Understand your market and research your business idea
The BIPC Network
We know that one of the crucial things when starting a business is understanding your market, competitors, and customers trends.
That’s why the BIPC network have invested in a range of resources worth over £5M. This includes:
- online market reports from top publishers
- company data for over 144M UK and global companies
- start-up books and business directories
- 700,000 historical annual reports
- over 60 million patents available for you to access for free.
The resources will allow you to research your market, identify opportunities and make well-informed decisions when developing your business plans.
Our resources can help you to answer some of these questions and more!
- Is there demand for my product or service?
- Do I have any competition?
- Have my customers buying habits changed?
- How much will my customers pay for my product or service?
- What funding is available to help me start up?
- What should my business plan look like?
Resources
How does it work?
To access our resources, you will need to have a library card membership. You can join the library by clicking on the following link:
Once you have a library card, you can access the resources below. Please note that some of our resources are only accessible within our key BIPC libraries which will be stated in the descriptions.
If you need any help finding or using any of our resources, please get in touch.
Business books, e-books and e-audio
Business databases
COBRA
COBRA is a complete business reference adviser. It provides critical business facts, compliance and trading details covering hundreds of the most common small business trades, sectors and professions.
You can use any device to
GrantFinder
GrantFinder is Europe's leading and most advanced grants and policy database, bringing together funding opportunities and related policy across the UK. The solution is used by public sector bodies, private companies, consultants and charities and voluntary sector organisations to search for funding opportunities for their own organisations and to support others. Available in Cambridge Central, Cambourne, Ely, Huntingdon and Wisbech libraries.
Kompass EasyBusiness
Whether you have a small or large sales and marketing resource, having access to accurate and up-to-date company and contact information is essential. Kompass EasyBusiness provides detailed business information. Available in Cambridge Central, Ely, Huntingdon and Wisbech libraries.
You can also access Kompass EasyBusiness 24/7 from any device with a library membership card.
For Cambridgeshire Library members:
- go to the Cambridgeshire Kompass EasyBusiness log in webpage
- click 'Login', in the top right hand corner of the page
- enter your library card number and PIN and click 'Login'
- click 'View resource online' to the right of the Kompass EasyBusiness record
- explore Kompass EasyBusiness
Statista
Statista is the global no. 1 business data platform. The renowned statistics database is well-known and acknowledged throughout the world as the basis for fast and comprehensive searches for numbers, data, and facts. Explore the whole world through numbers with Statista. Available at Cambridge Central, Cambourne, Ely, Huntingdon and Wisbech libraries.
Online resources
GOV.UK Business and Self-Employed
GOV.UK provides authoritative step-by-step guides to running a business, including setting up, business tax, business finance and support, and more.
Meeting room hire
We have meeting rooms for hire at libraries across Cambridgeshire.
