progressive workshops, beginning with a free session on "Business Basics." Clients can then move on to more specialized programs, for which moderate fees are charged. Participants in the workshops can also take advantage of the services of members of SCORE - Service Corps of Retired Executives - for specialized consultation at no charge.

Impact assessment indicates that SBDC's are highly effective. Nationwide, they have counseled 8 million clients since 1980 - 600,000 in 1999 alone, and it is estimated that SBDC clients generate 64,000 new jobs per year.

Sources for Entrepreneurs

Colleen Anderson's presentation was organized around frequently asked questions from entrepreneurs. She guided her listeners through a blend of print and Web-based sources that address those questions. Following are major topics of the FAQ's and Anderson's recommendations:

Business plans
Among business planning Web sites, her top pick is Bplans.com: The Business Planning Center (http://www.bplans.com) . The site provides sample plans, from which entrepreneurs can select a match. American Express Small Business Exchange (http://www6.americanexpress.com), a free resource covering a number of business planning topics, is also worth checking out.

Other sites offering sample business plans include:
BizPlanIt.com (http://www.bizplannit.com),
Business Plans and Business Planning (http://bizplans.com)
Interactive Business Planner (http://www.cbsc.org/ibp).

Among useful print sources are Business Plans Handbook, (5 vols.) and Small Business Profiles, both published by Gale Research, and The Successful Business Plan: Secrets & Strategies, by Rhonda M. Abrams (Grants Pass, OR: Oasis Press, 1993).

Developing financial documents
Helpful Web sites include Business Tools From CCH, Inc., (http://www.toolkit.cch.com/tools/tools.asp), which includes templates, Plan Ware - Free Online Business Financial Planner (http://www.planware.ie/resource/planwareonline.htm) and Cash Flow Planning for Service Firms (http://www.bizproweb.com/featurescashflow.html).

The Business Planning Guide: Creating a Plan for Success in Your Own Business, by David H. Bangs, Jr. (Upstart Publishing, 1992. 6th edition) contains good examples of how to put financials together.

Industry and market forecasting
SIC and NAICS codes, which define products, are a fine place to start, and can be found at http://www.lib.virginia.edu/socsci/sic.html (SIC's) and http://www.census.gov/eped/www/naics.html (NAICS).

Trade associations and trade journals are still the best sources for product information, Anderson advised. For locating trade associations, she recommended the Encyclopedia of Business Information Sources, National Trade and Professional Associations of the United States, and The Internet Public Library (http://www.ipl.org/ref/aon). She identified a number of sources for industry outlooks, including Standard & Poor's Industry Surveys (New York: Standard & Poor's Corp., 1973-), and The U.S. Trade and Industry Outlook (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998-). She also cited Finding Market Research on the Web, by Robert Berkman and Arthur Hammond-Tooke (New York: Kalorama Information, LLC) as an excellent source.

Sources of capital
Entrepreneurs who are ready to seek financing can turn to VentureCompetition.com (http://www.venturecompetition.com) to try to match their business plans with a venture capitalist, while BusinessFinance.com (http://www.businessfinance.com) can be mined for articles, a free business plan template, and an opportunity to post one's business plan. International Directory of Venture Capital Funds, edited by Jennifer Shellinger (Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers) and Pratt's Guide to Venture Capital Sources (Wellesley Hills, MA: Capital Pubs) are trustworthy print publications.

As a comprehensive print source for entrepreneurs, Anderson recommended The Entrepreneur Magazine Small Business Advisor (New York: John Wiley, 1999. 2nd Edition). How to Set Up Your Own Small Business, by Max Fallek (Minneapolis, MN: American Institute of Small Business, 1999) covers some hard to find topics and is regularly updated.

Thanks are due to the BLIG planning chair Andree Rathemacher and her committee for this successful program.