Dr. NAICS and Your Classification

I get asked all the time by entrepreneurs who need help determining their NAICS classification. Without doubt, it can be hard to figure out how to classify your new business. What is NAICS, you ask (if you already know this, skip the definition)?

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS, pronounced Nakes) was developed as the standard for use by Federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the collection, analysis, and publication of statistical data related to the business economy of the U.S. NAICS was developed under the auspices of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and adopted in 1997 to replace the old Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system. It was also developed in cooperation with the statistical agencies of Canada and Mexico to establish a 3-country standard that allows for a high level of comparability in business statistics among the three countries. -- official Census Bureau NAICS website

Why should you care? Because if you know how your business is classified, you can use the classification to find other same-classified businesses through a source like ReferenceUSA, and compare your business to others. You'll remember this from our class.

If you have trouble figuring out your NAICS classification, and you've really, really tried, then send an email to Dr. NAICS at naics@census.gov. They ask you to please include your telephone number in your email message in case they need to call you for more information.

Two Market Research Tips

(Note: My next several posts are really for the entrepreneurs I instruct at the Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center. But I decided to write them here as a way to make them easily available to past students too. If you're not a Ren. Center member, you are welcome too!)

There are several resources that will help make your market research easier. I will be adding more over the next few days, so be sure to check back. Also, if you have any questions, please ask them in a comment; there are probably at least a few more in the class that also have questions. I'll post my response here.

Many entrepreneurs have a budget of $0 when it comes to market research. So my suggestions here are for free or almost free tips and tools that will help you.

(1) Surveys

One of the best tools you can use for primary research is online surveys. Try one of these three:

• Survey Monkey


• Zoomerang


• Vizu

Survey Monkey has a guide on creating strong online surveys, so I would encourage you to consider using them. I've used Survey Monkey for both small and mid-size organizations; there's a good chance it will handle what you need.

In an ideal world, you would distribute your survey to your entire target market. But to keep it simple, yet still get meaningful responses, you can start with your friends and family, and ask them to send the link to anyone they think would be interested in your product or service.

You want your survey invitation to look very professional. Sending it out via a service like Constant Contact means that it will look professional. But more importantly, you'll be able to track who actually opened your email.


(2) Tradeshows
Another great primary research source is a tradeshow. I can't emphasize how much information you can get walking up and down the aisles of your industry's tradeshow. Information dangles everywhere, ready to be plucked and consumed. You can find a tradeshow on TSNN by searching their immense database.