Company Research
- General (phone, address, executives, etc)
- Company History
- Financials
- Still in business?
- Public or Private?
- Subsidiary/division?
- Products
- Market Share
- News
- Case Studies
- Credit Report
1. General (phone, address, executives, etc)
Contact information for both public and private companies
- Hoovers
- Greenwood Superpages
- ReferenceUSA
- Melissa Data - The Lookup Directory from Melissa Data provides a first-rate collection of 18 look-up databases. Accessible from a single page — for free! Includes U.S. Place Names, Zip Code Demographics, Income Tax Statistics, Area Codes in a Radius, Worldwide Place Names, Copywriting Tips, Nonprofit Organizations, etc.
- Toll Free Directory - Companies are listed by product, service, company name, state, and 800 numbers.
Executives, including biographies
For public companies, biographical information is available in the company's proxy statement and Annual Report/Form 10-K.
Here are a few websites which will provide executive biographical information:
2. Company History
- The company's website
- Library of Congress' Guide to Business History
- Wikipedia - Companies - This section of the popular Wikipedia encyclopedia provides company profiles for hundreds of U.S. and international firms, both public and private. You can find entries either by browsing the various categories (e.g., companies by country, by stock exchange, or by industry) or by entering the name of the target organization in the search box.
3. Financials
Sales, Revenues
Here are a few websites, which will supply financial information about public & private companies:
- Hoovers
- Yahoo! Finance
- Smart Business Reports - If you assume risk in dealing with other businesses and have a need to determine business or asset ownership, these online reports of public records may be very helpful (fees charged).
Annual Reports, proxy, and 10k
Here are a few websites which will provide financial statements (Annual Reports, 10-Ks, etc) on public companies:
- The Public Register Online - Free registration is required.
- Securities Information
- The Annual Reports Library
- The Public Register Annual Report Service - The reports need to be ordered from PRARS but they are free.
- The company's website
4. Is the company still in business?
An excellent place to start looking (regardless if the company is still in business or not) would be to check the Secretary of State website for the state in which the business is located.
- Indiana - Indiana Secretary of State
- Other states - National Association of Secretaries of State - Under 'Business Services', free registration is required.
5. Is the company public or private?
Information on private companies is not readily available. A few sources that would provide information on private companies would be:
- Central Indiana Better Business Bureau
- ReferenceUSA - Directory information on ten million public and private U.S. businesses.
- Ward's Business Directory of U.S. Private and Public Companies
- ThomasNet - Brings together industrial buyers and suppliers on a national, regional, and local level. Browse or search US and Canadian Companies to find the industrial products or services you need.
6. Is this company a subsidiary or division of another company?
- Corporate Affiliations - Offers insight on nearly 1 million parent and subsidiary businesses worldwide, and has recently expanded coverage to include additional in-depth details on directors, executives and their professional interactions, to help you build relationships that encourage business success. Has a 7 day free trial.
- ReferenceUSA - Directory information on ten million public and private U.S. businesses that includes business hierarchies.
7. Products/Services
What is the company's line of business? (SIC or NAICS codes). Here are sources for determining SIC and NAICS Codes.
- U.S. Census Bureau - Provides a list of NAICS codes.
- NAICS Association - A searchable list of NAICS and SIC codes.
- OSHA SIC Manual - A searchable version of the SIC Manual.
- ReferenceUSA - A business directory that lists SIC and NAICS codes which are also searchable.
8. Market share/Rankings
Would you be interested in company rankings (top 10 list), competitors, ratings, or market share information? (Market Share is the ratio of sales for one company's products or product line to the total market sales of that product or product line, expressed as a percentage of the market.)Here are some excellent websites, which provide company rankings.
- Forbes - Click on Lists.
- MarketResearch.com - Offers more than 2.3 million reports from over 950 leading research firms. Also has Market Looks, an 8-10 page summary on specific industries. Free registration.
- INC 500 Lists - Includes the Inc. 500 lists for 1982-2005. Full contents of the 14 annual issues of Inc. and four annual issues of Inc. Technology are posted at this website when the magazines go on newsstands. All stories back to 1988 are available for free in the (searchable) online archives.
