Marketplace of ideas
Businesspeople are wise to check out JoCo Library
Kansas City Business Journal - by Michael Braude
If you are a businessperson in Johnson County wanting to sell your product or service to day spas, you may well have paid a considerable sum for a list of all day spas in the area with all of the pertinent information about them.
You could have gotten all that information very easily via the Internet without spending one cent. The data is yours with a Johnson County library card and PIN number.
If you are a Johnson Countian and a stock market investor, you may be paying several hundred dollars a year for the Value Line Investment Survey.
It is available to you, without cost, at all Johnson County Library locations.
Do you want free access to the D&B Million Dollar Database, containing financial information on more than a million U.S. public and private companies with sales in excess of $1 million? You do not need to become a D&B subscriber. That database also is available through the Johnson County Library's Web site.
I must admit that after I spent an afternoon exploring the business information available through the Johnson County Library -- either at home or in the library -- I was literally amazed. Any patron can take a specialized tour of the business collection and explore the library's extensive business-focused programming.
Although I am sure that some readers are aware of the broad scope of business resources available at Johnson County's libraries, I am confident that many will benefit by becoming aware of what is available at no cost.
The library's database list is incredible. For example, in the marketing area, it includes National Trade and Professional Associations of the United States, The Lifestyle Market Analyst, Survey of Buying Power, Statistical Abstract of the United States and Statistical Forecasts of the United States.
The library's career center at the Central Resource Library, and available online, can be a great resource for midcareer job seekers. For one's job search, Web sites such as America's Job Bank, Monster.com, The Wall Street Journal, CareerBuilder.com, Kansas Jobs and Missouri Jobs are included.
Moreover, the library frequently offers helpful seminars, such as "Networking: A Job Hunting Tool." Like all library programs, these are open to the public and free.
Job hunters are not the only ones who can benefit from the business programs the library offers. A sampling of spring and summer course offerings includes: "Increase Your Retirement Income With a Reverse Mortgage," "Ins and Outs of Franchising," "The Nuts and Bolts of Starting a Business" and "Resources for International Business."
Every resident and business owner in Johnson County sees a relatively small portion of his or her property tax go to the library system. When one examines the library's business efforts, he or she quickly realizes what a great return on investment is possible if these resources are used.
The owner of a business in Mission recently wrote the library: "Two years ago, I came into the Johnson County Library seeking a way to fulfill my lifelong dream of owning my own business.
"Today, I'm proud to say my company is worth more than $2 million and thriving. I could not have done it without the guidance and support of the library staff and their marvelous resources. Give them a raise!"
Are any of these four questions on your mind today?:
- How do I research my investments?
- What are the trends in my field?
- How do I prepare for a career change?
- How do I start my own business?
The best place I know to find answers is at the Johnson County Library!
Michael Braude | lmbraude@aol.com He writes weekly for the Kansas City Business Journal.
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