Michigan State University Extension
Home-Based Business - 09159405
10/01/98
For those interested in starting a home-based mail-order business, the traditional method is to contact the appropriate trade or professional association or use a list broker found in the yellow pages. The quickest and simplest way is by going online or using CD-ROM software.
Using the BIZ*FILE database service available from CompuServe (800-848-8199), you can search for the types of businesses you are interested in by the headings they appear under in the phone book. Unlike other online databases in which a typical fee may be $7.50 for five names, with BIZ*FILE you pay only for what you receive based on you online time (normal CompuServe plus 25 cents a minute).
On CD-ROM, you will find resources such as "PhoneDisc USA Business" ($99; $299 for quarterly updates) for the personal computer (PC). It contains 9.5 million business listings you can search by type of business and more. It is available from Digital Directory Assistance Inc. (800- 284-8353).
"MarketPlace Business" ($845 for Windows or the Mac) from MarketPlace Information Corp. (800-999-9497) provides an innovative way to assemble a mailing list from the eight million companies it includes on its CD-ROM. You select million companies it includes on its CD-ROM. You select the type of business you wish to assemble; after previewing the list, you can choose to buy it, after which it is locked. It comes with 3,000 10-cent credits for the purchase of lists. You can choose a list of anything from street addresses (10 cents each) to a full record that adds information such as a company's annual income (35 cents). When you run out of built-in credits, you call the company to order (via credit card) as many more credits as you wish.
Source: Paul and Sarah Edwards, Home Office Computing, November 1993.