9. Company News
Would you be interested in news or articles about a particular company? Here are a few excellent websites which will provide articles are individual companies.
- Indianapolis Business Journal - Also print copies available at the library.
- The Business Journals
- PR Newswire
- Bloomberg-BusinessWeek - Print copies available at the library
- MarketWatch - Real time, interactive financial and general news.
10. Case studies/Best practices
11. Credit Reports
- D&B Credit Reports - Available as a subscription or pay as you go.
- Better Business Bureau
- Experian Business Credit Reports - If you assume risk in dealing with other businesses and have a need to determine business or asset ownership, these online reports of public records may be very helpful (fees charged).
Industry Research
1. Trends & Forecasts
2. Market Share
3. Trade Associations
- Encyclopedia of Associations
4. Surveys and Statistics
- ClickZ Stats - Provides industry statistics including revenues and historical/current data.
5. Industry News
- Newspapers.com - Links to newspapers around the globe.
- CNN Money
- The Business Journals
Investing
1. Current Stock Quotes
Real Time Quotes
Charts
More Information
- MSN Money Investing
- Investors.com - Available in Print at Library
2. Historical Stock Quotes
Start a Small Business
- Where to Start
- Advice, Tips, and Guidelines
- Supporting Organizations
- Finding a Name
- Legal/Financials
- Government Forms/Loans
- Business Plans
- Types of Businesses
1. Where to Start
- U.S. Small Business Administration
- Indiana Small Business Development Center - They assist Indiana entrepreneurs and small businesses through one-on-one counseling, education and business resources.
2. Advice, Tips, and Guidelines
- All Business
- An Entrepreneur's Guide to Starting a Business in Indiana - From the Indiana Secretary of State.
- Wall Street Journal - How-To Start a Business
- Entrepreneur
- Search Systems - Free public records search.
- BizStats - Free business statistics.
3. Supporting Organizations
- Score - Free small business advice.
4. Finding a Name
- How to Name Your Business
- WHOis - Check possible domain names for availability.
5. Legal/Financial Issues
- IRS Small Business and Self-Employed Tax Center
- USAgov
- IN.gov - Small Business Insurance
- New and Small Business Education Center - From the Indiana Department of Revenue
6. Government Forms/Loans
7. Business Plans
- Bplans - Free business plan samples, and software (for a fee).
- More Business - Free business plan samples.
8. Types of Businesses
Home-Based Business
Family Business
Women and Minority Owned Business
Franchise Business
- Franchise Expo
- Franchise.com
- Franchise Gator - This site is a good starting point for exploring franchise possibilities, with over 700 franchises covered, and industry, location, and capital indexes to their database of franchises, plus articles and guides to franchising. While U.S.-based, this site is expanding to the United Kingdom and internationally.
- BizBuySell - One of the ways to start a small business is to buy an existing one. This site, in alliance with the Wall Street Journal Online, claims it "is the Internet's largest and most heavily trafficked business for sale marketplace, with more business for sale listings, more unique users, and more search activity than any other service. BizBuySell currently has an inventory of over 50,000 businesses for sale."
Economics
1. Prime Rate
- Financial Forecast Center - Current and historical prime interest rates.
- Federal Reserve Bank - Selected Interest Rates (H.15s) are posted here. Click on 'Historical Data' to access historical interest rates.
2. Foreign Exchange Rate
- OANDA Currency Converter - Also has options to show historical exchange rates and view live exchange rates.
3. Consumer Price Index
The (CPI)Consumer Price Index is the monthly measure of the change in average prices over time of a fixed list of goods and services. The CPI is also know as the inflation rate.
- Bureau of Labor Statistics
- ACCRA - The ACCRA Cost of Living Index is another index that measures prices for consumer goods and services in 310 urban areas (for a fee).
4. Other Statistics
What type of economic data are you interested in (Census, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Producer Price Index, etc.)? Here are some excellent websites, which will provide economic data: