The Kansas City Star:
Not every library patron has a success story quite like that of Denise Upah Mills. In 1999, Mills went to the Johnson County Central Resource Library in Overland Park to research technology trends before she launched a startup business later that year.
She used library reference materials to develop a one-inch-thick business plan. After securing financing, she started Invisiband, which offered broadband Internet service to small businesses in midsize Midwestern cities. Less than 2 years later, she sold the company for several million dollars.
Library research alone will not guarantee a successful business, and Mills’ story is unique. She already had hundreds of contacts from her work managing networking groups and selling Web site designs to small businesses. But her strategy of using free library resources to build her business is becoming more common. Many libraries are fielding more requests from owners of small companies, according to the American Library Association. Check that out!
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