Build, Learn, Connect @ Your LIbrary
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Joan Divor, a business services librarian, discusses how the Burlington County Library System can help local businesses with challenges like prospecting for growth, exploring new markets, and staying competitive. The library provides free resources like Reference USA for business and consumer demographic research and Lynda.com for skills training. It also hosts networking events through its Venture Hub program, like a Lean Venture Series to help startups and a meetup about an engineering startup for girls. The library aims to spark business connections and provide learning, collaboration spaces, and access to resources through its programs.
Build, Learn, Connect @ Your LIbrary
- 1. Joan Divor Business Services Librarian Burlington County Library System Build, Learn, Connect @ Your Library
- 2. What challenges are you facing NOW? • Prospecting for growth? • Exploring new markets? • Staying competitive? We can help with a combination of knowledge and learning tools
- 3. KNOWLEDGE: Librarians Answers are our business.
- 4. In building your business, you can leverage premium tools & resources that are FREE and • Easier to use • More in-depth • More “vetted” …than ONLY going on the internet Smart TOOLS: Learning
- 6. • Targeted • Reachable • Manageable / “mine-able” What makes a prospect list effective?
- 7. Reference USA Business to Business Markets • US Businesses / Canadian Businesses • Specialty • Healthcare ; New Businesses
- 8. Prospecting for Growth – Business to Business Case Study: Construction, remodeling, commercial cleaning, landscaping. • Large manufacturing facilities
- 18. Business to Consumer Reference USA •Residential listings • Location • Income • Home value •New movers
- 19. Reference USA Consumer Markets •LIFESTYLE DATA • Buying habits • Purchase preferences and behaviors • “Psychographics”
- 20. Prospecting for Growth • Case Study: Historical walking tours, guides and activities – north Jersey towns.
- 26. Reference USA Review • US Businesses / Canadian Businesses • Specialty Business • Healthcare • New companies • US Residential / Canadian Residential • Specialty: new movers / homeowners • Consumer demographic / lifestyles • Mapping & charting
- 27. Exploring New Markets Geographic / demographic / psychographic prospecting & marketing • Who are my best customers? • Where do they live? • How much do they spend? • What do they buy? • Where should I sell (location, territory)?
- 28. Demographics Now • Choose your geography (zip, county…radii, drivetime) • Choose your report type / variable(s) • Outputs: • Reports: comparison, summary, ranking • Maps • Census 2010 http://persuasion- summer11.wikispaces.com/Plato%27s+Audience+Segmentation
- 29. Exploring New Markets Case Study: nonprofit • Massachusetts • Mattapan 02126 • Charlestown 02129
- 31. MATTAPAN - 02126 CHARLESTOWN - 02129
- 38. Staying competitive Case Study: Retail • Business Source Premier • Regional Business News Global, national, local Macro, and micro
- 39. Regional Business News - EBSCO
- 40. Business Source Premier – EBSCO - NATIONAL
- 41. Business Source Premier EBSCO - GLOBAL
- 42. Lynda.com: Growing Your Skills
- 43. To wrap up….WE CAN HELP WITH
- 44. COMMUNITY - Sparking connections
- 45. What’s in it for you? • Community & connections -- tell your story, learn from and engage with others for networking, collaboration, referral, • Learn & teach – high value, innovative programming • Spaces & venues for collaboration, co-working • Access: Nexus for programs, tools, community resources, research and services of the business “ecosystem”. “Accelerated Serendipity”
- 46. Some of our meetups
- 47. Key Initiative - Lean Venture Series Interactive, facilitated workshops – three stages 1. Getting started – creating a business model to identify and address customer problems and needs 2. Making sure your idea “has legs” – early testing of ideas; adjusting based on learning from customers 3. Preparing to grow – experimenting with opportunities for expansion
- 48. venture HUB LVS • Piloted with our first cohort of 10 entrepreneurs • Streamlining and improving the curriculum for this fall MORE • Innovative & fun programming, activities • Opportunities to cowork and connect
- 49. Thursday, June 30, 7:30 PM BCLS County Library 5 Pioneer Blvd. Westampton Meet Megan DeGeorge: TLAG CoFounder! • Startup : three mechanical engineering students from Rowan • Engineering Kits, are subscription kits for girls, ages 6 to 12+, teach STEAM skills • Create a community to encourage females to enter technical fields and connect with like-minded individuals
- 51. For your business…and the rest of your life!
- 52. Joan C. Divor Business Services Librarian jdivor@bcls.lib.nj.us Knowledge to Empower – YOU! http://www.meetup.com/VentureHubBCLS