A thorough industry analysis is crucial for your feasibility study, revealing the attractiveness of your offering by examining its size, growth, market importance, key competitors and competition level, financial health, and historical trends.
Full text articles and abstracts for the most important scholarly business journals, dating back as far as 1886.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
Non-textual manufacturing reports with production data only (Excel spreadsheets), by industry from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Knowing the demographics of your chosen location is key because nearby residents represent your potential customers. The resources below offer insights into how your business might attract them.
Provides information on the buying habits of American consumers, including data on their expenditures, income, and consumer unit (families and single consumers) characteristics.
An annual series that provides subnational economic data by industry. Businesses use the data for analyzing market potential, measuring the effectiveness of sales and advertising programs, setting sales quotas, and developing budgets.
Includes the Economic Census as well as economic indicators (monthly and quarterly) from selected sectors (national statistics only).
To gauge the feasibility of your business, investigate the level of competition. Determine if the market is saturated, identify whether competitors are local or national (or both), and consider what a lack of competition might signify. The resources below will assist you in researching potential competitors by industry, company, and location.
From Yahoo! Finance, select an industry to see its top performers.
Top ranked Fortune 500 companies
To begin your business venture, you'll need to develop at least a general estimate of your required capital, projected costs, and potential profit. Explore the resources below for different types of helpful financial data.
Listing of Annual Reports provides instant access to annual reports in their actual format.
Access to thousands of annual reports with a free membership.
Yahoo! Finance
Free business statistics and financial ratios, brief overviews provided by BizMiner (2010 data)
U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis
From the Federal Trade Commission
"Expert advice on opening and operating a franchise business" from Franchising.com
Web portal with a mission to match prospective entrepreneurs with the perfect franchise or business opportunity.
Directory of franchises and franchise opportunities.
Directory of franchises and business opportunities.
Franchise Times Magazine
Directory of franchises and businesses for sale.
Search for franchise opportunities by business category or geographical area of interest.
Provides information on franchises, real estate & financing.