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Accelerate Okanagan
Accelerate Okanagan supports the Okanagan entrepreneurial and innovative technology community through a variety of programs, including workshops coaching and mentorship, and networking opportunities.
This guide can offer a launching point as you embark on your secondary market research for your business idea. Work through the questions and resources to develop strategies for accessing reliable business information as part of your planning process. While doing your own primary market research will ensure you get the exact data you need, it is usually very time consuming and expensive. Believe us -- it is well worth your time to learn how to find publicly available statistics and data first. We'll point you to as many freely available, online sources that we can find, but keep in mind that there are many resources available at your local public, college or research library.
This Accelerator Guide is organized into four sections designed to help you focus your research. Each section will highlight what goals you'll achieve, as well as questions to get you thinking about the kind of information you'll likely need. In no time you will be an expert DIY researcher! You'll need to use the menu on the left to explore each section but here is an outline you can follow.
If you're looking for in-person help be sure to check out the BC Business Support Directory for help in your specific community. If this is your first time doing secondary market research you might want to follow our step-by-step Business Research Basics. In the Learn Business Basics section of this website you will find curated lists of resources on many business topics from marketing, top business planning to a wide selection of free web-based tools to help you with your business development.
AGRICOLA
AGRICOLA is a database compiled by the National Agricultural Library of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). AGRICOLA contains 2.9 million records covering every major agricultural subject.
A free (unrestricted) version of AGRICOLA is available from the National Agricultural Library (NAL).
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada | Provides information and programs for those who raise animals or who grow plants for food, feed or industrial use. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's web resource features a comprehensive collection of agricultural information including economic forecasts and statistics, policies and acts, incentive programs and other services.
If you know of some public companies in your industry, then annual reports can provide a great deal of useful financial information including sales volume, revenue increases, and total market share. You can search the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) for Canadian Company filings. If the competitor you are researching does business in the US, then you search the Security and Exchange Commissions equivalent, EDGAR, which provides free public access to corporate information including financial information and operations by reviewing registration statements, prospectuses and periodic reports filed on Forms 10-K and 10-Q. You also can find information about recent corporate events reported on Form 8-K that a company does not have to disclose to investors. You can use advanced search features to search by Standard Industry Classification (SIC) codes.
BC Agri-food Knowledge Platform
This website is a collaborative initiative between the British Columbia Agriculture Council and the British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture and Lands. Information is conveniently arranged by specific agri-food community.
BC Business Registry
Offers comprehensive information on starting a business in BC, including essential foundational understanding about different categories of business registration and the differences between them.
Start here: OneStop Business Registry
Start here: Permits, Licences & Registration
Socio-Economic Profiles - BC Stats
The socio-economic profiles consist of charts and tables for the various regional districts, health areas, college regions and school districts. Each region contains a map, demographic profile, economic hardship, labour market structure, education concerns, crime, health problems, children at risk, and youth at risk. The profiles are presented in a format that allows comparison to other regions in the province and to BC overall.
There is a good chance that someone has written a book about starting a business in your particular industry. "How-to" books are a great starting place in business research because they contain a collection of useful information in one single resource. They often provide a good introduction to business planning specific to your industry, and many contain sample business plans. Contact your local library to see what business-related books they have in their collection.
British Columbia Education, Career Fairs and Development
The Education & Career Fairs are the Largest Career Planning Events in British Columbia, Canada! With exhibits in a trade show format with feature areas along with seminars, each Education & Career Fair is designed to help attendees develop or change their career path. The Fairs introduce a variety of post secondary education choices, career and employment options and provide labour market information. Many language schools from British Columbia host exhibits at these fairs.