Business

Starting your own business means understanding the industry and knowing who your competition is. Lakeland Library has many resources, available both in print and electronically, to help you research this information. One such resource is the Nexis Uni database.

The information on this page is designed to guide you through the process of researching a particular industry and compiling a list of local competitors using the Nexis Uni database.

The first thing you will need to find is the NAICS code for the industry of your proposed business.

1. On the NAICS web site, click NAICS Code Search to search.
2. Type a keyword related to your industry and hit Enter to search.
3. From the search results, find the NAICS code that most closely corresponds to your business/industry.
4. (Optional) You can also check your code against a major competitor by searching Google for: your competitor AND “naics code.” Example Google search: starbucks AND "naics code"

You can use the Nexis Uni database to create a list of competitors:

1. To access library databases, log into myLakeland and click on the library icon.
2. Scroll down below FiSH in the middle column to find General Databases. Locate the icon for Nexis Uni and click on it. Alternatively, you can click on the Nexis Uni link at the top of this page and login with your myLakeland username and password when prompted.
3. Once you’re in Nexis Uni, click find a company below the main search box. 
4. On the next page, click the square made of dots in the top left corner of the screen and then click Nexis' Dossier.
5. On the left side of the next page, click create a company list.
6. Fill in only the pertinent information needed for your list:
   • NAICS code (you can enter multiple NAICS codes separated by commas if more than one code fits your topic)
   • Regions/Countries (edit “All Countries” to “United States”)
   • State
   • Either Cities OR Postal Codes (use commas between cities). Use a tool like Google Maps or ZipMap to look for nearby cities and/or zip codes. If you receive no results, try larger city areas like Akron, Cleveland, or Mentor.
7. After entering your information, click Create.
8. The first 10 results will be displayed (or fewer if there are less than 10 competitors within the search parameters). Click Customize at the bottom to view the complete list.
9. There is no need to edit any of the default attributes that will appear on your company list. Just skip to the bottom and click update.
10. You may opt to include only certain companies in your final list. First, de-select all companies by clicking the box next to Company Name (all companies are automatically selected). Then, select the companies you would like to keep in your list by clicking the box next to each company you wish to keep.

Now that you have a complete list of competitors, you are ready to save the file.

1. At the top of the list, click Download.
2. Select a file format and click to download the file. If using a Chromebook, you will need to select “CSV formatted file,” and then save the file to your Google drive.
3. If not using a Chromebook, you can select either file type, then save the file to the desktop by opening the file, clicking save file, and selecting desktop as the location. Log in to your email and send the file as an attachment to your own email address.

As an alternative option to Nexis Uni, you can use Google Maps to search and create a competitor's list.

1. Go to Google Maps and type keywords into the search box. Google recommends the following example search strategies to find local business information:
   • Search for specific businesses: Starbucks
   • Search for types of places: coffee near central park
   • Narrow your results by using the city and state: groceries in Atlanta, GA
   • Narrow your results by using a zip code: gas in 94131
2.  After performing a search, you can save your results by copying and pasting the link to the results page in an email to yourself.