At Your Library
Business Resources

Resources for Businesses and Entrepreneurs


It takes a village to build a business! Whether you’re seeking information on a particular company, industry, or product for market research, competitive intelligence, or an exciting investment opportunity – we have resources for you.

Professional Development

LinkedIn Learning

In Library and At Home/Work Video Tutorial

LinkedIn Learning provides trending, in-demand professional skills through on-demand video tutorials. The online learning site hosts over 160,000 videos in a variety of languages and on a variety of topics (including business, design, web development and multimedia skills) and software (Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite and open source applications). These courses are delivered by expert instructors and feature searchable transcripts that make it easy to find quick answers to questions. They also feature Certificates of Completion that can be uploaded to a LinkedIn profile.

Gale logo

In Library and At Home/Work   Video Tutorial

Gale Business: Plan Builder is a step-by-step online planning tool for starting, managing and optimizing a business or non-profit organization. It walks users through the five essential steps of business planning and explains what each activity is, why it’s important in the overall process, and how to get started.

Research Databases

  • Consumer Reports: Get unbiased ratings and reviews for 9000+ products and services from Consumer Reports, plus trusted advice and in-depth reporting on what matters most. Your RHPL card provides you with reviews of products including technology, appliances, cars and more.

  • Data-Axle Reference Solutions: Find accurate information on 2.2 million businesses in Canada

  • CANSIM: Statistics Canada’s key socioeconomic database

  • Economics and Theory: Useful for starting a business, marketing a product, developing policy, analyzing trends, constructing economic models, investing for the future, researching rates, and more.

  • Entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurship is ideal for business owners and students. It is updated daily and provides insights, tips, strategies, and success stories from the world of small business and entrepreneurship studies. Users will find more than 500 subject-appropriate, active, full-text periodicals, which includes: Beverage Industry, Black Enterprise, Economist, Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, HR Magazine, Real Estate Weekly, Restaurant Business, Tea & Coffee Trade Journal, and more.

  • Insurance and Liability: Insurance and Liability provides access to academic journals and trade publications covering the insurance industry and topics such as labor relations, mortgage banking, legal issues, and more. The database offers content of interest to individual property owners and multinational corporations alike.

  • Leadership and Management: Leadership and Management provides access to authoritative periodical content covering such topics as 21st-century skills, organizational dynamics and leadership, adult learning and continuing education, and more. Updated daily, this library resource is useful for researchers or any professional interested in career development.

Entrepreneurship Funding Programs

Funded by the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Growth, grant programs are offered through the Richmond Hill Small Business Enterprise Centre to assist you in starting or growing your company. In addition to funding, these programs may also provide you with tailored advice, mentoring, and training to help you launch or expand your business. Find out more and apply for a funding program.