[deanp]

so as i said in a previous post, i'm planning to start up my own small company. i'm in the process of writing up my business plan and am trying to gather some market research.

have any of you guys done this and what resources have you used? i've looked into market research sites, but can only seem to find companies that want to charge me thousands for the information. surely there has to be some form publically available database with some of these stats on there?

just trying to find and figure out average costings, income/revenue, average hourly rates, and maybe some growth charts so i can put a realistic figure to my expectations.

have any of you guys ever tried searching for this kind of information and not had to pay through the teeth for it?

Dean

[Jarvooo]

The best way or market research to be honest would be to ask people what they think of what your offering yourself; ask around, grab a clipboard and a pen, grab a phone book; get some information yourself. It looks alot more viable if youve gotten all these numbers yourself rather than on a website where the hardest part has been copy and paste

[deanp]

i realise that, and for pricing research that's part of what i'm doing. but phoning around companies and asking general opinions isn't going to get me information on how many sites i should expect to be able to sell in the first 3 months, or how many new companies in my area in the last 2 years have needed new sites, or revamping / improvements on an old one, and how i can expect this market to grow in the coming years, especially with a global recession going on.

i can't really get out a phone book and phone around design companies in my area and ask, "so how many sites have you sold in the last 4 months and whats been your total gross income and profit margin for the last year?"

This is the sort of information i need to try and find so i can make educated decisions on what to expect and plan for with my new business.

finances need planning to make this work well!