Research

Research

Before you begin your new business, it is important to research the competition and see what lies ahead for you. All of the information you gather in this area will be used in the Business Plan you create to explain your business. First we will look at What you need to research, then later there is a discussion on where to find all this information.

I. What to research

A. Market Demographics - The more you can identify about your prospective customer, the better you will know your business.

1. Age or Ages of Customers
2. Ethnic group
3. Occupation
4. Income level
5. Size/Geographic Region
6. Interests
7. What products and services does the market need?
8. Is the concept something they will use?

B. Industry Demographics

1. Average size of each individual business
2. Size of the industry as a whole
3. Average sales and sources of these sales
4. Average number of employees per firm
5. Average payroll per firm
6. Foreign trade statistics if international company
7. Number of women/minority groups in the industry

C. Medium of business

1. Mail order
2. Brick and Mortar
3. E-business
4. Telemarketing
5. Combination - For example: a brick and mortar store that has a website from which customers can order

D. Competition

1. Who - direct and indirect competition
2. Strengths
3. Weaknesses

E. Types of insurance the business will need

F. Federal, state, and local government restrictions

G. Legal Structure/Organization of the Business

1. Proprietorship
2. Partnership
3. Corporation
4. Limited Liability Company

II. Where to find all the Information

There are several resources you can use to obtain this information. Here are a few of them to assist you in the research:

U.S. Census Bureau	Economic census reports on industry demographics. In addition, population census data available
U.S. Small Business Advisor	Provides access to information on government services and regulations affecting small businesses.
Texas Department of Economic Development	Provides a large amount of databases that can be searched on community profiles.
U.S. Patent & Trade Office	The U.S. Patent and Trademarks Office
SBDCNet	SBDCNet website from UTSA

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Temple Business Incubator, 19 North Main Street, Temple, Texas 76501.

Phone: 254.298.8781 Fax: 254.298.8268

Last modified: August 17, 2007