The Treasury Dept. held a forum on Thursday to address how the economy has affected small business. Specifically, the forum addressed how to help small businesses weather the bad economy. ABC News reports that an Obama administration focused on how to increase small business access to financing.

In fact, the press release about the forum from the Treasury Dept. details what Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner wanted to convey, stating: "Small businesses, in particular, are still facing a very challenging credit environment." This is very true with small business lenders like CIT Group and Advanta  filing for bankruptcy in recent news. Geithner wanted to give small business owners some hope about how to get financing.

A statement released today by the American Small Business League criticizes the President's first year policies for small business.

The statement details how Obama made key promises for small business, but failed to live up to those promises. The statement does bring up valid points that every small business owner should be aware of.

Here are the key needs listed in the League's press release:

In this economic downturn, charities have increasingly attempted to find alternative ways to help fund themselves. Sometimes these charities have thought outside the box. They have spun off into for-profit organizations that help fund their charitable ventures. But what is so special about these small businesses? They are small businesses that are embracing green initiatives.

Help is on the way for small business, according to President Obama.  In a speech delivered at a small business in Landon, Maryland this week, the President outlined new initiatives for small business to ease up lending and to make critical capital available at affordable rates.

Here are a few notable points President Obama mentioned in his speech:

It felt like another hot summer day in Kentucky.  And then rain started.  In Louisville over six inches of rain fell in a single hour.  The President declared it a federal disaster.  And after small business owners scrambled to higher ground, they waited to be able to return to assess the damages and worried about how they would be able to rebuild. 

According to Reuters, the Small Business Administration (SBA) has given its nod in approving upwards of $5 million in federal low-interest disaster loans for Kentucky homeowners, renters, and businesses who sustained damages from storms and flooding on August 4th 2009.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) has a host of programs and loan incentives targeted at small business.  So, the essential question: what is an SBA small business?

The SBA defines a small business as one that is:

• independently owned and operated
• is organized for profit
• and is not dominant in its field

In the alphabet soup of small business categories and certifications, you may not have heard of the Small Business Administration 8(a) Business Development Program aimed to bolster minority and other disadvantaged businesses through federal contract and other preferences.  

Here are some quick facts about the 8(a) certification program:

Environmental regulation can be a thorny issue for small businesses.  With evolving laws and ongoing studies revealing new facts about commonly used chemicals and pesticides, keeping up-to-date can prove to be a small business challenge.

To assist small businesses in staying current with environmental developments, The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed a website of applicable resources directed entirely to small businesses.  The EPA Small Business Gateway is organized with 6 topic headings.  They are:

Grants from the Program for Investment in Microentrepreneurs Act (PRIME) -- a program of the U.S. Small Business Administration-- were awarded to 58 non-profit organizations this week.  PRIME grants were created to support low-income entrepreneurs and very low-income entrepreneurs in receiving training and technical assistance to launch, operate, and expand their ventures.

The SBA received over 400 submissions in the non-competitive application process which was open to microentrepreneurs in the U.S. as well as in U.S. territories.  A microentrepreneur is identified as a small business with five or fewer employees and businesses owned by low-income individuals.

As small businesses look to the SBA for guarantees on loans and other assistance in plowing through an intimidating economy, they want to know---what effect has the recession had on SBA's small business loan approval?

With the new fiscal year underway as of October 1st 2009, stats for the past fiscal year are in.  And the grades are decidedly mixed for the Small Business Administration (SBA) when it comes to loan approval.  While overall indicators showed a major drop in total number of SBA loan approvals, a closer look shows significant improvement throughout year leading into the new Q1.