Small business still swimming upstream

Like big bears hovering over the waterline picking off salmon swimming upstream, the economy is not  much of a friend to small business. As you probably realize, small businesses generated 65% of the job growth between 1993 and 2008, and represent about half of the private-sector employment in the U.S., according to the Small Business [...]

Build your Board with experience

The Wall Street Journal blogs frequently report on the VC industry and their recent entry, Start-Up CEOs Gripe About VCs’ Lack Of Operating Experience, caught my eye.
I have sat on close to a dozen small business boards and agree that directors without real experience bring little to the table. I’m not sure, however, that I [...]

Update: Small Business Stimulus

The other day we learned of renewed efforts promised by the Obama Administration to stimulate small business.
This week, they announced some plans to sweeten guaranteed loan programs. The administration is allowing a few weeks for comments before finalizing these details.

The SBA will raise loan limits from $2m to $5M
Local banks can get 3% interest rates [...]

SBA Loan Program disappoints again

Despite all the recent publicity about the SBA’s “helping hand” to small business, recent reports tell another story. Loan volume in dollars is down $3.6 billion, around 27%, and 25,000 fewer businesses have been served this year. Pretty woeful record when programs to support Wall St. and the banking industry got delivered virtually overnight … [...]