Intelligence helps. Fortunately, most of the information regarding these firms is not publicly filed. I say “fortunately” because if everyone could get it, you would not be able to build an edge. Although the answers are elusive, they are not lost. Virtually anything you need to know is available to you, if you know where to look.

Here are some typical questions, followed by suggestions on where to find the answers. Because state and county laws vary greatly among the 3,100 counties and 18,000 cities in the United States, these are only suggestions. Your personal experiences gathering information will be unique.

Information You Seek . . .	Where to Find it . . .
1. Officers & Directors:	State government corporate charter filings. Articles of incorporation show: place of business, date of incorporation, nature of business, names and addresses of directors, officers and incorporators, names and addresses of agents, capitalization. Also look for: amendments to the articles, notices of consolidation, notices of mergers, changes of names. Most states require annual reports to be filed and sometimes these contain financial information.
2. Number of Employees:	Dunn & Bradstreet; the company; state commerce directories (sometimes listed by counties as well as by SIC codes).
3. Detached Locations:	See Directors. Also Dunn & Bradstreet, the company, state commerce directories.
4. Sales Volume:	Dunn & Bradstreet
5. Financial Status:	State Securities office: prospectus of stock offerings made within the state only. These describe the stock offered and stockholder's rights, including dividends or interest to be paid. Uniform Commercial Code: Documents showing whether a corporation has borrowed against its assets, giving the names and addresses of the debtor and the secured party, a description of property used as collateral, and the loan's maturity date. Each debt requires a separate document filing, and charges for copies usually include search fees.
6. Union/Non-Union: (Sometimes a touchy point.)	Ask local union management about the target company. If the union is in, they know a lot. If they're out, they may know more.
7. Benefits/Insurers:	Basic plans are described in company literature available from the employer or employees you might know. Executive compensation comes in many forms and may be elusive until you are "in," but a good place to get data which will enable a reasonable guess is the state corporate filings, if available.
8. Association Memberships:	Check out the target company's reception area for plaques on the wall and subscriptions in the reading materials. These will indicate associations to which the company belongs, but not necessarily the type or level of involvement. The associations themselves are usually very cautious about divulging any information about members.
9. Professional Counsel:	Start with the Uniform Commercial Code for loan information which should indicate all or most involved parties.
10. Markets and Customers:	Some annual reports brag about this. This could change rapidly, so be cautious to establish the timeliness of the information.

Much of what you learn about privately owned companies actually turns out to be information about the owners and principals. There is usually civic involvement or some type of social commitment by the principals, but they may be very sensitive to being investigated. Chambers of Commerce, Better Business Bureaus, boards of trade or commerce, local newspapers and libraries are great sources of information. Compiling reports for whatever purpose from investigation of private sources and non-public official sources, on the other hand, may create serious problems for you under the Privacy Act.

The upbeat is this: if you have time, patience and honest intentions, you can learn everything you want to know about almost any company you choose, as long as you are friendly, courteous and professional in the way you ask.

Questions? Email jhmco@melchinger.com

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This newsletter is designed and distributed by Kirk Lowe of Freedomarketing (faWebProfiler.ca). Content by John H. Melchinger - The Marketing CoachT