You Can Do It :. Thomas Greenbaum

determined that the only way for them to be successful was to sell it for $49, which required a major change in the entire production and marketing strategy of the organization.

      -Often it can be productive to visit a company in your business who operates in a geographic area that is not competitive with you. For example, a consulting business that only operates in a limited geographic area, or a retail operation that has no intention of expanding to your area. Generally, these people will talk to you about the business and provide valuable tips that will be helpful to you in the planning process.

      * E-Commerce Research - Whether or not your new business is in the e-commerce space, it can be very useful to study the websites of various e-commerce organizations that would be competitive with you. You can learn about the products they are featuring, their pricing, product selections etc.

      * Free on-line Survey Tools - There are many different on-line survey tools that are available to conduct quantitative research among your audience. The objective of these is to obtain attitudes and behavioral information that will enable you to make more effective decisions relative to your own marketing plans. The most popular of these is Survey Monkey (www.surveymonkey.com). This is a research tool you can use to implement quantitative market research on-line via questionnaires that you would develop. The big drawback to this and the other on-line tools is that you need to have a data base of e-mail customers who have opted-in to your website to survey them. It is not legal to purchase lists of emails and use vehicles such as Survey Monkey to conduct research among them. Also, using the free vehicle you have limitations regarding the number of surveys you can distribute. However, we have found Survey Monkey to be a very cost-efficient vehicle for larger studies. Further, Survey Monkey is free for up to 100 questionnaires, but beyond that there is a fee.

      * On Line Research Libraries - Another resource that should not be overlooked is the wide array of on-line resources that are available, some free and others for a cost. Two examples we recommend considering are:

      -CompaniesAndMarkets.com – This is an organization with thousands of reports on a wide variety of topics that could be very relevant to your analysis of the marketplace. They claim to have over 500,000 different reports.

      -Freeonlineresearchpapers.com - This is a website run by the online University of Phoenix. They also have thousands of different reports about a wide variety of topics. They are free.

      * Trade Associations & Industry Publications - Another very important category of information that is readily available to most people considering entering a new business category are the trade associations serving the category and the various publications that are produced in print or on-line about the topic. In the years before the Internet offered products such as Google and Yahoo to do searches, the trade associations were among the most important resources for gathering research information. Most trade associations will talk to prospective members and provide them with useful information about the marketplace and the competitive factors in the business. Further, they will normally be helpful in directing you to other resources that will answer questions that they are unable or unwilling to address.

      A great source of information about a product or service category is the industry publications in the field. Almost every product category has a magazine or newsletter, which you can obtain to learn about the business category. In addition to general articles about the dynamics of the business, it is very common for trade magazines to conduct surveys of their members that can prove to be invaluable to a new person seeking entry into the area.

      * Your Local Business Reference Librarian - When planning an entry into a new business it is very advisable to develop a close relationship with the research librarian in the major library facility in their area. They can be extremely helpful and can save significant amounts of time. The types of information you are likely to get from a local library with the help of an experienced reference librarian are:

      -Market size and growth trends

      -Detailed information about competitive brands or companies

      -Demographic information of potential customers

      -Sources of industry experts to contact or follow via the Internet

      Some of the major libraries have very extensive business reference sections where they collect information specifically aimed at the small business entrepreneur. One example is the Science and Industry Business Library in New York City. This is a branch of the New York Public Library located at 34th Street and Madison Avenue. In addition to having very experienced librarians, they have a collection of hundreds of business plans that can be researched to give you help with your planning. It is likely that you would find a business plan for an organization that is like that which you are creating, thus giving you valuable information to use in your planning efforts.

      A related resource that also should be explored is University Libraries. Some university libraries will permit the public to use their resources for research, particularly if you might be an alumnus of that school. It certainly is a research option that must be evaluated during the planning stages of a business.

      * Communication with University or College Professionals – One possible invaluable source of information can be teachers at local universities that teach business courses. They offer two important potential resources: