What’s New in Business

Are you trying to find the perfect location to rent for your new business? Or maybe you are trying to target a marketing campaign toward the largest demographic in your area? PPLD has recently acquired a new subscription database called BusinessDecision by CIVICTechnologies to assist you in finding out these facts and more.
Accessible via the Electronic Reference section of the PPLD web site, BusinessDecision provides demographic data from ESRI based on a location that you designate. You may designate a specific address, zip code, or hand draw on a map an area that about which you would like to receive extensive demographic information. Based off of GIS information, as well as Census data and others, BusinessDecision is able to provide detailed data and reports, including the Tapestry Area Profile, which identifies and profiles the top segments of the population for any given area. To learn about the BusinessDecision Tapestry Area Profile, check out the data manual to see what type of information BusinessDecision may be able to provide you about your potential customers.
To read the Colorado Springs Business Journal writeup about BusinessDecision, click here. For more information about BusinessDecision, or any other library business resources, contact the PPLD reference desk at 389-8968.

I have talked to a number of people lately who are looking at either starting a business or expanding the one they currently own. One of the first things you should do when contemplating either of these possibilities is write a business plan. A business plan will help you determine exactly what you need to do to succeed in your endeavors. It will help you focus on understanding the competition, the industry outlook, the target market you are after and much more.

There are many resources available locally to help you develop your plan. SCORE (Service Corp of Retired Executives) offers a free class called Should You Start Your Own Business. This workshop addresses many issues you will want to consider before launching a business. We talk about the rewards of starting a small business, attributes of a successful entrepreneur, business planning including how to determine your cash requirements, the legal form of your business entity, and more. The next workshop will be held Monday, June 16, 2008 6:30 to 8:30 PM at the Penrose Library in the Carnegie Reading Room.

The Pikes Peak Library District teaches a free class called Minding Your Business, which teaches you all of the resources you need to write a business plan. The next class will be held Tuesday, June 24, 2008, 8:30 to 10 AM at the Penrose Library. This class includes sample business plans you can use as a guideline in developing your own. For more information please call 531-6333 x2308.

The Small Business Development Center offers many low cost classes on learning specific aspects of developing your business including accounting, websites, marketing and more. By taking these classes you can enhance the skills you already have to use in your business.

All of these classes and many others that can assist you in starting or expanding a business can be found at Colorado Springs Small Business Resource Guide. All of these classes will help you take your business to the next level.

“I got my start at the library.”

Continuing a seven-year partnership with ALA’s Campaign for America’s Libraries that has generated millions of dollars worth of editorial coverage on behalf of libraries, four entrepreneurs share their stories of how they started businesses using the library with Woman’s Day magazine’s 4 million readers.

The article appears in the magazine’s March 2008 issue. Featured are the co-owner of a Brooklyn-based children’s clothing business who participated in Brooklyn Public Library’s “Power Up!” business-plan writing contest, a library supporter who learned about self-publishing, a founder of a home organization business who turned to her library for business seminars, email and Internet access, and a financial advisor who found enthusiastic support from her local librarians.

“When you think of libraries, you think books and magazines, but there’s so much more. There’s almost nothing you can’t find-and no help you can’t get-at the library,” Jessica Sequinot, the featured winner from Brooklyn, is quoted as saying in the article.

Also included in the article is a sidebar with tips on how to “jump-start your small business at the library,” written by reference librarian Celia Ross, a member of the Reference and User Services Association’s (RUSA) Business Reference and Services Section. RUSA is a division of ALA.

Woman’s Day announced the initiative last March, asking its readers to submit stories of how they used the library to start a business. This is the sixth such initiative Woman’s Day has co-sponsored with ALA’s Campaign for America’s Libraries to promote libraries and librarians. Previous topics have included “how the library has changed my life,” “why I would want to be a librarian for a day” and “why I want to research my family tree at the library.”

Woman’s Day is a Founding Partner of The Campaign for America’s Libraries, ALA’s national public awareness campaign to promote the value of libraries and librarians. Other Founding Partners include Dollar General, International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

The Campaign is made possible in part by ALA’s Library Champions, ALA’s highest level of corporate members, who support public awareness and advocacy for America’s libraries.

Whether you are a single person business or a large employer you can find connections to many local business resources by accessing Colorado Springs Small Business Resource Guide. This website was created and is maintained by the Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce, the Pikes Peak Library District and Bracewell Web Works. This is a one stop location for finding answers about business questions relating to

Accounting/Economics
Business Education classes
Business Planning
Business Resources
Chambers of Commerce
Community Calendars
Demographics
Education
Employment
Financing
Insurance
Legal
Licensing
Marketing/PR
Networking
Local Organizations and Groups
Publications
Public Utilities
Real Estate
Sales
Sports and Recreation
Taxation
Technology
Transportation.

