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

Bayeux Tapestry Detail

Nine hundred and forty seven years ago - almost a full thousand years - William the Conqueror became the last person to successfully invade England. That take no prisoners attitude is reflected in one of our stories this week - 'when to get all bossy pants.' And speaking of conquering, we also looked at holiday shopping trends - which look to be up overall and up even more online and by mobile. Time to go out and conquer the fourth quarter! We also covered what the 18 small business tax cuts being discussed in this election really mean as well as the SBA's new, more relaxed, definitions of small business in various industries.

If you haven't taken the plunge yet, hopefully some of these articles give you the impetus to start your own business — and if you do, we have tools to help. Besides our domain name, web hosting and ecommerce products, we also have just added an innovative marketing dashboard that you can try for free even if you don't use our other products.

Here are some of

Bigger businesses in 58 industries will qualify for SBA loans

Last week we reported on rampant confusion about the size of a small business and some Republican leaders' objections to any changes in IRS definitions of small business is right now.

Today, the U.S. Small Business Administration announced new rules increasing the size standards for businesses in 58 industries within three NAICS sectors: real estate and rental and leasing; educational services; and health care and social assistance. Effective Oct. 24, more than 18,000 additional businesses will qualify as small businesses under the new standards, according to SBA. For some industries, average annual receipts thresholds have been doubled, tripled, or even quadrupled.

Since the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 called for a comprehensive review of all size standards, SBA has proposed new size standards for many industries. SBA says the latest revisions "reflect changes in marketplace conditions" and public comments it received to the proposed rules.

"New size standards will enable more

A report says small business tax cuts don't add up to 18

Throughout their campaigns, President Obama and Governor Romney have each claimed to be the better candidate to support small business. The President has repeatedly pointed to the 18 tax cuts he's made on behalf of small businesses. Do you know which tax cuts he's referring to?

This week CNNMoney dug into the details and the math. Turns out the Obama campaign is counting some cuts twice, and many have already expired. By CNN's count, there were only 14 tax breaks, not 18; 4 have expired, and 5 have been weakened. That leaves only 5 still in full effect for small businesses. Chances are great that you are not benefiting from more than one of them.

The first cut of the five reportedly still in place was made available by the Affordable Care Act; the other four were created by the Small Business Jobs Act. They are:

• a tax credit to companies that pay some health insurance and have 25 or fewer employees with average salaries of $50,000 or less. (A credit that, as we've reported, few