Kresge Research Guides: ES 395 Entrepreneurial Management: Getting Started

Resources for your ES395 Project

This Kresge Guide will help you complete your team's Business Plan assignment for ES 395.

Contact me (Librarian Sally Ziph sweston@umich.edu) to get your Team's Librarian Assignment and to set up your team's first appointment. Librarian Mary Catherine Moeller (mcmoelle@umich.edu) will also be working with the teams.

Note: All Kresge Librarians are familiar with ES 395 and can help you with questions, but try contacting your Team Librarian first.

Instructions for Database Exercise

1. Each group will be assigned a database.

2. You will have 10-15 minutes with your group to try searching the database.

(NOTE: Choose someone to share their screen if anyone has difficulty getting into the database.)

3. Discuss. What kind of information does the database include? (For example, does it have statistics? Markets/Industry information? Consumer information? Supplier info? Financial info/ratios?) How could you use this information in the creation of a business plan?

4. Choose one person to report back to the class (3 min. or less): Name 2-3 reasons why the class might want to use this database for their business plan.

Top Resources for ES395

Associations Unlimited
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
NOTE: and is now called ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ASSOCIATIONS, and is in the database called The GALE DIRECTORY LIBRARY.
USE THIS DIRECT LINK to the Gale Directory Library. You will need to LOG IN THROUGH IIMPACT: https://go-gale-com.proxy.lib.umich.edu/ps/start.do?p=GDL&u=umuser

Patents and Trademarks: UM Libraries Research Guide
Includes US Patent & Trademark Office link and handy search guidelines.
Trademark INFO and TESS
Guidelines and links for finding trademark information.
ThomasNet.com
- Manufacturers and suppliers
- Product sourcing

D&B Hoovers
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Note: To find RMA Statements for your Industry: Select Industry Search from the drop-down menu. Change the default from Hoover's categories to NAICS Codes. Find closest NAICS code. View resulting industry description and open up the Market Research reports section (mid-page, usually)
Check list for RMA statements. Click on RMA. Not every industry has a report. Ask your Team Librarian for help if you need it.
Statista
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Statista includes ready-made statistical charts, graphs and tables on marketing, demographics, communication, technology, politics, health, leisure and public opinion polls.
Mintel
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Mintel provides marketing intelligence for a wide scope of industries in the US and abroad. Their reports are downloadable and contain market, consumer and brand/company information. Their databooks allow users to create graphs and tables using the marketing data that they collect.
eMarketer
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
eMarketer covers the digital marketplace with reports and charts on advertising spending by media, brand marketing, digital advertising, mobile apps, mobile devices, consumer behavior and experience, Ecommerce, social media usage and other topics.

Technical notes: Please log out of this resource as directed when finished. Failing to log out may prevent others from using the database.
- Help Guide
Video tutorials:
Tutorial Access Demo
IBISWorld Industry Reports
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Note: May also may include RMA statements for some industries. Select Ratios or Statistics in left side industry report menus. If available, RMA ratios are usually at the bottom of the page. (Look for blue & black RMA logo at the end of this section.) Or ask your Team Librarian for help.
Technavio
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Technavio has industry reports covering a wide variety of technologies in the communication services, consumer discretionary, consumer staples, energy, financials, health care, industrials, information technology, materials, and utilities industries.

Technical Notes: Downloading reports requires a valid @umich.edu email. Users are limited to 10 downloads per month with unlimited online report viewing.
ABI/INFORM Collection
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
ABI/INFORM contains articles from thousands of newspapers and key business magazines such as the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Barron’s, the Economist, and the New York Times. It also contains papers from leading academic journals across all major business disciplines.
- Help Guide
Email and RSS feed alerts available.
Business Source Complete
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Business Source Complete contains articles from thousands of newspapers, trade publications, and key business magazines such as the Harvard Business Review. It also contains papers from leading academic journals across all major business disciplines.
- Help Guide
Use policy: When using material from this database in reports and presentations, vendor contract requirements dictate that you must include the phrase, "Used with permission of Business Source Complete."

Google Scholar
Great for finding scholarly articles from a variety of sources. More info...

Data Axle
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
White- and yellow-pages directory listings for all US residences and businesses, supplemented with government information from the Bureau of the Census and other agencies. Additionally, Data Axle offers consumer lifestyle information that can be refined by zip code as well as information about the number of people moving into a particular neighborhood, city or state.

Historical data from 1997-2022 is available for download through University Library.

Use policy: When using material from this database in reports and presentations, vendor contract requirements dictate that you must include the phrase, "Used with permission of ReferenceUSA."
Historic company records were created annually from Infogroup's U.S. Business Database; a snapshot of the data is saved each December. Contains company name, mailing address, SIC and NAICS codes, employee size, sales volume, latitude/longitude, and many more variables about each company. Data is available from 1997-2022 in downloadable flat files. Access requires UM login.
Access the Historical Datafiles via University Library
SimplyAnalytics
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
SimplyAnalytics is a web-based mapping application that allows you to create thematic maps and reports using demographic, business and marketing data. Data can be downloaded for use with other software such as Excel and GIS. Examples of data included are Census data, Consumer Expenditure Survey and Nielsen Retail Market Power.

Technical notes: Users need to create their own account with @umich.edu email address in order to be able to save work.
Frost & Sullivan
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Frost & Sullivan is a research and consulting firm that tracks trends across a wide variety of industries. Examples include aerospace, agriculture, automotive, banking, electronics, energy, environment, healthcare, information technology, manufacturing, media, materials, oil & gas, security, telecom, With a strong emphasis on technology and markets, research focuses on competitive intensity, customer dynamics, industry convergence, disruptive technologies, global mega trends, new business models, and emerging markets.
Use policy: When using material from this database in reports and presentations, vendor contract requirements dictate that you must include the phrase, "Used with permission of Frost & Sullivan."

Email alerts available

Chat with a Librarian

JavaScript disabled or chat unavailable.

Guide Created By

Sally Ziph

Email Me

Librarian

Mary Catherine Moeller

Email Me