Research Network Policies
Business Lists
SBDC clients request lists of businesses for a variety of reasons (e.g., to identify competitors, or potential sources, or possible customers, etc.). We use primarily the Reference USA database, and we limit lists to the licensing restrictions put in place by its publisher.
Lists are limited for practical reasons as well. Asking for the names of every restaurant in New York City would result in a huge list for your client. That, and the fact that no list provider guarantees 100% accuracy, means that a mass mailing from such a list would be a large expense (the database doesn’t provide email addresses).
There are ways of making a list request more efficient. We’d contact you to ask the ways we should limit it. To help you, here is a list of the categories used by Reference USA.
If you aren’t sure what to use, then call us. We can help tailor a more efficient list for your client.
Should your client want a larger list (or one with email addresses), then we can give you contact information for reputable business list mailing companies.Email Lists
The resource that we use to generate business lists (Reference USA) does not provide email addresses. However, its publisher (Infogroup) does sell them. We have spoken with the company about this. First, they gauge a potential buyer’s familiarity with the governing Federal regulations (the CAN-SPAM Act). These dictate how businesses can legally utilize mass email distributions.
Next, they would assess the level of experience in running email campaigns in general. For instance, would a client know that uploading a purchased list to Constant Contact would invalidate their user terms, resulting in their account being closed? Do they know that using standard office email applications (like Microsoft Outlook), or sites through which you can get a free email address (Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail, etc.), establish a maximum limit of emails that can be sent out at one time? With these, the sender cannot often get reliable feedback as to whether the email has actually reached its target (e.g., the recipient can just simply block your name, and any future emails will just get bounced away). That makes for an inefficient email campaign.
Infogroup is one of several companies that sell their expertise to manage email campaigns. They have the tools and the experience to overcome some of the obstacles I've mentioned above. They also save time, as this can be a laborious task. If interested, contact their main line at 888-835-5856, and tell them that you're interested in email marketing. Alternatively, you can read about it on their website. There, your client can run a search of businesses that they’re targeting, and get a rough idea of the count.
Sample Business Plans
The Research Network uses two sources to locate sample business plans:
- Bplans.com
- Business Plans Handbook
The first is freely available to you via their website. We find the second in a fee-based database.
In total, several hundred business plans are presented. However, it’s not possible to find a plan specific to every industry. Reps from both publishers have told us that plans are chosen based on their versatility. They see a plan for a widget manufacturer to be of use to any manufacturer.
We’ll try and find a match as close as possible to your client.
Grants
Unless your business involves the development of new technology or is a non-profit organization, it is difficult to find a grant to start or expand a small business.
The vast majority of government grants are given to non-profit organizations for programs and services that benefit a specific community or the public at large.
There are other types of grants such as those from foundations, corporations, or private organizations. These non-government organizations have specific requirements as to who is eligible to apply for and receive grant funding.
If your client wants to investigate, then:
- Take a look at this Research Network tip sheet on Not-For-Profits (grant information is on page two)
- Review the links at www.nysbdc.org/resources/Links/grants.html
Patents & Trademarks
We occasionally perform preliminary searches for patents or trademarks. For patents, we typically use the advanced search function on the Google Patents site. It’s easy to use, and provides access to all the drawings associated with that patent.
Regarding trademarks, we use the database found on the U.S. PTO website. This is for searching for Federal trademarks only (and not for individual states).
The Research Network has created for SBDC clients a tip sheet that provides descriptions of numerous websites that provide basic information on intellectual property topics.