Business Plan Research

Cabrillo College Library

Two ways to record your answers. Choose one!

1. Type your responses into the boxes in the form. When you are finished, click the Submit button (bottom of form) to send your answers to your instructor's email.

2. If you are using a computer that has a word processing program (e.g., Word, or Notepad), set things up so you can switch back and forth between the Web and a word processing document. Put your name on your paper, and be sure to correctly number your responses. When you're finished, print it out and hand it in!

Business plans are essential. They function as road maps for managing a business, and as documents for raising capital or securing financial backing. Good old-fashioned research goes into developing a business plan, especially the sections covering industry and market analysis.

|| Background Info || The Industry || The Competition ||Trade Associations, Shows, Journals||

Your name

1. Background Information

1a. Type of business
Select one of the following types of businesses: nursery/garden shop; bakery; women's clothing store; bookstore

Type of business

1b. Classification Codes
The SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) code classifies establishments by their primary type of activity. Use one or both of these Web sites to find the SIC code for your business.

FedMarket.com SIC codes for retail trade
Standard Industrial Classification Search from OSHA. Search on the subject of your industry.

The SIC system is being replaced by NAICS (North American Industry Classification System). SICs are still more commonly used, but NAICS codes will soon predominate. Use a table to convert your SIC to the new NAICS code:

Go to NAICS Web site
Click on NAICS to SIC; SIC to NAICS button (top left)
In table 2, click on Retail Trade

Classification codes SIC code NAICS code

2. Researching the Industry

PROBLEM You need to learn more about your business -- the nature of the market or industry, types of products, services, trends, etc.

YOUR SOLUTION You look for periodical articles. And use books!

Periodical Articles Online

Be on the Cabrillo College Library homepage
Click on Magazines, Newspapers, and Encyclopedias [If you are accessing this from off campus, your user ID is your library card number]
On the next screen, click on Magazine Articles
On the next screen, click on
On the next screen, click on
On the next screen, click in the small boxes next to Full Text and Cabrillo College Library Journals (this way you'll retrieve either fulltext articles, or information about articles held by the library)
Type in your search terms. Then click on

HINT: Try various approaches to searching for articles. For example, in the search box, you could put women's clothing on one line, and industry on the next. Or, nursery on one line, and market on the next.

Note down information (2a-2c) about at least one of the articles you find. What seems particularly useful about it (2d)?

2a. Title of article

2b. Title of periodical

2c. Date of article

2d. What seems particularly useful about this article?

Using Books
Find one or both of these books in the library (no -- not everything is available online!) NOTE: ref before a call number indicates the book is in the reference collection

U.S. Industry & Trade Outlook ref HC106.82 .U16 1998
Small Business Sourcebook ref HD2346.U5S66

Look up your business and make notes about something you learn (2e) about it that will help you in your planning.

2e. Information in reference sources about the industry

3. What's the Competition Really Like?

PROBLEM If you are going to be successful, you have to know a good deal about your competition...who they are, what they do well, where your business could improve things, etc.

YOUR SOLUTION You do some competitive intelligence researching.

Go to Fuld.com

3a. Click on What Competitive Intelligence Is and Is Not. Write a brief summary of what seem to you to be good reasons for doing competitive intelligence research.

3b. Click on Internet Intelligence Index (over on left). Scroll down and browse the General Business Internet Resources and Industry Specific Internet Resources. Make notes about something you learn.

Go to CompanySleuth.com

3c. CompanySleuth provides an array of "free, legal, inside information" about public companies -- companies whose whose stock is traded on an open exchange (New York, American, NASDAQ, etc.)

To get an idea of the kind of information offered, if your type of business is a...	search for information on
nursery/garden shop	US Home & Garden (ticker USHG)
bakery	Uncle B's Bakery (ticker UNCB)
women's clothing store	Active Apparel Group (ticker AAGP)
bookstore	Borders Group (ticker BGP)

Brief company and financial information is provided to anyone, but (free) registration is required for access to more detailed reports. On the Web site for CompanySleuth, type in ticker symbol for your company and click on Go!

Can you see advantages to using CompanySleuth? What kind of information is provided? In brief, what did you learn about your company?

Go to CorporateInformation

3d. CorporateInformation covers both public and private companies, U.S. and international. Look for information on your company (type company name into search box). Note down something you learned.

4. Trade Associations, Trade Shows, and Trade Journals

PROBLEM You need to get connected with people in your business, need to get to know firsthand the trends and outlooks.

YOUR SOLUTION You identify trade associations, trade shows and events, and trade journals.

Go to American Society of Association Executives to use a large directory of trade associations. If you don't find a trade association for your business on the American Society of Association Executives Web site, use one or both of these reference books:

Encyclopedia of Associations Location in the Library: ref AS22 .E5 1999
National Trade and Professional Associations of the United States Location in the Library: ref HD2425 .D53

4a. What is the trade association for your business? Make a few notes about the association.

4b. When and where is the trade show?
Use one or more of the following Web directories to identify an upcoming trade show, exposition, or conference that applies to your business.

Expoguide.com
ExpoWeb
Trade Show Central
Trade Show News Network

Information about the event

4c. What are the trade journals?

Go to Publist.com Play around with entering your keyword in the Quick Search box. If you can't find trade journals for your special area of interest by using Publist.com, then consult Small Business Sourcebook Location in the Library:
ref HD2346.U5 S66

Title(s) of trade journals

Now that you are finished, click on Submit

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