Presenter: Patricia Kenly. Presented at the Georgia Libraries Conference in Columbus, GA on 10/06/2017. Presentation discusses effective use of free government resources for small business.

1. Helping Entrepreneurs: Getting the
Most out of Government Information
October 6, 2017, 11:15am
Patricia Kenly, Georgia Institute of Technology
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2. BUSINESS PLANS
• An entrepreneur will use this to get a bank or angel investor to get a loan or
to get funding for his/her company
• Key parts – financials (current; expected) ; marketing analysis; competitors ;
locations (and why), startup costs, and more
Note: the series Business Plans Handbook (37 vols. , more added each yr.),
from Gale, has actual business plans
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3. https://www.sba.gov/business-guide
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4. • SBA
• Business guide online, with templates for business plans
• Loans
• SCORE – Service Corps of Retired Executives –
• FREE business consulting and mentoring
• Workshops and webinars (a charge for some events)
• Templates (online) for business plans and financial
statements
https://www.sba.gov/
Small Business Administration (SBA)
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5. SCORE
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6. SBA workshop
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7. Finding brief demographic info.
• QuickFacts – from the Census Bureau. Available for :
zip codes; cities; counties; states
• My Congressional District – also from the Census Bureau
Commercial sources of (some) free info., by zip code:
ESRI
Claritas – “My Best Segments”
Note: these two databases have much more that is available –
for a fee –
and, some library databases incorporate these as add-on modules
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8. https://www.census.gov/mycd/
Demographics of
Congressional
Districts
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9. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/GA
Note: because
population is less than
65,000 – much will NOT
be available for 2016
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10. ESRI – zip
code info.
(some is free)
http://www.esri.com/data/esri_data/ziptapestry
90210
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11. 90210
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12. 90210
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13. https://segmentationsolutions.nielsen.com/mybestsegments/
Default.jsp?ID=20
Claritas –
“My Best
Segments”
90210
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14. Movers & Shakers
90210
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15. 15

