Finding Information about Businesses

If you are looking for businesses by name or type of business, visit these yellow page web sites:

Switchboard.com http://switchboard.com

AnyWho http://www.anywho.com

More Business Directories

Reference USA
Search this databases of over 12 million companies by name, yellow page listing, location and more. Search results also include contact name, estimated sales, number of employees and credit ratings.

Thomas Register http://thomasregister.com
This directory of U.S. and Canadian manufacturers can be searched by company name, product, or brand name. Registration required.

Hoovers http://www.hoovers.com
Features company capsules, news, officers, financials and industry information.

These sources may offer additional information about businesses:

Better Business Bureau http://www.bbb.org
Search for business reliability reports at the sites of local Better Business Bureaus.

Chambers of Commerce http://www.uschamber.org/Chambers/Chamber+Directory/default.htm
Local chambers of commerce are excellent sources of information about companies in their area.Use this database to find chambers in a given location.

Secretaries of State http://www.internet-prospector.org/secstate.html
If a business has been incorporated, it is done through the office of the Secretary of State in the state in which the incorporation occurred. This site provides contact information and links to official Secretary of State, and Corporation Databases (when available) for all U.S. States.

New York Department of State Corporation/Business Entity Database
http://wdb.dos.state.ny.us/corp_public/corp_wdb.corp_search_inputs.show
Search for New York State corporations, not-for-profits and business entities. Provides address and filing date.

Finding Information about Local Companies

For further information about local companies, search for articles using the following sources:

Business First of Buffalo http://buffalo.bcentral.com/buffalo/
Buffalo’s weekly business journal. Read this week’s issue or search for articles back to 1996.

Western New York Index http://www.wnylrc.org/wnyindex/index.html
Indexes local newspaper and journal articles by subject from 1983-1996. Search by company or officer names.

Buffalo News
The Buffalo News is available full-text back to 1992 at every library in the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library System.

Financials

When looking for detailed financial information, keep in mind that this type of information is much easier to find for public companies than for privately held ones.

Edgar http://www.sec.gov/edgarhp.htm
Search the mandatory SEC (Securities & Exchange Commission) filings of public companies.

Annual Report Gallery http://www.reportgallery.com/
Search for the annual reports of public companies.

Wall Street Research Net http://www.wsrn.com/
Includes news, broker recommendations, earnings estimates and much more.

Industry Data

Data on an industry is often arranged by industrial classification numbers known as S.I.C. codes (Standard Industrial Classification) or N.A.I.C.S. codes (North American Industrial Classification codes). To find codes for the industry you are interested in, visit these sites:

Standard Industrial Classification Search http://www.osha.gov/oshstats/sicser.html
Search for the SIC codes of specific industries by keyword.

U.S. Census Bureau NAICS Page http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html
Information about the North American Industry Classification System as well as SIC correspondence tables.

Statistics

Some sites to visit for industry statistics include:

1997 Economic Census Data http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/econ97.html

The Economic census is done every five years providing national and geographic area reports on industries including number of establishments, payroll and sales.

County Business Patterns http://www.census.gov/epcd/cbp/view/cbpview.html
An annual publication, this source gives industry data, including number of establishments, employees and payroll for industries at the county level.

Trade Shows

For information on upcoming trade shows and events in an industry, visit these sites:

Trade Shows News Network http://www.tsnn.com/
Includes a searchable guide to major trade shows and the top news from industries. International in scope.

EXPOguide http://www.expoguide.com/
EXPOguide's listings aim to include all conferences and tradeshows worldwide.

Industrial Associations

Industrial associations are excellent sources of statistics and other data. These sites can be used to find organizations

AssociationCentral.com http://associationcentral.com
A directory of associations searchable by keyword. This site also includes industry news and events.

Gateway to Associations Online http://info.asaenet.org/gateway/OnlineAssocSlist.html
A comprehensive directory from the American Society of Association Executives.

General BusinessFile

General Businessfile
Providing newspaper and journal articles, company profiles, industry data, and Investext investment reports, General Businessfile is available at every library in the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library as well as from home or office with a valid Buffalo & Erie County Public Library card number.

Click HERE for more online business resources!