Small Business in America Thread

[damunzy]

1. Targeted Marketing: I am target small businesses in my area with a certain amount of employees- is there a way to get this information? I have tried a few Google searches to find out how but haven't come up with anything free or paid. I have found information about the amount of businesses in my area but they are not broken down by employee size.

2. Small Business Forums: Does anyone know of an active forum of Small Business owners? The second highest ranked forum on Google hasn't seen any posts since 2006 and the first ranked doesn't seem that active.

 

[BSmith1068]

1.) What kind of information are you looking for exactly?

2.) Go to your local chapter of the SBA. They may have resources available for you that are not online or easy to find using Google. Also look to any universities in your area with business schools. They may have resources or other organizations that cater to small businesses. They might be able to help give you direction as well. For example, The George Washington University in Washington DC has a Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence that promotes entrepreneurship and small business. http://www.gw-cfee.org/

University libraries may also have databases that have more detailed information that are not available to the general public.

 

[BSmith1068]

Doing some quick research, I came across Ward's Business Directory of U.S. Private and Public Companies. I have access through my school’s library, but you can buy a hard copy of the report from Amazon for $3,000.

There are also online databases like Hoovers (http://www.hoovers.com/) that you could subscribe to.

 

[damunzy]

1.) What kind of information are you looking for exactly?

Prime target are small biz with 10+ employees.

2.) Go to your local chapter of the SBA. They may have resources available for you that are not online or easy to find using Google. Also look to any universities in your area with business schools. They may have resources or other organizations that cater to small businesses. They might be able to help give you direction as well. For example, The George Washington University in Washington DC has a Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence that promotes entrepreneurship and small business. http://www.gw-cfee.org/

Good idea!

University libraries may also have databases that have more detailed information that are not available to the general public.

Another good idea- I will have to check my local community college at which I am taking some classes.

Thanks for the ideas!

 

[damunzy]

Doing some quick research, I came across Ward's Business Directory of U.S. Private and Public Companies. I have access through my school’s library, but you can buy a hard copy of the report from Amazon for $3,000.

ouch! I will check at my community college for this resource.

There are also online databases like Hoovers (http://www.hoovers.com/) that you could subscribe to.

Will check out.

 

[damunzy]

There are also online databases like Hoovers (http://www.hoovers.com/) that you could subscribe to.

Well, Hoovers targets large companies and for my area only has listings for 11 companies.

Why Hoover's?

Including access to valuable data related to over 43,000 top companies

 

[BSmith1068]

Out of curiosity, what are you looking to market?

Well, Hoovers targets large companies and for my area only has listings for 11 companies.

Dun and Bradstreet may be another resource: http://www.dnb.com/us/

I also found this: https://www.accessnet.state.nj.us/home.asp (I am assuming based on your location that you are in NJ)

 

[damunzy]

Out of curiosity, what are you looking to market?

You can follow my link in my sig to my website but here is the tl;dr: Small Business Computer Solutions. More than just tech support: also sales on workstations, servers, and CRM, backup, disaster recovery, etc. At the money amounts that I am looking for a real small business doesn't have the funds available for me that is why I am looking for 10+ employees as a business that size can see a quick ROI with what I can provide. I am an MS partner, and in the process of Partnering with Dell, HP and Cisco. Going for a cert in Small Business Server 2008 and looking to hire an MCSE or MCTS.

Dun and Bradstreet may be another resource: http://www.dnb.com/us/

I will have to check that but they will only have the businesses that have registered with them. Thinking about it though, most businesses with 10+ employees prob will have registered...

I went to my community college's (OCC, Ocean County College) online library and searched around. I didn't find anything so I clicked on the librarian help. A librarian from somewhere in NJ through online chat found a book for me that is in the reference section. I then took the publisher name and did a Google search for that. Lo and behold they have a pay online service.

tl;dr: found an online service in NJ: http://corfactsonline.com/index.php

I also found this: https://www.accessnet.state.nj.us/home.asp (I am assuming based on your location that you are in NJ)

Correct on NJ. This may be what I want but the search function is very primitive. Below is the result I got back after futzing around for a few minutes. I'd have to do this multiple times for different categories and there is no guarantee that the size of the business is in there plus I am sure there are a lot of smaller and larger businesses than I want to target right now in the results.

Business List Services Response
These results are current through 04/20/2010.

Search Results
File Searched: Corporate and Business Entity
Entity Type: DOMESTIC LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY
Date Range Searched: From: 04/01/2010
To: 04/19/2010
Your search returned:
Records Returned: 2222
Approximate File Size: 2222 Kilobytes*
*Before proceeding with your order, please ensure that this file size is not too large for your email box. If it is too large, narrow your search by clicking Perform New Search and selecting a smaller date range. You can then add multiple business lists of smaller sizes to your Shopping Cart.
Cost to purchase this list:
Cost: $ 66.66

 

[damunzy]

BTW, are you a small biz owner, BSmith1068?

 

[BSmith1068]

BTW, are you a small biz owner, BSmith1068?

No - but I am finishing up my MBA this spring with a focus on Small Business Development/Management. I have done some consulting for small businesses as well.

 

[damunzy]

No - but I am finishing up my MBA this spring with a focus on Small Business Development/Management. I have done some consulting for small businesses as well.

Congrats on that! So, do you feel that you will get your monies worth for the MBA? I have heard that the training is okay but the contacts that you make during training are the real rewards.

 

[BSmith1068]

Thanks! It is hard to do an exact cost-benefit analysis, but I have definitely gotten a lot of value out of the program. I have been working full time and going to school part time in the evenings so it has taken me four years to complete the program. The core classes were fairly generic and foundational, but the real value for me was in the elective courses. I have also made a lot of contacts/friends and have had some great experiences.

 

[GoodGame]

Hoover's is an extensive database of businesses, though not sure how small it goes down.

Might just try to join the Chamber of Commerce in your area, and network through them.

 

[Birdjaguar]

If you are targeting regional businesses the best approach is to create your own list of prospects from local sources: business newspapers, chamber of commerce, business groups, rotary clubs, etc.

Keep in mind that you will be most successful selling your services through two primary channels: word of mouth referrals and face-to-face meetings. While you may be selling a variety of IT services, that is not what your customers are buying. They are buying solutions to immediate problems, expertise, and confidence in you. Unless they get what they are buying, what you're selling is immaterial. The goal of any marketing effort should be to get a face-to-face meeting with a prospect.

What will be the dollar value of a typical sale? Will it be a one time sale or will each sale be a stream of payments? Do you perform the service or work that is purchased, or do others?

 

[Whomp]

Jigsaw.com is a good start. I haven't used it in awhile and if I recall it was free and pretty robust. I may have some interns work on that this summer.

Inc.com has a 5000 fastest growing pivate firms list which I've found very user friendly using their advanced search.

You could also learn to use NAICS (SIC) codes ifyou need to drill down industries. Last, google "library of congress business reference services private company research".