Research Guides: Entrepreneurship: Idea Generation

Trend spotting

Use Google Trends to see what is being searched for right now and what has been popular. Try searching "ipod" or "startups".

Where Should Your Business Be Located?

Where Should Your Business Be Located? Will it be Internet-based? Will it have a production facility? Do you want to be near high income earners? Or perhaps choose a location that has certain demographics?

RefUSA
- This link opens in a new window
Information on 23 million U.S. businesses and 266 million U.S. households. Includes lifestyle and consumer data on over 60 market segments.
more...less...
For directions on how to get a PPLD library card please go to: http://ppld.org/library-cards

State and County QuickFacts
QuickFacts from the US Census includes data for cities and towns with more that 25,000 people. Click Business Quicklinks for employer statistics and Country Business Patterns Economic Profile.

Free Patent Resources

Recent patents are a gold mine of ideas.

Google Patents
Covers the entire collection of granted patents and published patent applications from the USPTO and the EPO. US patent documents date back to 1790, EPO to 1978.
Canadian Patents Database
Canadian Intellectual Patent Office (CIPO) contains all Canadian patents and images from 1933 to the present.
European Patent Office - esp@cenet
- This link opens in a new window
Esp@cenet contains European patents, World patents, and patent applications. Ability to search patents by origin country (i.e. CN for China). Downloadable and printable in PDF.

Where Do I Look For Ideas?

Business article databases & Business information guides

Search for articles in thousands of business publications at the same time. Limit by date, geographic region, industry, etc.

Business Source Premier (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Full text coverage of over 2300 business, management, and economics journals. Also access full text market research reports, industry reports, country reports, company profiles, and SWOT analyses.

Public access to Business Source Premier
- This link opens in a new window
more...less...
For directions on how to get a PPLD library card please go to: http://ppld.org/library-cards

Regional Business News (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Regional Business News incorporates coverage of more than 80 regional business publications covering all metropolitan and rural areas within the United States, including the Colorado Springs Business Journal *NOT PEER-REVIEWED*

Public access to Regional Business News
- This link opens in a new window
more...less...
For directions on how to get a PPLD library card please go to: http://ppld.org/library-cards

Someplace to start for PPCC AAS Students

Trade journals are magazines read by people "in the trade". PPCC has a database that puts together articles from all sorts of trade journals (and academic journals, newspapers and magazines). The following are links to searches that key in on articles of interest to students in specific PPCC AAS degrees. Type a keyword into an empty search box to narrow your search to a more specific topic. Or, do your own search from scratch: Associates Program Source

https://pixabay.com/static/uploads/photo/2014/11/27/19/59/education-548105_960_720.jpg