ReferenceUSA Tutorial

The "U.S. Businesses" section of ReferenceUSA contains listings for over 14 million businesses throughout the US. Entries include the address, phone number, industry codes, number of employees, estimated sales, contact person, and more. Individual locations are listed, not just headquarters; for example, every individual Blockbuster store is listed, not just the Blockbuster company headquarters.

Conducting a search is quite straightforward. Open ReferenceUSA and choose "U.S. Businesses" in the upper left corner. If you know the name of the business or company you are looking for, you can use the Quick Search screen. Just enter the name of the business in the search box; you can narrow it by including geographic information if you wish.

The Custom Search tab offers many options for conducting your search. Search by type of business, industry code, geographic area, number of employees, etc., or by any combination of these. The examples below demonstrate how the database can be used.

Find a list of companies in Alabama that manufacture automated teller machines.

Find a list of companies with headquarters in Alabama that have more than 5,000 employees.

Does the company that owns the Bruno's supermarket here in Tuscaloosa also operate other stores with other names? (Hint: Search for the Bruno's in Tuscaloosa; find out the company that owns it; then look for other stores operated by that company.)

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