Small Business Trends

Many people have discussed the evaporation of bank credit during the financial crisis and the Great Recession. But few have pointed out how non-bank credit shrank substantially during the same period.

Loans from finance companies are an important source of credit for many small businesses. Next to banks, they provide more credit to small businesses than any other source, the Read More

I don’t know if you’ve been following it, but that young lady named Susie from those Verizon commercials sure has had a meteoric rise – from the owner of a single front-yard lemonade stand to neighborhood magnate to venture capitalist darling to, eventually, the nationwide distributor of “Susie’s Lemonade.”  So, how’d she do it?

Via data solutions, Read More

When the 2008 financial crisis hit, it spawned a widespread freeze in lending. Many small businesses who once were able to get financing suddenly found themselves cut off from credit. We’ve seen the impact over the past years, as many small businesses have cut back on hiring, been forced to lay off employees, or even shut their doors altogether.

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Are you seeking financing for your small business? A report from the SBA’s Office of Advocacy has some interesting insights that might help improve your chances of success.

Even though the economy was picking up overall, and total business lending was slowly trending upward, the SBA reports that borrowing money was still challenging for small Read More

Spring is here!  New grass is coming in.  Perennials are starting to bloom.  You might even be motivated to do a bit of cleaning (or pay someone else to do it).

You’re probably getting outside more, perhaps starting practice on your softball team, prepping your garden, or using the extra daylight for evening walks.  Springtime inspires a Read More

Unbeknownst to you, and for almost a decade in some cases, the banks have been playing a little game behind the scenes.  It just so happens that the game that’s being played is with your money.

It was August, 2010 when the stuff kinda hit the fan as they say.  That’s when Wells Fargo had Read More

I heard this statement from a small business owner several years ago — “run your business lean and mean,” he said.  But the difference between talking about it and doing it, you know, making the tough decisions to remove the fluff, manage the details and strategically market your message – is the difference between staying open and shutting your doors.

Failing to keep good financial records is like driving a sports car at top speed with your eyes closed.  It may be ok for a little while, but eventually you will crash and burn.  Perhaps one of your new year’s resolutions is to keep better financial records for your business. You may have pledged to finally tame the paper beast Read More

According to the SBA, 90% of our nations small businesses are family owned.  Of course, “family owned” does not always mean it’s a husband & wife team but many of them are as referenced here.  We all know that small business owners need capital today as bad or worse than ever.  We’re not here to complain about the Read More

Supporting small business was among the top economic stories of the year, and the rise in lending to those growing companies was the most important development in 2011.

It’s a story we saw developing since the credit crunch tightened the spigots on funding for small businesses. When the big banks said no, small banks and non-bank lenders Read More