Online Research and Resources for Small Businesses

1
Online Research and Resources for Small Businesses

• Deborah Bliemel
• Small Business Enterprise Centre
• www.hamiltonsmallbusiness.ca

2
Agenda

• Introduction
• Tools
• Resources
• Conclusion

3
Introduction

• Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject
  ourselves, or we know where we can find
  information upon it. - Dr. Samuel Johnson, 18
  Apr. 1775

4
Introduction

• Doing research online can be frustrating unless
  you learn to use the Internet effectively
• Minimum effort with maximum returns
• Learn short-cuts
• Learn to be more efficient with your search
  techniques
• Use the tools available instead of always
  recreating the wheel

5
Introduction

• Warnings
• Information online is only as good as the
  reliability of the source
• Be prepared to pay for information
• The information you are looking for simply may
  not be available, online or otherwise

6
Kinds of Research Tools

• Search engines
• Google, AltaVista, Metacrawler, eXcite
• Newsgroups
• Industry profiles
• Demographic profiles
• Model business documents
• Templates
• Checklists

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Tools Conduct a Search

• Clearly define your research topic
• Identify critical concepts or main ideas
• Identify additional subject headings or synonyms
• Write a search statement or query on paper if
  necessary

8
Tools Conduct a Search

• Use keywords
• What, why, when, who where
• Focus on nouns and objects
• Synonyms
• Use exact phrases

9
Tools Search Engines

• Basic Boolean Operators
• AND narrows or focuses a search
• (i.e. football AND Brazil)
• OR broadens a search
• (i.e. Internet OR Web)
• NOT excludes keyword from a search
• (i.e. Ocean NOT Atlantic)

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Tools Search Engines
11
Tools Search Engines
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Tools Search Engines

• Advanced Techniques
• NEAR geographic proximity
• (i.e. earthquake NEAR Seattle)
• ADJ - for adjectives
• (i.e. sunny ADJ beach)
• WITHIN distance between words within sentence
• (i.e. network and security WITHIN 1)
• NESTING tells search engine to prioritize
• (i.e. (juice AND grape) OR wine)

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Tools Search Engines

• Search Tips
• Use the appropriate number of keywords
• Put main concept first
• Try alternate spellings
• Dont forget synonyms
• Capitalize names and titles

14
Tools Industry Profiles

• Canadian Industry Statistics - Industry overviews
  and growth trends for selected Canadian resource,
  manufacturing, service, and wholesale/retail
  industries http//strategis.ic.gc.ca/sc_ecnmy/sio/
  homepage.html
• Statistics Canada Publications Occasionally has
  papers which include industry profiles
  http//www.statcan.ca/cgi-bin/downpub/freepub.cgi

15
Tools Demographic Profiles

• Hamilton SBEC local demographics available by
  municipality based on the 1996 census results
  www.hamiltonsmallbusiness.ca/demog.html
• Statistics Canada community profiles for 1996
  and partial for 2001 www12.statcan.ca/english/Prof
  il01/PlaceSearchForm1.cfm

16
Tools My Favourites

• Interactive Business Planner free online
  business planning software
• www.cbsc.org/ibp
• Business Start-Up Assistant very good for
  answers to government related business questions
• http//bsa.cbsc.org
• Microsoft Office online downloadable templates
  for every conceivable business purpose
• http//office.microsoft.com/
• Canada 411 find phone numbers and addresses
  www.canada411.com

17
Resources

• Your sources should vary in origin
• Try to use at least three different sources to
  validate the information you find
• Always search for Canadian resources first
  American business practices can differ
  significantly from ours

18
Public Resources

• Libraries
• College, University and Public
• Government
• Local, Provincial, Federal
• Chambers of Commerce
• Local, Provincial, Federal

19
Commercial Resources

• Online Databases
• Company Websites
• Trade Industry Associations
• Information Portals
• www.about.com , www.brint.com ,
  www.entrepreneur.com , www.yahoo.com
• Private Research Companies
• GD Sourcing, Ipsos-Reid, InfoCanada

20
Mohawk Resources

• Mohawks Virtual Library has some excellent
  resources available for student use online
• E-Stat (Statistics Canada) database
• Business Source Elite database
• Financial Post Corporate Reports

21
Mohawk Resources
Additionally, the Mohawk Virtual Library has an
comprehensive collection of reference links.
22
Public Library Resources

• Hamilton Public Library has a diverse collection
  of business links under
• Main page (www.hpl.hamilton.on.ca)
• Internet Links
• Business Consumer Information

