Entrepreneurship - researching a business plan
Download the Business Plan Worksheet, also available as file you can edit.
Report salient elements from this section to the dashboard on the first page of the Business Plan Worksheet, also available as file you can edit.
Before you start searching, think about your business and its industry.
- Locate the appropriate North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code from the Statistics Canada website. Look at exclusions, example activities and how your industry is called by experts. Transcribe the code number (5-digit) and the name given to the industry. Multiple NAICS codes are allowed if your business spans multiple industries, or for vertical/horizontal integration.
- Locate the relevant trade associations as you can usually find interesting business information from them. Go to their website and look for publications, press releases, press kits (or any information for the public), annual reports, trade shows, lawsuits, white papers, directories, interviews, newsletters…
- Use Associations Canada, a book kept at the Reference Desk at the Concordia Library, that is a “phone book” for trade associations
- Try also looking for them via Google by searching for your industry name with the terms “association” and “Canada”
Report salient elements from this section to the dashboard on the first page of the Business Plan Worksheet, also available as file you can edit.
You can find financial and industry reports from the following systems:
- SME Benchmarking: Average income statements and financials for Canadian small & medium businesses, by industry (NAICS)
- IBIS World: Industry reports for Canada, USA, China and Global, filed by NAICS Code;
More company and industry databases listed here: Databases: Business--Company & Industry Data
Report salient elements from this section to the dashboard on the first page of the Business Plan Worksheet, also available as file you can edit.
The goal of this section is to identify the various important companies in your industry. Not only can you visit their website, but you can also find articles about them, as we will describe below in the step dealing with articles.
Here are some Company directories we provide at the library. For each of these, record the names of interesting companies, perhaps the largest in terms of sales or employees or the closest ones to your target location.
- Mergent Intellect (formerly D&B Million Dollar Database) (covers most industries in Canada) use advanced search to search for NAICS Code
- iCRIQ: covers manufacturing & wholesale in Canada
- Yellow Pages) or Canada 411
- Others listed here: Business Directories
Report salient elements from this section to the dashboard on the first page of the Business Plan Worksheet, also available as file you can edit.
The first thing you should do is search Industry Canada's Canadian Industry Statistics to lookup your industry.
Search for government information, particularly if you require a licence to operate your business. Because there is a lot of government information on the Free Web, use Google’s Advanced Search. Use the “Site/Domain” filter on the Advanced Search screen to limit your results to government website.
The table below provides examples of specific domains for Canadian government entities.
| Government Level | Example of “Site/domain” | Tip |
| Municipal | ville.montreal.qc.ca | Look for “Montréal en statistiques” page for information for boroughs |
| Provincial | gouv.qc.ca | The province deals with mainly: health, education, welfare, culture, agriculture/food… |
| Federal | gc.ca | Always check for reports from Industry Canada at site:.ic.gc.ca |
| International | un.org or other agency | Agencies affiliated with the United Nations have their own website |
Report salient elements from this section to the dashboard on the first page of the Business Plan Worksheet, also available as file you can edit.
- Passport by Euromonitor: Worldwide consumer market reports (includes Canada). Two things to click on in this system, you can watch the video below for a walk-through:
- Countries & Consumers > Consumer Trends & Lifestyles > ANALYSIS FINDER > Consumer Lifestyles > Chile
- Search > Browse and Select Relevant Topics > Choose Geographies > Reports & Statistics
- Vividata (formerly known as "PMB Print Measurement Bureau") provides survey data on Canadian print readership, non-print media exposure, product usage and lifestyles.
- SimplyAnalytics Canada, formerly called SimplyMaps Canada : color density map based on data from Statistic Canada
More market and consumer databases are listed here: Business--Market & Consumer Data
Report salient elements from this section to the dashboard on the first page of the Business Plan Worksheet, also available as file you can edit.
Our national statistical agency provides most of its reports and data for free from their website www.statcan.gc.ca. Although you may search for these from the main page, it is recommended that you use the two aggregate data reporting tools as part of the Census and CANSIM.
- Census: every 5 years, last one in 2011. Search on Data Products > Census Profiles > Postal Codes & more
- National Household Survey: this optional survey was offered to Canadians answering the 2011 Census. It provides for additional information about households in the country, such as income and mobility.
- Data From Statistics Canada: All other StatCan datasets: household spending; retail trade sales; labour force survey; Neighbourhood income and demographics; family income; NAICS Statistics – click ADD REMOVE DATA
Report salient elements from this section to the dashboard on the first page of the Business Plan Worksheet, also available as file you can edit.
The market share is the ratio of the size of your business compared to its industry (which is driven by geographical limitations). Usually, you can use your total revenue (or estimation from SME Benchmarking – see step 2) and calculate the total market size using data from Statistic Canada’s CANSIM.
Market share = Total revenues (from SME Benchmarking in step 2) / Total market size (from CANSIM from step 6, search: NAICS statistics)
Report salient elements from this section to the dashboard on the first page of the Business Plan Worksheet, also available as file you can edit.
At this point, you already have many relevant elements for your project. If you are missing elements, use articles from our article databases. Think about your subject: (1) industry (use NAICS, watch out for jargon); (2) trade associations; (3) market leaders and major competitors; or (4) subject term.
Use the Dashboard of the Business Plan Worksheet for keywords, leads or ideas.
Here are the various article databases:
- ProQuest Business Databases: Articles (Canadian & more) from magazines, trade publications, peer-reviewed/Scholarly journals, company profiles, market reports.
- Factiva: Trade magazines and news from around the world
- Eureka: French Language newspapers from Montréal and Europe
- More listed here: Business Article Databases
Report salient elements from this section to the dashboard on the first page of the Business Plan Worksheet, also available as file you can edit.
To get help, please use the Ask-A-Librarian service to chat, email or talk to a librarian. When you contact us, make sure to specify the following:
- Tell us about your project (e.g. the course you are doing the project for);
- The NAICS Code or information about your industry or business;
- Which system you are having issues with.
Please be precise and provide all relevant information!
Report salient elements from this section to the dashboard on the first page of the Business Plan Worksheet, also available as file you can edit.
~ Good luck! Remember, perfect information does not exist, use what you find, a smart estimate is better than nothing! ~