Are you planning to start a business? Are you interested in doing something you really love? Perhaps it's using your expertise to start a service business — maybe you’re a chef with a unique restaurant concept. Do you know who your competition is? You’ll need to find out.

A great place to research competitors is Reference USA, an online directory available on site at SIBL and several other NYPL libraries. Use the “U.S. Businesses” module and choose the “Custom Search” tab to find businesses by “Business Type.” Enter a keyword to describe the types of businesses you're searching for (just like you would in a Google search) and click the “Lookup” button. It’s that simple!  Select your results, click “Update,” and you'll have a list of competitors.

Reference USA provides in-depth data about businesses, including business names, addresses, zip codes, the number of employees, annual revenue, the names of managers or owners, business expenditures, nearby businesses, and more. You can limit results to businesses in your zip code, by company size, or other criteria. Best yet — take your results home on a USB drive! View a video on searching Reference USA and be sure stop by SIBL to download competitor lists!