Reference USA-extensive company intelligence

ReferenceUSA.Gov is an Internet-based reference service for the government.  The site was designed for use as a reference tool in government agencies.  Its database contains in module format, detailed information on more than 20 million U.S. businesses, 222 million consumers, 89 million U.S. residents, 855,000 U.S. health care providers, 1.5 million Canadian businesses, and 12 million Canadian households.

Small-business owners/entrepreneurs can conduct power market research.  Select a location and do a radius search to look up the number of similar businesses in the area.  Check the strength of the competition with years in business and credit rating.

Job seekers can locate and research companies they want to work for with details on 14 million U.S. businesses including 200,000 human resources with contact names business descriptions, company size and website links to job postings. Three vital ways for job seekers to use this web site are:

1. Check previous companies worked at for in that company for finding lateral positions.
2. Look for companies who are competitors in the field you were employed with as a prime source of jobs.
3. Create a master list of all companies within ones career field to potentially contact them along with contact info about key people.

www.referenceusa.com can be accessed for free through ones local library system via their library card account.    For more info of how to best navigate the databases found on this web site, .click here for a timely video tutorial.