Blog Posts by Adrienne Burke

New York Democratic Senator Kirstin Gillibrand is grabbing headlines in her state this week for pushing her colleagues to vote on the Small Business Lending Enhancement Act. The legislation, introduced by Colorado Senator Mark Udall in 2011, would address ongoing complaints about limited access to business loans by raising a cap on commercial loans that credit unions are permitted to make, based on a percentage of their assets.

Senate Bill 509, as it is known, "would amend the Federal Credit Union Act to advance the ability of credit unions to promote small business growth and economic development opportunities, and for other purposes." It has been sitting in the Banking Committee since March 2011.

According to a report published by public media aggregator Innovation Trail,

Passing the act would mean that credit unions could gradually increase their lending capability through a tiered system, with a new upper cap of 27.5 percent. Senator Gillibrand says passing this act would increase

While Congress and President Obama come down to the wire on fiscal cliff negotiations, small business owners hold their breath for a solution that will not be an economic setback for them or their customers. After averting the cliff however, there is still much to be done to improve conditions for small business in the U.S. We asked small business owners around the country what else they'd like to see from the federal government in the coming year.

Seven entrepreneurs in seven industries answered the question: "What is the most important thing President Obama and Congress could do in the next year to improve the outlook for your small business?" Here are their seven (quite different) answers:

Lenore Davies, Partner, Pripstein and Davies Architects, Wyncote, Pa.

We are a very small business; an architecture firm of 2 people. Our industry has been decimated by the economic downturn. We specialize in small projects, predominantly residential renovations and additions. Our clients

Image: www.sizeup.com

The Small Business Administration's new Online Learning Center offers a cool—and potentially very useful—tool for owners of existing small businesses as well as entrepreneurs investigating startup ideas. It's a widget from SizeUp, a company that was featured in a TechCrunch Disrupt event last year for its mission to deliver big-business-level intelligence to small businesses.

SizeUp's tool is designed to provide a small business owner with what a high paid consultant might provide for a large business: data that show how your business stacks up against the competition in your geographic area, insight into your customers, and clues about the best places to advertise.

I gave SizeUp a test drive to see what it could tell me about how my own small side-business—a one-woman wedding decorating operation based in Fairfield County, Conn.—compared to others.

I didn't get far: entering my industry and geographic location into the widget prompted the message: "There is not enough data for your

chart: Sageworks

Despite all the good publicity around Small Business Saturday, sales have been shrinking for the smallest retailers while their larger competitors are seeing strong growth this year.

According to data from Sageworks, which provides financial analysis services to private companies, 2012 will be the worst sales year for privately held retailers with annual sales of below $1 million since 2009.

Those small retailers have posted a nearly 3 percent drop in sales year to date. Meanwhile, privately held retailers overall are seeing a nearly 6 percent increase in sales volume this year, and  privately held retailers with annual sales of more than $10 million have seen a roughly 11 percent increase since last year. Sageworks data does not cover publicly traded companies such as Walmart, Kohl's or Target, but spans retailers from small Mom & Pops to privately-held chain stores.

Sageworks analyst Libby Bierman says the firm's data shows that the smallest retailers are seeing a setback after two

Consumers spent $59.1 billion over the Black Friday weekend. Less than 10 percent of that went to the small businesses that represent more than 95 percent of all retailers, according to the National Retail Federation.

Nevertheless, the National Federation of Independent Businesses reports that the holiday shopping season is off to an auspicious start for small business. A survey released today by NFIB and American Express reports that consumer awareness of Small Business Saturday jumped to 67 percent from 34 percent just two weeks ago, contributing to $5.5 billion in spending with independent merchants on November 24. The figure is $100,000 more than predicted by pre-holiday surveys.

This weekend's was the third annual Small Business Saturday. According to NFIB's national survey of 1,000 men and women conducted on Saturday and Sunday, nearly half of those aware of the event shopped on Saturday.

NFIB CEO Dan Danner said in a statement that support of small firms, retailers, restaurants,

infographic: National Federation of Independent Businesses

Most small business owners will be sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow unsure of whether or not to be grateful for what's in store for them in the coming year. That's because few have any clear idea how the two biggest issues on the table in Washington today--the approaching fiscal cliff and the Affordable Care Act--will impact their small business next year. That's a recipe for indigestion.

Government agencies and small business organizations are rising to the occasion to help you understand what might be in store for you if, indeed, the nation goes over the so-called cliff, and when the Affordable Care Act goes into full effect. Here are some resources they offer.

The Affordable Care Act and your business

The Department of Health and Human Services posted information to its website this summer to help entrepreneurs understand the implications of the Affordable Care Act specifically for small business. Now, the National Small Business Association is helping owners keep up

Groupon has taken some heat this year from small businesses who felt they lost money offering Groupon discounts to customers. A new program offering entrepreneurs free online education in marketing, customer acquisition, and customer retention might enhance the daily deals company's image.

Groupon announced that it has teamed up with SCORE, the nonprofit volunteer corps of small business mentors that is funded by the Small Business Administration.

The organizations have introduced a "pragmatic toolkit" for small businesses in any industry, with extra resources for two sectors that are big Groupon users: bars and restaurants and healthy and beauty businesses. The Groupon Customer Acquisition & Retention Toolkit, available on SCORE's website offers tips on attracting customers, employing online marketing, taking advantage of new marketing tactics, making the best of daily deals, using social media to win customers, and building better customer relationships. SCORE and Groupon will also

Small Business Administration Deputy Administrator Marie Johns reminds shoppers in an op-ed for the Washington Post today not to spend all their holiday gift dollars at the big box stores on Black Friday or online shopping on Cyber Monday. In between them is the American Express-inspired Small Business Saturday, November 24. Is your business doing what it can to take advantage of the opportunity to get new customers in the door this weekend?

With free tools and materials available for download, it's not too late. Here are some ways you can still get in on the event:

• If your business accepts American Express, you qualify to download free customized in-store signage, online banners, and templates for social media or email from American Express Shop Small.
• Even if you don't accept American Express, a Shop Small poster and other free marketing materials are available for download here.
• Waste no time writing your own Tweets or Facebook posts to promote Small Business Saturday to your