The British Library: Knowledge is Power (only if you know what facts not to bother with)

Visited the British Library for the first time (http://www.bl.uk).  Incredible experience.  Amazing facilities.  Ridiculously strict security - the guards walk around and take away pens and lipsticks.  The library must have been a target for book thieves or vandals.  This is not surprising - I found more information than I was ever hoping to find in a library.  The online research sources for business were overwhelming.  Three hours flew away as one moment and I just scratched the surface...

Found some really useful briefs for starting a company in a specific sector  - with overview of required skills, market trends, regulatory landscape and trading issues.  Got several of these briefs for furniture industry.  And I could not resist from getting one for a coffee-shop! Don't we all think that we pay too much for a cup of coffee?  Profit margins must be incredible in this business :-).

On top of that they run some business-related workshops and events, many of which are totally free.

NB:  I should come back to Business and IP Center /  check for relevant events too
http://www.bl.uk/bipc/

Image source: http://blog.storystarpublishing.com