We have never seen the market for loans as difficult to accesss than today. The current recession has created the most challenging environment of our lifetime! Rules of thumb for lending have gone out the window, and many small business have found traditional sources of money are no longer available.

In this issue, I am sharing some information on the SBA Micro loan program. Despite the tough economy we have seen some success by clients from this source.

Also, on Oct. 1st and 2nd I have a representative of Business Development Finance Corporation visiting our area. They are an SBA Certified Development Corporation, and are a primary source of funding for SBA 504 loans. If you would like to meet their representative please call or email me for an appointment.

August 31, 2009 You may be surprised to learn that now - even in this economy - could be a great time to sell the company you've spent years building. But entrepreneurs hoping for an exit strategy could make costly tactical errors if they don't understand what's changed in the last year. In our experience advising companies, entrepreneurs in this environment are vulnerable to making three significant mistakes if they don't understand the new rules of the game.

.NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Sick of bailout billions? Here's a bit of good news: While the government struggled to come up with a viable recovery plan, one ailing financial market has managed to heal itself. Small business lending collapsed last year, as loan volumes dropped to half of their previous levels. One of the catalysts was a sudden freeze in the secondary market, where banks sell off bundled batches of loans they've made. When the financial world went into crisis last September, that market came to a standstill, prompting banks to turn away small business loan applicants in droves.

The Microloan Program provides very small loans to start-up, newly established, or growing small business concerns. Under this program, SBA makes funds available to nonprofit community based lenders (intermediaries) which, in turn, make loans to eligible borrowers in amounts up to a maximum of $35,000. The average loan size is about $13,000. Applications are submitted to the local intermediary and all credit decisions are made on the local level.

Discover the steps U.S. businesses should take today to prepare for the energy challenges that lie ahead. Learn more about the recommendations of twenty leading U.S. companies. This ground-breaking report, Energy Strategy for the Road Ahead, was prepared by the Global Business Network with the support of EPA's ENERGY STAR.