smallbusiness.co.uk: Helping your business think big

Small business and entrepreneurs have been given the chance to attend free workshops to improve their market research, courtesy of the British Library.

The 'Knowing Your Market' workshops will help self starters to use key research tools such as databases, business journals and the internet.

The Yellow Pages sponsored scheme will be held at the British Library Business and Intellectual Property Centre.

Commenting on the benefits of the tutorials, Isabel Oswell, head of business marketing at the British Library, says: 'In this workshop, the centre's information experts aim to equip people with the skills and confidence to identify and access vital published information on customers, competitors and trends.'

Figures compiled by Deloitte have shown that the number of companies falling into administration dropped by 15 per cent in the first six months this year. The figure for last year was 1,419 firms, falling to 1,205 this year.

For information on booking a place at one of the British Library workshops, click here.