Small Business Focus: 2022, roaring into the Lunar Year of the Tiger with new business resources

This column is sponsored by BizLaunch, a division of Arlington Economic Development.

Two years into the roaring 2020s, a new year means new resources. With 2022 marking a fresh start for what we hope will be a spectacular year, the team at BizLaunch is committed to making sure the small business community is ready to succeed.

Free of charge and easily accessible with an Arlington County library card, BizLaunch is excited to welcome DemographicsNow, IBISWorld and Statista to its database family. Each of these resources has been curated to assist businesses in these unprecedented times; from the shift in eCommerce rates to learning more about the post-pandemic consumer, business owners will have answers to all questions they have about today’s small business climate. With cutting edge statistics, real time research in your industry, and an abundance of market analysis, this powerful trio has Arlington’s small business community in mind.

DemographicsNow is a 25-year-old full-service spatial analytics firm designed with features such as sales forecasting, customer profiling, market analysis and much more. This concrete location-based data can offer insight that may be exactly what you’ve been seeking. With DemographicsNow, you’ll know the who, when, where, how and even which locations hold the highest level of consumer engagement. In turn, you’ll gain an in-depth understanding of how to take advantage of where you are and turn it into where your customers can live, work, shop, and more.

IBISWorld, a staple database in the business world since 1971, offers in-house analysts that provide economic, demographic and market data. What does this mean? All of this combined helps businesses make informed decisions with all variables and factors considered. They have an assorted portfolio of products, providing clients with things such as: industry research, financial ratios, risk ratings and Business Environment Profiles, just to name a few. With a full suite of industry research and expert tools that are accessible globally, IBISWorld aids a diverse range of clientele: from commercial banks to academic institutions alike.

Only a little over a decade old, Statista has taken the industry research field by storm. With more than two million registered users, one million statistics, 31 million visits per month and 170 industries covered, Statista has mastered the art of consolidating data and making it palatable. Information like research and analysis (combined) and eCommerce are what makes Statista stand out from most databases.

It has even been cited in articles by some of the largest media companies of the world, including Forbes, the New York Times, and the Financial Times. Additionally, it works closely with academic institutions like Harvard and Yale University, further building credibility of this influential database

Collectively, these databases build a powerhouse for small businesses seeking to better understand their market, consumers and in sum, gain statistical insight. With data that is real time, global, and all-encompassing, business owners from any industry can find exactly what they need. What it all means is an incredible new series of free and accessible resources for Arlington County small businesses.

Be sure to visit these databases at www.arlingtoneconomicdevelopment.com/bizlaunch or with a library card through the Arlington Public Library system.

For any questions about any of the databases listed, feel free to contact Prakriti Deuja, BizLaunch Administrative Specialist, at [email protected].