Demonstrations, October 25—

Powerful Market Research Databases Is Free Through Library

Entrepreneurs and job hunters are invited to attend a free demonstration of how to use ReferenceUSA, a powerful subscription database that can be used for market research, at the Cyrenius H. Booth Library on Thursday, October 25. A RefUSA representative will offer two detailed demonstrations with question-and-answer period; a tour of the library’s business section will follow the demonstrations. Call the Reference Department at 426-8552 to sign up for either the 9:30 am or 7 pm demonstration.

These powerful databases are paid for by the library and made available to the public free of charge. Some of the ways in which RefUSA can be used are:

*Small business owners and entrepreneurs will learn how to conduct powerful market research. Select a location and do a radius to look up the number of similar businesses in the area. Check the strength of the competition with years in business and credit rating. Look for businesses to buy out or establish a support network with fellow business owners. Print the list or download it to Excel.

*Job seekers can use the ReferenceUSA database to look for companies that match their degrees or interests, find businesses nearby, conduct research about industries and companies, find executives, corporate families and company descriptions, follow the link to a company’s website for deeper details, or find companies that don’t advertise their openings.

*Those involved with economic development can use the RefUSA database to conduct market research when trying to win a new plant in competition with other cities or to lure an existing business from another city. Or use it to compare population in juxtaposition to number of similar businesses.