Comments (0) Best Free Service - 2009

BusinessDecision

If you’re trying to start a business and need to know how much women spend on shoes within a ten-block radius of your house, or if you’re just nosy, this is the database for you. BusinessDecision crunches vast arrays of census data and presents a range of demographic and economic profiles tailored to the research needs of small businesses — everything from standard reports on household income and ethnicity to more complex portraits of communities’ spending and lifestyle habits. Want to know how many “industrious urban fringe” types populate a certain zip code as opposed to “Main Street USA” middle-of-the-roaders or “laptop and lattes” trendsetters? Just grab your library card and head for the “research resources” section of the DPL’s website. There’s a charge for using some of the service’s elite features, but reference personnel should be able to guide you through the impressive free offerings.