I would just like to take time too Thank everyone for doing what you do and making the community what it is im a long time reader and first time poster so i just wanted to say thanks.

Our whole government is out of touch with the real world. Credit is very tough. Sales are down the banks are getting hammered by the federal and state regulators. I deal mainly with small banks. They have cut credit lines back and have basically stopped lending, unless you have 100k in the bank and want to use that for collateral toborrow 50k. The Fed needs to ease up on the banks to get them to want to lend again. The Ombama adminstration does not want to help the investors, risk takers. Where would this country be if it weren't for us?

Being a small business owner myself, I believe that most businesses will not seek to borrow money (except for basic survival) until there is some confidence that we are again moving in a positive direction. These types of forums seem curiously staged to look as though the Obama admin. is actually making an effort to turn things around when in fact, they have the economy's stick shift in "R." They can pretend that all those selfish banks would have to do is loosen up lending policies and everything will turn around. But the reality is that we have no idea what is really coming at us with all of the new and costly regulations and associated fees and taxes. We all know what it would take to get the economy cranking again (as well as increasing tax revenues) but they have a completely different agenda that does not have any sincere interest in anything other than big government and big complient business. They will soon be having a "summit" meeting for small business, but it will be to tell them/us what they want rather than to ask us what would recommend. And by the way, I wouldn't borrow from Goldman if they were the last source of money in the world. They have their tentacles into everything including and especially government and the Fed. and in my estimation an investigation should be done into Hank Paulsen and all of his connections to Goldman relative to the timing and "solutions" to the 2008 financial collaps. The banks are not the problem. Government is.

The Obama adminstration has touted being more transparent with their information. So why not give out information about who will be attending a public forum on small business to the public? Maybe they preferred to keep it under wraps so they could push their own agenda. Where is the transparency?

Hey Chase thanks for the credit at 30%. I applied to 4 banks for an SBA loan for a Healthcare franchise and was denied by all. I ended up funding it using a new structure and lending myself the money through my 401K from a previous job. Money at 30% is just short of Get Shorty, Tony Soprano and every other loan shark. The banks get government support at tresury rates and the government sits by and watches them rape and pillage the people who pay the taxes that funded their bail out. Nice Job.

He should keep his nose out of small business. He has already ruined big business in this country.

The small business lending issue goes deeper than the Obama administration. There needs for someone to reconcile the tax vs capital availability issues and the difficulty of making profits on a small business loan. The log jam in small biz lending can be broken by the government subsidizing the interest rate i.e., bank charges 8% but Gov't puts up another 2%.

The issue for lenders is making the loans more attractive in the secondary market. For ideas on running a small biz take a look at sunbelttexas.blogspot.com

Carol,

As an employee for the American Small Business League I would like to set the record straight, as I believe you missed the point.

The first point, we would not have attended this forum even if we were invited because the whole thing was a sham. Since coming into office, and before, all the small business community has gotten from the Obama Administration has been talk and that is all that happened at this forum…more talk. Tim Geithner’s own statements said that he hopes to have some the ideas from the forum in the works by the end of next year. Next year? Really? Whoa, slow down there. Small businesses don’t have until next year. The Obama Administration needs to do something now.

There are some very real steps that the Obama Administration should take today that would have an immediate impact on helping small businesses not just increase their access to credit, but to also boost their business and create new jobs. Those would be real tangible jobs, not like the “jobs created or saved” number that is being touted by the Obama Administration regarding the stimulus bill on recovery.gov.

Secondly, President Obama made numerous promises to the small business community while campaigning for president, and he has not kept his word on any of them. He said he would “end the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants,” and yet current procurement data shows that billions of dollars in small business contracts continue to go to some of the largest firms in the US, Europe and Asia. This problem costs our small businesses $100 billion a year. Now, I am sure you would agree that if the government put $100 billion every year into the hands of small businesses, there would be no need for any kind of forum like the one the other day. While that forum took place, small businesses lost $400 million in contracts.

Yesterday the GAO released a report and the House Small Business Committee held a hearing highlighting how millions of dollars in contracts set-aside for Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB) were fraudulently being given to large corporations and others not certified as SDVOSB’s. The GAO said, “By failing to hold firms accountable, SBA and contracting agencies have sent a message to the contracting community that there is no punishment or consequences for committing fraud or abusing the intent of the veterans program.” This kind of fraud and abuse has been going on for years, this GAO report is the latest in a series of federal investigations going back to 2002, yet the Obama Administration will not even recognize these major issues, let alone do anything about them.

The SBA continues to claim that this issue is a “myth,” yes, even the new Obama appointed Karen Mills SBA claims this is a myth. Yet for the last five consecutive years, including this current fiscal year, the SBA’s Inspector General has said that the number one management challenge facing the SBA is, "Procurement flaws allow large firms to obtain small business awards and agencies to count contracts performed by large firms towards their small business goals."

