Starting your business using Business Information databases

If you have an idea about starting your own business, then the Business Library is worth a visit. Finding out more about the market, consumer trends and who your competitors are is critical to establishing your business on a firm basis. As a business owner you can research a particular market in order to develop your reach based on accurate information.

Trained library staff are available to assist you in getting the most from the databases. 

Local business in your county 

If you want to find out current businesses, in different sectors, operating in your county then start with Business.ie
 
Recently, the maker of upmarket greeting cards used this database to locate florists in their county to promote their products.

Information on companies 

If you want to find out about a business that you might do business with, then look at Visionet.ie. This database includes businesses and companies registered with the Companies Registration Office in Ireland. It also provides critical information on a company’s credit rating. It can be viewed in the library or accessed remotely using your Dublin City Library card.
Finding out about the Irish market 

If you want to find out about the market for a product in Ireland, then start with the Mintel database. Its reports provide in-depth market research covering different sectors. A recent example of a research query the library staff handled related to a business start-up researching the Irish market for snacks using organic ingredients.

Finding out about the UK market

You will also find information relating to the Irish and UK market in the Ibisworld database. It covers a range of sectors including Finance, the Arts, Manufacturing and Retail. Recent research queries related to bread and bakery production in the UK and soft drink manufacturing in Ireland. 

Finding out about the International market

For detailed information on international economic, market and consumer situations covering 45 countries look up the Euromonitor Passport database. Our service users have used it to find out about market information in areas as diverse as mobile technology, men’s grooming products, pharmaceuticals and luxury goods. 

If you are a business, finance, management or accounting student you will find Marketline very useful for your research. In addition to market coverage of a range of sectors and countries, you can find out about major deals completed in the past five years, as well as identifying key social media influencers.