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(5 May) How do you find the name of the owner of a small private company?
There are a number of resources and research strategies for finding business owners. I'll outline several methods, starting with relatively easy approaches and free sources of information. Then I'll suggest several harder-to-accomplish tactics that still utilize free sources and I'll end by mentioning some commercial databases.
This how-to article focuses on small businesses because it's generally harder to find information about them. However, you may use these sources and methods to find owner information for large private companies as well. In some cases, you might even find the names of officers and others in upper management.
Call the company. Unless circumstances preclude this option, the answer could be a phone call away. Look up the number in a local or online telephone directory. Or query the company name in a search engine.
Check the company's Web site. Believe it or not, in this day and age many small businesses do not have a Web site. But it's always worth checking. Use a search engine to query the company's name. If you find a Web site, start by following any "about" or "contact" links.
Search Better Business Bureau reports. The Better Business Bureau often has information about a company even when it isn't a member. However, you should note:
Search the state's database of registered businesses. All states provide some information about companies registered to do business in their state. Start here to find the database. Then search the entity name. Whether the information provided includes the owner's name depends on the state. It's hit or miss.
Query business information search engines and social networks. Certain search engines (Zoominfo, Ziggs) and social networks (LinkedIn) target businesses. Search these for owner information. Note that you may have to look for advanced search links. LinkedIn, for example, provides a company name search option, but only in the advanced search form.
Call the local agency responsible for licensing the business. The local (city) government office you call will vary depending on the location. Start by using a search engine to locate the proper authority. Try variations of these queries:
For instance, if you were looking for a business in Philadelphia, you would call Philadelphia Licenses & Inspections.
Call the state regulatory agency for the business's industry or search its online database of licenses or inspections. Businesses in certain industries (restaurant, car dealership) must obtain a license. You may call the regulating agency and request the owner name, or look online for a database of licenses, permits or inspections.
In Pennsylvania, for instance, 27 licensing boards and commissions exist to oversee the activities of licensed professions (car dealerships). Once you identify the appropriate board, you may call and request licensing and public disciplinary information. The board may or may not reveal the name of the owner.
Alternatively, you may examine the regulating agency's Web site for a search function like this one from the Pennsylvania Department of State. Keep in mind that it provides information only about those in licensed occupations.
If the industry is regulated, but does not require board oversight (restaurants in Pennsylvania), check the relevant state agency's Web site for a database of licensing information or inspections. In Pennsylvania, for instance, the Department of Agriculture, which regulates food establishments, offers an inspections database. Food inspections reports list the owner's name.
Search Hoovers. Hoovers falls toward the end of this article because it's a commercial resource. However, it offers substantial information for free. When you conduct a company name search, the results appear in two parts. The top half contains matches directly from Hoovers. These typically include large private companies, non-profit organizations and public companies.
The chance of finding owner information for a small business is small, but cost-free.
The bottom half of the search results contains sparse information (company name, location, and type) about matches in the database of Hoovers parent company, Dun & Bradstreet. Following links from D&B search results sometimes - but not always - takes you to a subscription sign-up page.
You may also opt to buy a single report. Prices range from $12.99 to $159. But reports do not necessarily reveal the owner's name. They often provide the names and titles of key executives.
Search other commercial databases. For consumers, KnowX provides an easy-to-use, low-cost alternative to access-restricted or subscription-based research systems, such as LexisNexis, Accurint, AutoTrackXp and Merlin. You may search the company name from the home page. KnowX returns a list of databases (bankruptcies, corporate records) that contain matches. Be sure to display the database information sheet (called VIEW under Info) to determine what kind of information is provided. Also be aware that KnowX sells access to public records that often are available online or on-site for free.
Accurint, AutoTrackXp and Merlin offer business reports. These frequently include the owner's name.
LexisNexis provides several different databases that are useful in finding information about private companies. Select the information icon next to any database name for information about database coverage.
For information about franchise owners check out Franchise Index in Find a Business under the Public Records tab. Additionally, there are a number of potentially useful databases under the Directories option. Try Experian Business Reports for U.S. owner information. But note the undiscounted price. It's $76 to retrieve a report in full-text format.
Several methods exist for finding the owner of a small business from placing a telephone call to the business or its licensing or regulatory agency to searching specific commercial databases. The approach you select to launch the research depends on how direct you want to be and how much time or money you have to spend.
This research article may also be found here.
(1 May) The American Lawyer released the AmLaw 100 for 2007. It shows that "the top-grossing law firms in the United States ... finished the best sustained growth spurt since The American Lawyer began tracking firm financials in 1984.... [But] the great run may be over."
(1 May) Information management consultant, Karen Blakeman, offers her presentation from The Research Practitioner - Skills Day in London. Titled Using the Web, it covers search tips and select Web 2.0 applications with an emphasis on searching for people. I found some very useful-looking resources and tips.
(29 Apr) Teachers and librarians looking for another example of misinformation in print may want to track down an advanced reading copy of Madame De Maintenon: The Secret Wife of King Louis XIV by biographer, Veronica Buckley. Throughout the pre-publication copy, Buckley interwove quotes from what she mistakenly thought were "the secret diaries of the Sun King himself." She later discovered that the diaries were created in 1998 by François Bluche. The "French academic decided to imagine what the king's journals might have been like, by piecing together information gleaned from myriad historical documents. The result was a book, Le Journal secret de Louis XIV, which Buckley got hold of and used as a primary source."
Jerry Brotton, professor of Renaissance studies at Queen Mary, University of London, blasted authors and publishers of popular history. "Thirty years ago this never would have happened. Then, people who wrote biographies were trained in how to carry out archival research. The same cannot be said of Veronica Buckley or many others like her.... There is a whole industry now around historical biographies. Publishers know that they sell, but at the same time they will knock back book proposals unless an author promises something really racy."
The publisher's plans for the book? "Due out on May 5, it will now be available in July. According to Bloomsbury, this is to give them time to 'tip in' pages - pulping the offending pages, in effect, and glueing [sic] in new ones." But one wonders if the author relied on any other questionable sources.
RELATED: Evaluating the Quality of Information on the Internet
The Virtual Chase, 12 March 2008
Sound Evidence: Subtitled E-discovery Simplified, this blog provides summaries of news and legal developments pertaining to electronic data discovery. It's written by Mary Mack, who is Chief Technology Counsel for Fios, Inc. Mack is also co-author of A Process of Illumination: The Practical Guide to Electronic Discovery. The blog offers an RSS feed for updates. (et)
Complex Discovery: Executive marketing professional, Rob Robinson, maintains this relatively new blog (launched during March 2008) on information, tools and tactics relevant to the growing electronic discovery market. It offers an RSS feed for updates.
Don't miss the information at the bottom of the home page. These include links to updates on Twitter, a Yahoo Pipes mashup on EDD, Robinson's library of EDD documents at Scribd, and more. (et)
Scribd: Scribd is an online library of documents on a vast array of topics. You may browse or search documents, groups or people (members) by keyword. Documents appear in many different formats, including Word, PDF, PowerPoint, and more.
Scribd Groups gives 2 or more members with similar interests a way to share and discuss documents or other information. You may make a group private or public.
I was able to search, browse and display documents without registering. However, uploading, downloading, and of course, joining a group requires registration. (et)
Research News Archive
29 April 2008
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Cite as: TVC Alert Research News, 5 May 2008, Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP, http://www.virtualchase.com/tvcalert/transfer.asp?xmlFile=may08/5may08.xml
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Created: 5 May 2008
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URL: http://www.virtualchase.com/tvcalert/transfer.asp?xmlFile=may08/5may08.xml
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