16. Census Bureau
The Bureau does much more than the Decennial Census !
It conducts more than 100 surveys and censuses each year.
• Much data is on American FactFinder database –
https://factfinder.census.gov/
• American Community Survey
• American Housing Survey – biennial; sponsored by HUD
• Economic Census – every 5 years
• Business Patterns -- annual (aka “County Business Patterns”)
• Annual Survey of Manufactures
• Nonemployer Statistics [i.e., a sole proprietor]
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17. American Community Survey
(ACS) – from Census Bureau
• On-going
• Focuses on social, economic, housing, and demographic
characteristics
• Largest household survey in the U.S. (annual size of approx. 3
million)
• Conducted by mail, telephone, and personal visits -- random
sample
• “tells us what the population looks like & how it lives”
• Tip: search with “Subject Tables”, at:
https://www.census.gov/acs/www/data-tables-and-tools/subject-tables/
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18. American Community Survey – cont’d.
1-year estimates for areas with 65,000 or more population
* 3-year estimates for areas with 20,000 or more population
* recently discontinued -- new product is:
“1-year supplemental estimates” … for areas with 20,00 or more
5-year estimates for all areas
Data tip: do NOT combine/mix these separate datasets
More on how/when to use:
https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/about/information-guide.html
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19. Census Bureau – cont’d.
• Population Estimates
• Monthly and Annual Retail Trade reports (with tables)
• Census Business Builder – https://cbb.census.gov/sbe/#
“online tool that provides customized data to help businesses and
entrepreneurs meet their unique market goals”
new/improved interface – released June 2017
new content – “ 44 American Community Survey socio-economic ,
housing, and demographic variables, 40 business variables from five Census
Bureau economic surveys, and 60 variables on consumer spending from ESRI.
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20. https://www.census.gov/data/data-tools/cbb.html
One
advantage of
clicking from
this site is the
FAQs and
How Tos
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22. Food Services
selected
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23. After entering zip code, 2 options:
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24. This zip code is small, and with a huge
mall, not as many housing units
You may want to look at
additional zip codes,
or Census Tracts,
or even a nearby city
Dunwoody (city
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25. Selected
socioeconomic
characteristics
Selected
housing
characteristics
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26. Why is Census Geography
Important?
• Census Bureau quote: [the Bureau] “doesn’t have a
mandate to do ZIP Code mapping so we don’t claim
that any ZIP product we have is definitive or complete”
• ZIP Codes are designed to be linear postal delivery
routes
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27. ZIP Code; Census Tract
• Example:
The Buckhead branch of the Atlanta-Fulton Public
Library system recently moved – ONE block over. This
is in a different ZIP code area; but the SAME Census
Tract.
In this case, the Census Tract statistics are
representative of the area around the library.
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28. ZCTA® (ZIP Code Tabulation Areas)
• Developed by the Census Bureau…“generalized area
representations of the ZIP Code service areas”
• In most instances the ZCTA code is the same as the ZIP
Code ® for an area.
• The Census Bureau took the most frequently occurring ZIP
Code in an area for the ZCTA code. Some addresses will
end up with a ZCTA code different from their ZIP Code.
• Not stable over time
• Frequently cross county and place boundaries
• More info. at: https://www.census.gov/geo/reference/zctas.html
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29. Census Tracts
• Optimum size: 4,000 people in each tract ; 74,000 in U.S. and
Puerto Rico
– “small, relatively permanent statistical subdivisions of a
county”, with similar demographic characteristics
– determined by local committees
– normally follow visible features (natural boundaries)
– data collected every 5 years with the American Community
Survey
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30. Finding Census Tracts
• American Factfinder – Advanced Search tab – then select, from
left frame, Geographies --
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31. Finding Census Tracts – cont’d.
• Then, select the “Map” tab and start typing an address:
Select the address, then click on the magnifier icon to search.
[note: this address is the Governor’s mansion]
391 west paces ferry
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32. Census Tract #s
displayed
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33. Many tables of data
available for 2015
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34. Confidentiality and the Census
• In order to protect privacy, the Census Bureau uses
“data swapping”
• Sample of households is selected and matched on a set
of key variables with households in other areas that
have similar characteristics (such as the same # adults ;
same # children)
• Often occurs within a neighboring area
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35. Radius data – effective tool
• No need to be concerned with political boundaries
(county lines, state lines)
• Can create your own custom area
• Often used in business plans
• Flexible choices – 1, 3, 10 miles, etc.
• What do you need to get started?
– latitude and longitude of a specific point
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36. Finding lat./long. for addresses
• Missouri Census Data Center – Circular Area Profiles
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37. http://mcdc.missouri.edu/websas/caps10acsb.html
New feature!
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39. AppLinks
(also from Missouri Census Data Center)
• Easy and quick – to find profiles of demographics of –
• Census Tracts
• ZCTAs
https://census.missouri.edu/applinks/
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40. But note: Tract 99
is listed after
100…
AppLinks
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42. Data from Dept. of Commerce,
Bureau of Economic Analysis
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43. Bureau of Economic Analysis
(BEA)
“Gross Domestic Product” for all states plus metro areas
• 2016’s metro area info. just released -- select from right side of screen:
• Tracks 13 broad industries (construction, government,
finance/real estate, nondurable goods manufacturing,
durable goods mfg., professional/business services…
• Publishes “Survey of Current Business” – mostly tables, but also has some
articles -- https://www.bea.gov/scb/
• Interactive data – new feature
https://www.bea.gov/
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44. BEA – Who uses this information?
GDP, national data –
• White House and Congress to prepare budget estimates and projections.
• Federal Reserve to set monetary policy.
• Wall Street to provide primary indicators of national economic activity.
• Business community to plan financial and investment strategies.
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45. https://www.bea.gov/regional/
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46. Can choose to see this in a
bar or line chart
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47. Bureau of Labor Statistics
https://www.bls.gov/
consider checking first its home page for Subjects, at:
https://www.bls.gov/bls/proghome.htm
• Consumer Price Index (CPI)
• Consumer Expenditure Survey -
https://www.bls.gov/cex/
• Monthly Labor Review
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48. BLS – “Subjects” homepage:
https://www.bls.gov/bls/proghome.htm
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49. Regional Commissions in Georgia
• There are 12 -- http://garc.ga.gov/
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50. Atlanta Regional Commission
Data & Maps
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51. Neighborhood Nexus, from the ARC
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52. Can also
export data
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54. Regional Commissions in Georgia –
Coastal Regional Commission
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55. Shows Census
Tracts
Glynn County, map for
Population Density
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56. Advantages of commercial databases
• Augment the Census Bureau info. from the Economic Census with
online company directory databases (many public library systems and
university libraries subscribe).
• Search more than one industry code at a time, and some can point
you to indirect competitors (i.e., if your user wanted to open a “snack
bar”, a supermarket sells snacks too…)
• Do a radius search for direct and indirect competitors
• And, a radius is ideal if there are boundaries (county line, Census Tract)
• Demographics databases such as SimplyAnalytics allow much
quicker/easier acess to this data…value-added
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57. PATENTS & TRADEMARKS
• U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) – https://www.uspto.gov/
• USPTO has designated Patent & Trademark Resource Centers
(PTRCs) throughout the U.S. –
they offer free reference assistance to anyone, often conduct
classes and host workshops, and provide access to USPTO
databases and sources
• Special website focused for Inventors and Entrepreneurs, at:
https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/inventors-
entrepreneurs-resources
• Georgia Tech Library is the only PTRC in Georgia
(note: libraries at Auburn and Clemson are also PTRCs) 57

58. USPTO – core resources
• “General Information Concerning Patents” – 36 pages; updated 2014
https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/inventors/edu-inf/BasicPatentGuide.pdf
• Basic Facts about Trademarks” – also 36 pages; updated 2016
https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/BasicFacts.pdf
• “The 7 Step Strategy” [for patent searching]
https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/support-centers/patent-and-
trademark-resource-centers-ptrc/resources/seven
Or, use links to these from this USPTO website:
https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/support-centers/patent-and-
trademark-resource-centers-ptrc/ptrc-basic
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59. Keeping Current
• News releases –
• BEA – https://bea.gov/ [select “Current Releases”, left frame]
• BLS – “Economic Releases” tab; also, re Consumer Expenditure
Survey, see its news releases at:
https://www.bls.gov/cex/news.htm
• Blogs –
• BEA - https://blog.bea.gov/
• Business section of major newspapers
• Periodical articles in trade magazines
• Association websites (consider joining for access to more info.) 59

60. This presentation is available at :
http://libguides.gatech.edu/government
Presenter
 Patricia Kenly, Business Reference Librarian
and Government Documents Coordinator
patricia.kenly@library.gatech.edu
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