23
Federal Government Resources www.gc.ca

• Industry Canada - www.ic.gc.ca
• On-line services and tools
• Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC)
• Canadian Tourism Commission
• National Research Council
• Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
  of Canada
• Standards Council of Canada
• Canadian Intellectual Property Office
  www.cipo.gc.ca

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Federal Government Resources

• Strategis - www.strategis.gc.ca
• Research trade and investment data by product or
  industry
• Benchmarking tools
• Growth management tools
• E-commerce tutorials
• Company directories
• Business legislation, regulation, and standards

25
Federal Government Resources

• Statistics Canada - www.statcan.gc.ca
• THE Canadian source for social and economic
  statistics
• Community profiles
• Downloadable publications
• Research papers
• Customized market research (fee based)
• The Daily newsletter gives information on newly
  released data

26
Federal Government Resources

• Canada Customs and Revenue Agency -
  www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca
• Online information and tools for business tax
  issues
• Business Number (BN) for GST, import/export,
  corporate tax and payroll

27
Federal Government Resources

• Canada-Ontario Business Centres -
  www.cbsc.org/ontario/
• General business information on topics
• Guide to ISO 9000
• Importing Info-Guide
• Youth Programs
• Business Start-Up Guide
• Employment Regulations
• Aboriginal Programs
• Ontario Fact Sheets

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Federal Government Resources

• HRDC www.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca
• Listing of occupational profiles
• Learning and training opportunities
• Local labour market reports www.on.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca
  /hamilton/english/lmi/reports/index.html
• Information on subsidies and other financial
  assistance for small business

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Federal Government Resources

• Business Gateway - www.businessgateway.ca
• Government portal for small business resources
• Links to tools like
• Federal patent database
• Financial ratio calculators
• Export planners
• SME service charge calculators
• Tariff calculator
• Virtual trade commissioner

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Provincial Government Resources

• Provincial www.gov.on.ca
• Ministry of Enterprise, Opportunity and
  Innovation
• www.ontariocanada.com
• Ontario Business Connects
• www.cbs.gov.on.ca/obc
• Ministry of Consumer and Business Relations
• www.cbs.gov.on.ca
• Starting a Small Business in Ontario
• www.2.ontario-canada.com/English/business/StartBiz
  /intro.htm

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Local Government Resources

• Local www.city.hamilton.on.ca
• Small Business Enterprise Centre
• www.hamiltonsmallbusiness.ca
• Economic Development Department
• http//www.city.hamilton.on.ca/CityDepartments/ecd
  ev/default.htm
• Hamilton Business Directory
• www.hamiltonbusinessdirectory.ca
• Inform Hamilton
• www.inform.city.hamilton.on.ca
• Hamilton Chamber of Commerce members
• www.vbgdir.com/hamilton

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Resources Online Databases

• Suppliers
• Frasers - Directory of over 40,000 manufacturers
  and distributors with over 30,000 product and
  service categories. You can search by company
  name, product/service or brand name and further
  refine by geographic region.www.frasers.com
• Canadian Trade Index - Information on over 32,000
  Canadian companies (20,000 manufacturers, 11,500
  exporters, 7,000 distributors of products in
  Canada, and 3,700 service companies for
  manufactured products) www.ctidirectory.com

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Resources - Others

• www.Canadaone.com small business portal with
  directory
• www.CharityVillage.com great for non-profits
• Canadian Federation of Independent Business
  federal lobbying group for small business
  www.cfib.ca
• www.soyouwanna.com has a off-beat but useful
  guide to writing a business plan (U.S. site)
• www.smallbusinesscanada.ca Small Business
  magazine with good collection of articles
• www.bplans.com - Commercial site with library of
  sample business plans
• Canadian Bankers Association publications,
  tools and resources about the banking industry
  www.cba.ca

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Resources Evaluate the Information

• Authority of Author or Organization
• Is background information provided?
• Do an Internet search to see where else the
  author or organizations name appear
• Do other trustworthy sites link to this site?

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Resources Evaluate the Information

• Currency of Information
• Does the page indicate when it was created?
• How often is the page updated?
• When was the page last revised?
• Is the information obviously out-of-date?

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Resources Evaluate the Information

• Objectivity of Information
• Does information agree with other resources you
  have found?
• Is the content biased?
• Is the information an opinion or fact?

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Conclusion

• Now that we have all this useful information, it
  would be nice to do something with it. (Actually,
  it can be emotionally fulfilling just to get the
  information. This is usually only true, however,
  if you have the social life of a kumquat.)-
  Unix Programmer's Manual

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Conclusion

• For more information, please visit our website
  at
• http//www.hamiltonsmallbusiness.ca/
• Or contact us at
• 2 King St. W.,
• Jackson Square, Unit 234
• 905-540-6400