Innovation Hub Research Guide

Market Share

• Census Business Builder  For small businesses. Use for business plan data and potential market
• Passport Euromonitor  [CSUSM Only] For consumer products, company and brand share in US and global market.

• Industry Statistics Portal  Lands you on all census data sources for an industry
• Monthly and Annual Retail Trade See the Historical Detailed tables at the bottom of the screen for Business Expenses.
• Business and Industry Data by Geography  Great landing page for details below
• U.S. Economic Census Detailed Retail Trade and Operating Expenses
  Related business and industry, manufacturing, and wholesale available as well.

Who is your competition?

Identify competitors in a geographic region with DataAxle (Formerly known as ReferenceUSA database [CSUSM Only]

Location, Location, Location [Physical Space]

Note: Professional Brokers don't want to waste time talking to someone who isn't going to buy, lease, etc. Seek relevant information such as average cost per square foot in a specific market area. 

• Find listings for commercial real estate in a directory such as LoopNet, Cushman Wakefield, CBRE (provided as a courtesy)
• Identify a list of Commercial Real Estate Brokers. Use Google or use The San Diego Business Journal's Book of Lists for their entry on top brokers
• Commercial Real Estate figures--San Diego Regional Economic Development Council
• Seek out the Economic Development Department for the City in which you want to locate your business, they often provide resources for those interested in locating a business within a city's limits. Example - City of Oceanside Economic Development Department

Suppliers

• GlobalSpec (Free registration).  Global product and service suppliers.
• Kompass (Business 2 Business)
• Thomas Global Registry (Solusource)  Global supplier registry
• ThomasNet Manufacturing suppliers, limit by radius

• San Diego Workforce Partnership Job seekers, employers, training and education, economic indicators, industry statistics
• O*NET Occupational Outlook (Dept of Labor)
• Occupational outlook handbook HF5381 .U62  REFERENCE
• Salary.com

Look for information such as:

• Craft a web search to identify an organization or association for the Industry you are seeking to enter. For Example: (Association OR Organization) AND Yoga. Once you identify a relevant association, look at their resources, publications, reports, etc.
• Use library databases [CSUSM Only] to get access to articles from a range of sources such as news, magazines, trade journalsTrade magazine websites AND library article databases-the only place to find special reports you find these in the news databases, see the tab