Examples of assistance include Licensing: where you can find out what licenses are required for your business, when are licenses renewed and how to do it, and what agencies regulate your industry or business and Local Organizations and Groups: where you can find listings for over 800 clubs and organizations including business, professional and networking groups. Information provided includes name, contact information, where and when meetings are held, how many members and what the purpose of the group is. This is a great way to start that New Year’s Resolution to start networking or expand your current options. You can use this information to find businesses and individuals that include your target market.

Another major component of this website is the
Business Education classes offered by the Business Education Alliance which includes the Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce, the Better Business Bureau, the Small Business Development Center, the Center for Nonprofit Excellence, the Pikes Peak Library District, the Pikes Peak Workforce Center, the Office of International Affairs and SCORE (Service Corp of Retired Executives.) These classes are your opportunity to gain new knowledge about for profit and nonprofit business topics. Information included includes class description, when and where it will be held, cost (if any, many are free) and how to register for the class. This calendar shows the schedule for classes for the next three months so you can plan ahead and fit the right class for your growth into your schedule.

It’s that time of year when many of us start looking to our accomplishments and things we wanted to do this year, but haven’t succeeded in doing yet. We start setting goals for ourselves for the upcoming year.

If you are considering going into business for yourself or have a business you would like to take to the next level the Pikes Peak Library District offers a free class called Minding Your Business. This ninety-minute class will teach you how to find competitors, vendors and clients. It will help you determine how much it costs to run a business in your area and where to find funding sources to start or grow your business. It also covers advertising and marketing as well as periodicals and associations that can help you stay on top of your industry. Using the resources identified in this workshop you can write a business plan, develop and implement a new marketing strategy or create mailing lists for businesses or individuals that can help your business to grow in 2008.

The classes in January will be held on Saturday, January 5th and Tuesday, January 22nd at 8:30am at the Penrose Public Library at 20 N Cascade Avenue.

Another free class called Investment Tools at Your Library will help you become a more educated investor. You will learn how to track certain types of investments, find out about industries or companies new to you and find other investment methods you are not currently using. These classes will be held in January on Thursday, January 10th and 31st. They are also held at 8:30am at the Penrose Public Library.

The library also offers classes in Computers 101, Microsoft Word, Internet Basics and Excel as well as some others. To find when and where these classes are being offered go to http://ppld.org and choose Happenings @ Your Library on the right-hand side of the screen and then click on Computer Classes in the lower left-hand corner of the screen. This will give you a list of classes offered and a description of content covered. At the top of the Happenings screen on the left-hand side you can click on All Library Programs and be taken to a new events calendar, which lists all of the classes and programs offered at the library. Most of the classes require pre-registration and you can do this simply by calling 389-8968 or your local library branch to register.

How to Start a Business in Colorado – Entrepreneur Press, 2007 and How to Start a Home-based Event Planning Business
by Jill Moran, Globe Pequot Press, 2007.

There are many resources available if you are in business or thinking about becoming an entrepreneur. Two titles on a general resource and an industry specific resource are reviewed here.

How to Start a Business in Colorado is a step-by-step guide to everything you need to know to start a business in Colorado. Chapters cover current state and federal startup information, statistics, business plans, financial considerations and management, sales and marketing information, office procedures, contracts, legislation, business organization, tax strategies, company policy and licensing information. This book includes forms and worksheets to help you get started on the right track. Chapter twelve includes state, federal and private sources for help with all of your business start up questions. A CD-ROM with 199 essential business forms and worksheets is included in this book.

How to Start a Home-based Event Planning Business is one example of the many titles available to start a specific type of business. Whether you have a wide range of experience in this industry or not these types of books will make sure you cover all of the potential opportunities and challenges. This book will help you identify the necessary skills, the industry outlook, and the challenges of a home office or new business. It also provides help in writing a business plan and setting fees for services. Resources for additional help are also provided. There are many industry specific books to help you start all kinds of businesses both home-based and office based.

Whether you are starting a new business or trying to grow one you currently have you can gain a lot of knowledge and get some new ideas from both of these books.

You Need to Be a Little Crazy: The Truth about Starting and Growing Your Business

by Barry Moltz, Recorded Books, 2007.

Entrepreneur and angel investor Barry Moltz covers what it takes to be an entrepreneur. Some people choose to become business owners and are driven to make a business succeed. Others fall into it and don’t really have the commitment or knowledge to make it happen. Using humor as well as stories from his past businesses, Barry illustrates why you need to be a little crazy to make it as an entrepreneur.

He covers all aspects of a business and shows why you need to rely on partners or experts in specific areas to allow your business to achieve all of your goals. Sometimes knowing when to abandon ship is the best outcome you can have.

Although there are no checklists to use Barry covers the basics of what is necessary for someone to succeed as a business owner. He addresses many myths that exist about having your own business and gives realistic guidelines to help you decide if this is what you really want to do. He also shows why passion for the business and having people capital is so important. Once the passion goes it is hard to maintain the momentum necessary to keep a business thriving. If you are not someone who can go from the excitement of a start up company to the more mundane aspects of running a business daily the advice on determining when to step back or leave entirely with be extremely helpful. Listening to this Audio CD will help you determine if you want to take the plunge and become an entrepreneur.