Skip to Main Content

Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programs

Find resources and information that will help you research and develop your business plan

How to Find Industry Reports and Business Profiles

Macalester subscribes to two databases that offer industry reports and business profiles: Business Source Premier and Nexis Uni. Follow the steps below to find industries and and businesses relevant to your start-up.

What's in a Business Profile? 

Some of the helpful information that you'll find in Business Source Premier's business profiles includes:

  • Company Information: a list of brands the company offers, a list of competitors, stock quotes, the company's history, and additional reports.
     
  • Financial Overview: yearly financials on assets, liabilities, income, cash flow, stock information, and more.
     
  • Industry Knowledge: a description of the industry, a list of top companies within the industry, and ratio components.
     
  • Investment Research: analyst reports and Zacks investment research.

Finding Industry Reports

  1. Open the Business Source Premier database 
     
  2. Use all three search boxes to target your search for the specific industry and country you are interested in. We recommend entering your search terms like this:
    • In the first search box, type the term "industry report" 
    • In the second search box, type the name of the industry you are interested in, (for example, "recycling") 
    • In the third search box, type the name of the country you're researching.
       
  3. Then click the blue search button.
     

Finding Business Profiles

Finding Business Profiles in Nexis Uni

  1. Open the Nexis Uni database. 
     
  2. From the top of the page, click the grid of dots in the upper left corner and select Nexis Dossier (see screenshot below).
     
  3. Type the name of the company into the search box and click the red magnifying glass button to search. 
    • You can also search by DUNS number by clicking the dropdown menu under Search By and selecting DUNS number.
    • Another way to search is by entering the url of the company's website in the second search box.
       
  4. Check the name and address of each company. The search results page only displays the top three search results. Click the blue View All button to see all search results (recommended).
     
  5. Once you click on the name of the business, use the menu on the left side to navigate to the information you need. 
     

Arrow pointing to grid of dots and then to the words "Nexis Dossier" on screen