Research Guides: BUSM 1901: Entrepreneurship for Creative Industries I (Alves) Spring 2024: Competitors

Where to Look

Company Directories

Reference Canada (company directory)
- For small to medium size business in BC. Includes sales info, # of employees and name of manager/owner. Some useful categories include: Display Designers & Producers, Events-Special, Lighting Engineers (covers Home Staging), and Trades Shows and Fairs.
- Use the Advanced Search to search by industry, employee size and sale
- Caution: the # of employees and sales numbers are not always correct. Use common sense and try to verify from other sources of information such as their websites.

Trade/Industry Associations

Trade or industry associations can be excellent sources for specific industry/market data and consumer research. Use Google to find associations serving the industry of interest.

Google Maps
Enter your store location and use the “Search Nearby” feature to find the similar businesses in the neighborhood.

Specialized Websites

Search these websites to find information on potential competitors or collaborators (ex. how many wedding planners are there in Surrey?).

Financial Performance Data (Government of Canada)
Canadian Industry Statistics (Industry Canada)
Using the data from Statistics Canada, it analyzes industry trends and financial performance of Canadian industry sectors. Relevant sector information includes establishments by province/region (number and size), employment, revenues and expenses, manufacturing costs, etc.