You can use the U.S. Census website for statistics that are valuable to help launch a business, and use resources on how to be successful and grow your business even more. “ We want to go inside of a county to explore the populations in accordance to what type of business you are opening or going to be opening,” suggested Joe Quartullo. “The census is important because you can determine the economic power in which you can locate business markets and get insights on your competition, finding power in which you can get the demographic and economic information that is necessary for loan applications and even business plans, and community development power in which you can learn about your community, how it is developing, and where it is going.” When it comes to opening up your business it really matters on who your target market and their location. Therefore, using the census information, researching your surrounding, and on your industry will be beneficial. Thereupon, learning how to distinguish between the different types of data and how to compare it can really come in handy. However, keep in mind that information varies in accordance with the type of industry that you are in.

Joe Quartullo then showed to the EDTP class and the class followed in along with him using the computers at the library on how to access and research on how to find information on an specific industry using the webpage for the NAICS. “The Government has a system for classifying each and every business with a six digit code, known as NAICS,” explained Joe Quartullo.

It is of essence to learn about your business demographics, know your industry and business environment to  and keep up with trends. Businesses can search the U.S Census to help them build a clear understanding about their target market, business industry, and much more. Joe Quartullo also explained, “The American Community Survey gathers information on the following: Social, Demographic, Economic, and Housing every year and thus you can use ACS content to research on all of different types of factors that will play an essential part on your business, industry, products and or services, and much more on your entrepreneurial journey.” It is crucial to help you find population that will benefit from having your business before launching your business. “You pick your geography and your facts out of all the different facts that are available in Quick Facts and use the census business builder because that is a tool that gives you some maps to work with for your business,” Joe Quartullo described. The website www.census.gov is an important tool that will be your map way of getting your data.

LAEDA offers the Entrepreneurial Development Training Program, which is a nine-week course conducted three times per year on a wide range of areas of general business practices. Our next session starts in January 2016. We welcome you to join our community of successful entrepreneurs. The program is free, but you must qualify. Visit our website at www.laeda.com or call (856) 338-1177 to learn more.