President Obama and his Democratically controlled Congress could not even get credit card protection in place in for small businesses, a point you make in your story, so where is their commitment to small businesses?

Lastly, if you want to see where this administration and Congress’s priorities are, just look at stimulus spending. When the banks were in trouble, Wall Street firms and banks received $800 billion in taxpayer money in under a week. AIG alone got $180 billion. By the SBA’s own numbers, small businesses have gotten roughly $17 billion in new loans and contracts from government stimulus, which is less than 1 percent of total spending by the government. When President Obama says he is going to do everything he can to help support small businesses, those sentiments just fall flat, because he has had the opportunity to do more to help small businesses, but has not.

All small businesses have gotten from this administration is talk. When Wall Street called they got hundreds of billions of dollars immediately. Ten months into the Obama Administration, small businesses get a forum to come and discuss strategy. That is the point that we are trying to make and a point that I think you missed in your story. Small businesses need action not more conversation.

Thank you.

Carol,

I was hoping that you and I could have flown in to attend. A writer, and an independent franchise professional, would have been a fine addition at the ball.

Plus, I'm good at these things. I throw a lot of balls in my castle.

The Franchise King
Joel Livbava

The Feds need to stop taxing small business working capital. Only tax dollars that are actually distributed to onwers. Currently, if my company makes a profit and I leave it in the company as working capital, I still have to pay taxes at my personal rate on the full amount of the profit.

Suspending payroll taxes for a year would also help.

I have a small business (12 employees >$5 million, well established and I think sufficiently financed locally, so I don't expect any direct effect on my business. My feeling is that government involvement invariably leads to less control by the business owner. I don't think there are any altruistic motives on the part of Goldman Sacks and other big banks, but their programs will be focused on sound business principles with little politics, and will result in a far greater long term success rate than any government program. Owning and running a small business involves motivation and abilities that are beyond the comprehension of government bureaucrats, and to some extent the big banks. They don't understand the risks taken by independent business people, but they are happy to look for ways to take a government cut out of any gains.

That JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Warren Buffet are throwing their hats in the ring is good news indeed. Their move should bolster and boost lending to a number of small shops; who may not necessarily be big job creators. (But there is no denying that we do need every job that can be created under the current circumstances.)

When it comes to large-scale job creation, we would still need to look to small businesses in the hi-tech manufacturing sector who specialize in niche / advanced / innovative technologies. Many such small manufacturers around the country are experiencing serious financial hardships and this is where Prez. Obama could do more.

In addition to direct lending by SBA to such small manufacturers, there may be other ways to provide the much-needed financial boost. One other way is by enabling SBA / SBA-backed private lenders to be able to support capital needs for strategic small business programs that require cost-sharing by a Federal Agency.

For instance, under the ARRA act, NIST provides priority small-business funding (subject to the cost-share requirement) under six focus areas of critical national importance - of which manufacturing is one. Many small manufacturers are too starved for time and money to be able to meet the cost-share requirement even as they satisfy other criteria set forth by NIST.

I am sure there are several other ways by which the government can make a significant difference -above and beyond whats already been done. It'd be nice to see govt. follow-up in this regard.

"The credit crunch is not over.", said Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner. The message is loud and clear that small businesses are nowhere near in getting the money they need to stay afloat. By the time government officials and banks figure out a way to provide much needed capital for small businesses, the businesses may be out of business. In the interim, owners need alternative options to sustain them through the current freeze on lending. Companies like Business Cash Advance.com are helping businesses survive by providing cash up front in exchange for future credit card sales. The process in getting a business cash advance is much quicker than a bank loan, requirements are less strict and repayment is flexible with no monthly payments.

Small business needs to know there are lending options beyond banks and credit cards. To learn more, visit www.businesscashadvance.com/blog.

We (Small Business's) don't need loans we need work. Especially in manufacturing!!!!!!!

I am told by various bankers that their tightening of credit to even credit worthy small businesses is due to a tightening of regulation by the OCC. They stated that they must follow the rules to the letter without taking into account reputation, payment history, unique business peculiarities, etc. I do not know if these regulations are truly to blame, but if they are, then Washington is speaking out of both sides of their mouth.

The president and others should read the commentaries by Bill Dunkleberg to get an understanding that credit is not the issue for most small businesses. The real issue is not having customers due to the economy, and add to that the taxes that cripple efforts to expand or add staff. Putting more money into the SBA, where most businesses wouldn't go for credit under any circumstances, is not going to do it. Most of us small business owners don't or can't go into debt any more than we are already. The administration should do something on the other end of the equation if it really wants to help small business.