For those who don't read the fine print on the Small Business Administration's website, the agency has proposed increasing the size definitions for small businesses in 71 business sectors, mostly within retail industries. It's the first proposed rule change on qualifying size since 1984.

Why should you care? It means bigger businesses would still qualify for SBA loans and other federal assistance to small business.

Now, is that a good thing or a bad thing? I'm of two minds. read more...

There's something new at business.gov, the official online business link to the U.S. government: community. OK, starting a blog site isn't that new an idea generally. But the business.gov blog, which just got going in July, offers a unique opportunity for small business owners to learn how to do business with the feds.

The site includes a variety of independent experts in business topics, but the majority of the bloggers on the site to date are more than a half-dozen federal employees with the Business Gateway program, including program manager Nancy Sternberg. Business Gateway is a partnership of 22 federal agencies striving to make their information easier to access...and now you can blog with their managers? Sounds like a real time-saver. read more...

I thought I was ahead of the curve when I wrote for Entrepreneur recently that the federal Car Allowance Rebate System--a new program that refunds up to $4,500 to consumers who trade in a gas-guzzler for a more fuel efficient car--might run out of money in less than a month, well before the end of its three-month planned duration. But turns out my sources were too conservative in their estimate--the $1 billion rebate program was out of money in about four days flat, and only kept going through last weekend with a last-minute House approval of $2 billion in additional funding. The official program site says CARS is still operational, but cautions consumers to keep checking back for the latest news. read more...

CIT, a major lender to small- and medium-sized businesses today sought federal help to avoid a potential collapse.

The institution's woes could hurt already struggling businesses that rely on CIT for cash flow lines of credit that allow them to keep inventory at proper levels. As a result, some experts are speculating that consumers could see less variety on retailers' shelves come fall and extending through the holiday shopping season. read more...

Next week (July 24), the federal minimum wage increases 70 cents to $7.25. The debate is on. Will it or won't it hurt the economy?

For businesses in places like California--with a state minimum wage of $8--the hike is irrelevant. But for the nation as a whole, there's no telling. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, the Economic Policy Institute estimates the increase will add $5.5 billion to the economy, as workers spend (relatively) fatter paychecks. But that same article also describes a franchise owner who will be cutting employee hours to make payroll. read more...

There seems to be a growing drumbeat among some small business owners against President Obama and his stance, perceived or otherwise, regarding entrepreneurship.

Rarely a week goes by that, during our interviews with entrepreneurs on unrelated topics, Obama's policies towards business creation come into question. He gets it from all sides, too: Liberals seem to fault his Small Business Administration for allegedly being pro-big-business, while conservatives fault his tax policy and stimulus packages as, as they put it, taxing the rich and providing a safety net for the unproductive. read more...

Intuit Payroll asked more than 1,000 small-business owners for their thoughts on the stimulus, and the results show a fair amount of cynicism: 94 percent believe success depends more on what they do for themselves than the government; 86 percent don't think the stimulus will directly benefit their business; and 75 percent say the government doesn't offer enough support.

Disappointment, along with a healthy dose of frustration, seems to be the popular sentiment, but in keeping with the (tentative) renewed optimism over the economy, I'd like to share a conversation I had with Steve King of research and consulting firm Emergent Research, in which he explained to me why it's just a matter of time before small-business owners see benefits from the stimulus.

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Global wealth indicators may have plummeted to record lows this year, but the "real-life superhero" movement is on the upswing. According to a CNN piece earlier this month, the number of people who are taking on superhero identities (and donning outfits to match) has risen more than 25 percent since last summer. People disillusioned by a downtrodden economy, the article suggests, are finding renewed purpose by assuming superhuman alter egos as they "perform community service, help the homeless and even fight crime."

That may seem odd, but the link between superheroes and periods of economic uncertainty is hardly new. Many of the most famous--Superman and Batman chief among them--debuted as comic book stars around the time of the Great Depression and WWII.

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Good news from the 2009 Chapman University Economic Forecast: Expect the recovery to begin in the next few months.

During an event held this morning in Orange County, Calif., Chapman University president James Doti and Esmael Adibi, director of the A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research, presented an update of the 2009 Forecast to an audience of approximately 800 business and community leaders. They reaffirmed the predictions first given in December 2008, and pointed to signs that the economy is on its way up. read more...

The House Committee on Small Business today held a hearing on the state of credit for the small business community. Chairwoman Nydia M. Velázquez, a congressional Democrat from New York, stated that despite stimulus funds and loosened rules for U.S. Small Business Administration-backed loans, credit for Main Street business is still moving slow.

"From the start-up in Silicon Valley to the mom and pop restaurant on Main Street, small businesses everywhere are struggling to find the capital they need to keep their doors open," Velázquez states. "While the Recovery Act took important steps to help fix the credit markets, entrepreneurs still can't find the loans they will need to get the economy moving forward again." read more...