I'm very pleased to report that we've added several industry almanacs to our Plunkett Research Online collection.
Plunkett industry almanacs are a useful supplement to our other industry reports, such as those in our IBISWorld database. They don't generally contain much analysis, but they provide the information you need to start analyzing potential markets yourself... trends, statistics, contacts, and competitors...
Many (many!) years ago, I survived a class on Milton's Paradise Lost by signing out an annotated version of the epic poem — a version that featured wonderful commentary by the famous Isaac Asimov on the subtext and context of Milton's dense work.
Why am I talking about English literature in a blog about business & economics resources? Because it's a great example of how we all sometimes need a little help with complex topics. In many cases it's far simpler to bootstrap your learning by reading a book about a theory before you tackle the theory itself. (Even, to be frank, as a substitute for tackling some particularly difficult theories!)
Fortunately, there are shortcuts! Sometimes you can avoid falling asleep on piles of convoluted texts and instead get a good sense of a topic in the time it takes to ride a bus to school.
