Mary Ellen Bates - Building & Running a Successful Research Business: A Guide for the Independent Information Professional

Second Edition

Also by Mary Ellen Bates

Building & Running a Successful Research Business, 1st Edition (Information Today, Inc., 2003)

Super Searchers Cover the World: The Online Secrets of Global Business Researchers (Information Today, Inc., 2001)

Mining for Gold on the Internet (McGraw-Hill, 2000)

Researching Online For Dummies, 2nd Edition, co-authored with Reva Basch (IDG Books Worldwide, 2000)

Super Searchers Do Business: The Online Secrets of Top Business Researchers (Information Today, Inc., 1999)

The Online Deskbook (Information Today, Inc., 1996)

Second Edition

Mary Ellen Bates

First Printing, 2010

Building & Running a Successful Research Business, Second Edition: A Guide for the Independent Information Professional

Copyright 2010 by Mary Ellen Bates

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review. Published by Information Today, Inc., 143 Old Marlton Pike, Medford, New Jersey 08055.

Publishers Note: The author and publisher have taken care in preparation of this book but make no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of the use of the information or programs contained herein.

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Information Today, Inc. was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bates, Mary Ellen.

Building & running a successful research business : a guide for the independent information professional / Mary Ellen Bates 2nd ed.

p. cm.

Rev. ed. of: Building & running a successful research business : a guide for the independent information professional. 2003.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-0-910965-85-9

1. Information services industry. 2. Information services. 3. Information consultants. 4. New business enterprises. I. Title.

HD9999.I492B38 2009

025.52068 dc22

2010001419

Printed and bound in the United States of America

President and CEO: Thomas H. Hogan, Sr.

Editor-in-Chief and Publisher: John B. Bryans

Managing Editor: Amy M. Reeve

VP Graphics and Production: M. Heide Dengler

Book Designer: Kara Mia Jalkowski

Cover Designer: Danielle Nicotra

www.infotoday.com

To the memory of my parents, Flo and Pete Bates, who taught me
to believe in myself and to take risks, and to Lin, who so enriches my life

Mary Ellen Bates first edition of Building & Running a Successful Research Business was published in 2003. Since then, a staggering explosion of content, sources, and tools have become available on the internet, and the development and growth of Web 2.0 blogging, wikis, RSS feeds, and podcasts are a sign of the times. In 2009, many more information professionalsindividually or as part of their professional and trade associationsturned to social networking and the likes of Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and others to collaborate, communicate, conduct research, or market themselves as name brands, a result of the growth and development of social media. Web 3.0 and the implementation of semantic web applications are on the horizon. In fact, by the time this book goes to press, they will be in the forefront of online life.

Apart from the massive growth of the internet, other major changes facing society and individuals emerged. The U.S. and the world experienced the worst recession since the Great Depression and almost everyone has been affected in some way. During economic downturns such as the one that began in December 2007, the bursting of the dot-com bubble that resulted in dot-gone at the turn of the 20th century, and the 1980s and 1990s recessions, more people consider starting businesses than during average times and more settled economic periods. Information professionals in particular are often well-positioned to succeed because employers continue to require the skills that their former employees possess. As such, some info businesses get their start by negotiating contracts with a previous employer, and colleagues and contacts from past environments become excellent referral sources. Nevertheless, starting a business can be daunting, and feeling fear and trepidation about change is a common emotion. Still, there are great opportunities for earning a satisfying and satisfactory income by applying ones creative energy to difficult times, and knowledgesuch as the material presented in this bookovercomes fear.

Adding to vast changes in the information industry and broader socioeconomic trends are changing demographics among library and information science professionals. There has always been a wide range of expertise among independent information professionals, but today, there are even more business choices than ever. In particular, evidence of changing demographics is apparent, and the next generation of information entrepreneurs has materialized as professional colleagues within the Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP). Their business vision is quite different from my early introduction to information brokering in 1981. I was visiting the exhibit hall at a California Library Association conference when I first met pioneer information broker Sue Rugge and learned of her research and document delivery company, Information on Demand. The moment I met Sue, I realized that I too could start a business using these modern late-20th century inventions, if I were to hone my skills and learn how to operate a business. I set out to research the information brokerage industrytalking to several information brokers and digging up the articles and one book available at the time. Over the next year or two, I enrolled in business planning, marketing, and sales courses and workshops to learn about business. I began networking locally with business groups face-to-face and set the wheels of my business marketing in motion.

Many who start a research business today continue to come from the field of library science as I did, and their business visions are similar to mine; they work from a traditional information brokering model, conducting primarily secondary research using a wide range of resources. Others have embarked on their new business ventures with different ideas and individual and unique skill sets, experience, and knowledge. An information business today may offer services about or for many different industries or use business models that differ from my experience. Whereas some of the earlier information business pioneers primarily started out by conducting online research, those in todays world are all over the map with web and content management skills; publishing, writing, and internet development expertise; or knowledge of marketing and market research. Furthermore, and significantly, todays independent research professionals focus on value-added services. The products and services I offered in the 1980s included added value but today, valueadding means much more. Essentially, independent information professionals (IIPs) provide a specialty or expertise and save their clients time, while incorporating analysis over and beyond performing online, telephone, or primary research. Organized, synthesized, and analytical deliverables are required by clients and expected of IIPs today.