mavenlink-infographic-small-businessWe had the first presidential debate this week and while small business came up, it came up mostly under the guise of taxation or with a great deal of rhetoric and no specifics. We had proposed seven great questions that could have been addressed and in the end one of the seven was addressed, two were alluded two and the four most important were ignored. Despite all the talk, small business owners know that carrying on the hard work of finding new customers, fulfilling contracts, making sales and all the everyday operational work must go on. But we can all take heart from the teacher who has made $1 million selling lesson plans online - while continuing to teach. More and more startups and entrepreneurs are coming from the ranks of the baby boomers or even retirees - whether that is because of a desire to keep working or a necessity. Regardless, the SBA has some programs to help. And even though many of them are over, you can still get help from SCORE and other SBA programs. If you are

smallbusinesselectionWe had the first of the presidential debates yesterday. Unfortunately, despite using the phrase 'small business' a total of 29 times between them, very little was showcased in terms of specifics. We showcased seven questions we would have liked to have seen addressed. Unfortunately only the last three were even discussed and the answers to those were long on rhetoric and short on specifics. Hopefully we'll see some more answers in the debates to come.

Some of the other best stories for today:

How to protect your small business from lawsuits.

Why are small businesses hiring?

How YouTube can be a marketing tool for small business.

Are you fighting the wrong business competitor?

Brought to you by Yahoo! Small Business. Take a look at our domain, web hosting and ecommerce solutions. Follow us on twitter and on Facebook.

Inc. has a good article reporting on a discussion Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg had with reporters at the IAB MIXX Conference during Advertising Week in New York. Much of what she had to say was about small business, what a problem it is for advertising online and how Facebook is hoping to find the solution. This is a subtle shift from the focus of her discussion earlier that day with Charlie Rose where she talked about social advertising, re-emphasizing a theme that Mark Zuckerberg brought up on his recent trip to Russia.

Local advertising has indeed been a hard problem for tech companies to solve, but perhaps not as difficult as the Facebook team is making out. When supplied with any form of location data, google search ads on any site can be locally relevant for example, as can ads from The Yahoo! Bing partnership. And here at Yahoo! for example, there are local listing services, the ability to locally target advertising within the Yahoo! Shopping portal and even local solutions

Small businesses want the candidates to discuss key issues

Domestic policy, presumably including topics of interest to small businesses, will be debated by the U.S. presidential candidates Wednesday evening in Denver starting at 9:00 pm ET. What single issue of interest to small businesses would you like to hear President Obama and Governor Romney discuss?

Yahoo! Small Business Advisor asked leaders of six small business organizations what one crucial question they want the candidates to answer during the debate. If small business advocates were hosting the debate, here's what they'd ask:

1. John Arensmeyer, founder, The Small Business Majority: What will you do to specifically improve the opportunity for small businesses to have access to working credit?

2. Ryan Paugh, co-founder & chief of staff, Young Entrepreneur Council: The JOBS Act, signed last spring at the White House, is a tremendous leap in the right direction. However, there are still many opponents who believe that the way the SEC has set up the new law actually makes investing

October is National Women's Small Business Month. Plus five other small business reads for October 1st, 2012.

• Four tips to get local TV coverage for your small business.
• Small business retirement plan resources from the IRS.
• What business expenses can you claim for your small business?
• Is your small business in a cash crunch?
• 20 entrepreneurs share tips on increasing sales

One in four people age 44-70 are interested in becoming entrepreneurs.

We hear a lot about young entrepreneurs and the many programs designed to encourage college students and 20-somethings to build their own businesses. But what about not-so-young entrepreneurs?

If you're over age 50 and want to start a business, or if you're nearing retirement age but facing up to the fact that you won't have enough savings to stop working, Tuesday is your day. The Small Business Administration and AARP have partnered to celebrate National Encore Entrepreneur Mentor Day on October 2. The event is part of a broader effort by the two organizations to promote entrepreneurship among individuals ages 50 and older.

According to SBA, 25 percent of people aged 44-70 are interested in becoming entrepreneurs. More than 60 percent of Americans plan to work during their "retirement" years. Whether that's because their retirement savings disappeared during the recession, their investment portfolios have dwindled, or they just want to keep active, SBA says small business ownership

October's here - Fall is supposed to be starting but in many places, Summer is still hanging on strongly. However, that doesn't mean small business owners can afford to act like we are still in the Summer doldrums. Without further ado: Five small business reads for October 1st, 2012.

• 100 Small business founders honored at the White House for their entrepreneurial success.
• Seven credit card blunders that could hurt any small business.
• How to apply to be in Entrepreneur's Independent Merchant Gift Guide.
• The best business success factor is value.
• Ten documentaries for entrepreneurs.

2012 Empact Showcase Companies employed nearly 8,000 people and generate $1 billion+ annual revenues

You can argue over whether Romney or Obama have created jobs, but there's no question that the people honored in a ceremony at the White House this afternoon have. Empact and the Startup America Partnership today honored the young founders of 100 U.S. businesses that collectively employ more than 5,500 people.

Empact, which is run by a team of young entrepreneurs with impressive credentials of their own, has a mission to "facilitate a culture of entrepreneurship in communities across the world through exposure, celebration, and early stage startup support." It runs an annual collegiate tour, promotes the "entrepreneurial mindset" at conferences nationwide, and is wrapping up a four-day entrepreneurship meeting in Washington, DC, tomorrow.

Leading established entrepreneurs, including the founders of RedBox, Chuck E. Cheese, and Priceline, chose the 100 companies honored at the White House today from a "showcase list" of 352 leading private companies started by young entrepreneurs. The