Product Description

Creating or growing a successful business depends on finding critical numbers: market size and growth rate, how much business a competitor is doing, sales numbers for products, and more. But trying to locate such numbers can be overwhelming, and few resources exist to show readers how. Now this distinctive book — paired with a helpful CD — guides readers through each step of the online research process. Essentially providing roadmaps to the numbers people need now, it reveals how to find Internet sites with (usually free) data, how to navigate them quickly and thoroughly, and then how to interpret and use the data found. Screen shots throughout show what the raw data will look like, and illustrations and worksheets further simplify learning and doing. For entrepreneurs, corporate managers, and business school students, Successful Business Research Step-by-Step expertly meets the demand for an easy-to-use business research guide.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #111979 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 292 pages

Customer Reviews

A great guide to help the wanta-be entrepreneur tackle her research project when it comes to writing her new business' biz plan.

I really liked this book a lot. I think there has been a real need for something like this publication for some time now. When I have SCORE clients ask me about what is involved in creating a great business plan for their idea, then this book will be one of the ones I will recommend they read to help. I highly recommend it. It is well organized and well written. And it includes quite a number of computer screen captures to make it easy to follow.

While I couldn't use it to specifically help me use the online research databases my public library subscribes to, I certainly could use it to get a feel for using online research databases and the kind of information to look for at my public library. Keep in mind that Web sites, library subscriptions, and URLs are all subject to change over time. But the process of doing business research remains constant. And you will see and learn about the process by reading this book.

This book is comprised of the following four sections:

1. Research essentials
2. The research process
3. Major resources
4. Straight to the numbers

My favorite was Part II (The research process), but Part III had a goldmine of resources cited. My hunch is that the URLs in the third part will get dated eventually. But as of right now they are all still hot. And I thought chapters 15 (Researching an industry), 16 (Researching a company), and 17 (Researching a target market) were wonderful. The meat of doing research for a business plan has to do with learning about the industry, market, and the main competitors in that business' market. 5 stars!