POWERFUL BUSINESS INFORMATION RESEARCH TOOLS
As a client of the Pennsylvania SBDC network, you gain access through your local business consultant to industry-leading databases and research tools. Whether it is running a competitive market report or financial model, the SBDC can be your trusted research partner. After you request consulting, you will be connected to your local One-on-One business consultant who can provide reports from the following databases and tools.

For almost three decades, the Business Reference Guide (BRG) has been the leading guide for the pricing of businesses. The BRG provides business transaction professionals with a wealth of up-to-date rules of thumb and essential pricing information on over 600 businesses. The BRG can help you:
- Easily search all entries containing a specific key word.
- Quickly create a specific industry profile for your buyers, complete with your branded logo,
colors, and a disclaimer. - Find insightful pricing tips ready to be copied and pasted into any marketing piece or
presentation. - Quickly and easily confirm the accuracy of your valuations with the most current data
available, including entries added throughout the year.

IndustriusCFO provides financial profiles and performance information about privately held companies in 2,500 industries. Consultants can assess your company and compare it to the competition. Financial information is drawn from a database of over a million of mostly privately-held firms. The results are generated in an easy to read and understandable graphic comparison. Reports can be prepared for benchmarking, underwriting to evaluate loan risk, single and multi-statement liquidity/profitability/growth statements projections and budgets, valuation, and square footage analyses.

BizMiner is used for basic industry and market research, particularly for establishing business benchmarks. It contains basic data on industry financial ratios, balance sheet and profit & loss statement. It also contains US, State, Metro, and down to county level market statistics and sales-per-square-foot data for limited companies. It is not suited for company research, detailed company information or in depth analytical reports. Most of the reports consist of datasets and charts. Although some reports are narrative, they essentially restate the data in a more digestible way. Bizminer is commonly used for industry and market research in student’s entrepreneurship, accounting, finance and marketing programs.

Vertical IQ is an online platform for bankers with hundreds of industry profiles designed for pre-call preparation, credit underwriting and client handouts. Each industry profile contains 25-pages of content, but the content is organized to be easily digestible for quick and easy use.
Access to this resource is limited to the following centers: Penn State, Gannon, Bucknell, Clarion, Duquesne, Kutztown, Wilkes, Scranton, Shippensburg, Temple, and Saint Vincent.

The SBDC National Information Clearinghouse serves the small business development center network and America’s small business community. SBDCNet produces a broad range of financial, market, and demographic research reports customized to any client’s industry and geographic location.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation collects and reports on vehicle traffic volumes. These statewide and county-based maps can help brick-and-mortar retailers determine the best location for their business.
BECOME A CLIENT AND LET US BE YOUR TRUSTED RESEARCH PARTNER
The Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) provide education and no-cost, confidential consulting services for entrepreneurs.