What do a food vendor, an architectural consultant and a rap artist have in common? They all started their small businesses with the help of Hennepin County Library’s small business resources.
Hennepin County Library’s knowledgeable staff welcomes your business questions. Staff can help you navigate resources available in the libraries and online—on small business start-up and management, researching your product and competition, finding marketing info, creating client lists, buying a franchise, writing a business plan and more.
For your convenience, databases at www.hclib.org, plus selected websites, are organized into more than 30 subject guides such as Business & Investments, Jobs & Careers, Patents & Trademarks, and Small Business. ReferenceUSA, D & B (Dun & Bradstreet) Million Dollar Directory, and Small Business Resource Center are among the databases that staff and patrons frequently rely on.
Recently, a patron used ReferenceUSA to locate manufacturers of railroad ties in the U.S., said librarian Kim Poole. “We were able to use the NAICS code (a classification system set up by the U.S. government to describe what a business does) for railroad ties and came up with a list of 40+ manufacturers of this product in the U.S., including contact information and a summary of each company.”
Another patron wanted to find manufacturers of electronic enclosures. “We couldn’t find a NAICS code to describe this product in ReferenceUSA but a keyword search on D & B (Dun and Bradstreet) successfully located some relevant companies for the patron,” Poole said.
She also recalled an entrepreneur who wanted to start a home health care business. The patron accessed the Small Business Resource Center database, selected the link to Business Types, and chose “Home Care Services.” It provided her with sample business plans, info on available franchises in this field, and articles on the economic outlook for this type of business. “The Small Business Resource Center database helped the patron determine whether she wanted to go into this business and also [offered] some tools to get her started on the process,” Poole said.
“Many entrepreneurs don’t know where to begin in starting a new business,” Poole said. Jobs and Small Business Centers at the Brookdale, Minneapolis Central and North Regional libraries are a good place to start. “Most Jobs and Small Business Centers have free copies of the Minnesota state publication, A Guide to Starting a Business in Minnesota, to give away,” Poole said. “This is a great introduction with particularly useful sections on Minnesota-specific topics such as business entity filings, sales tax, worker’s compensation, and the Patent and Trademark Depository library located at Minneapolis Central Library.”
Some Hennepin County libraries regularly offer free, confidential, one-to-one small business consultations with experts from the nonprofits SCORE and LegalCORPS. Recently a patron sought feedback from a SCORE consultant on an advertising flyer that he was creating.
Libraries also offer free business programs, such as Traps and Pitfalls in Intellectual Property, Patent Workshop for Investors, Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners, and Small Business Start-Up Guidelines. For the schedule go to http://www.hclib. org/pub/events/ and click on Business & Careers.
“The library was a lifeline for us,” says Bryce Williams, half of a dynamic brother-sister duo and successful entrepreneurs of their unique Sister Chris’s Fruit-Flavored BBQ Sauce. Vicie Williams, also known as Sister Chris, overcame personal adversity and created their delicious sauces, which are available in five flavors — coconut, mango, kiwi, banana, and pineapple — at 22 local Byerly’s and Lunds grocery stores.
To establish their business and with virtually no start-up funds, Bryce used library computers from early morning to closing to research products and learn about buying in bulk, find out about trademarks to protect trade secrets, do cost analysis, email potential business contacts, and do countless other tasks to start their business. “All aspects of the business,” he said. With strong faith and a lot of effort, Vicie and Bryce’s positive thoughts of achieving their dreams and goals are becoming a reality—they’re now in discussion with distributors to sell their barbecue sauce at 17,000 stores in 40 states.
How did library resources help a rap artist get started in the music business? Antoine Jones, a Chicago transplant, used free Internet access and business databases at Minneapolis Central Library to research music/record companies and trademarks, write and email news releases, obtain a UPC code, and learn about other aspects of the music business. His diligence paid off—Jones’ CD was released in December 2011 and is in local music stores.
The start of your own successful small business may be as near as your local Hennepin County Library. For info visit www.hclib.org/pub/search/ ask.cfm, www.hclib.org/pub/search/Reference.cfm or www.hclib.org/pub/search/JobsSBCinfo.cfm.