New BC Business Resource

When answering business questions on AskAway, institution-specific guides and resources are the first place to check; if you are looking for additional information, though, a great new resource called Small Business Accelerator (SBA) may be the next place to look.

It helps with queries such as:

• What is the economic forecast for accountants in BC?
• Where can I find a sample business plan for a bicycle courier business?
• How do I research the retail industry in BC?

SBA is an online tool designed to provide access to industry-specific resources and information. Business librarians curate the SBA, and ensure resources are relevant to B.C., current and accurate. AskAway Librarians are likely to find SBA useful for business students creating business plans or doing industry research. It would also be useful for students writing grants, even for some outside of the business sector, as SBA is a gateway to funding sources including grants for heritage and arts, specific populations, and people who live in rural or northern B.C.

The SBA contains Accelerator Guides for over 100 specific industries - Coffee Shop Business, Martial Arts School and Doula Business are a few. The guides point users toward resources such as sample industry-specific business plans, relevant free and subscription databases (the ones available at most B.C. public and academic libraries), and tailored funding information. The guides section information resources into four slices- one on beginning to think about a new business and three separate research areas on industry, competition and customers. Each Accelerator Guide assists users with what types of questions they may want to find answers for at each step of forming  a new business, and then directs the users toward resources that can provide those answers. In addition to the industry-specific guide, SBA includes standard business plan templates, resources and information applicable to all industries and businesses

The Small Business Accelerator is available here: http://www.sba-bc.ca/
A short video tutorial demonstrating how you can use the SBA is available.

-- Reece, BC ELN