As small business owners know, chances of getting a bank loan these days are slim. Banks are rejecting as many as 90 percent of all small business applications. Is there a way to beat the odds? Lena Gjonaj says the best way to position yourself for financing is to avoid the mistake virtually all entrepreneurs make: starting a business with personal credit.

Everyone's heard a story of a successful startup that was financed with personal credit cards or a second mortgage. But today when those business owners want to expand, they can be in for a shock at the bank, says Gjonaj, a business funding consultant in Easton, Conn. Even if sales are rocketing, a business owner who hasn't taken the steps to establish business credit will likely find out that she's not in compliance with lender requirements.Loan officers look for proof of business credit

One bank Gjonaj spoke with recently had denied a loan to a company that had plenty of customers but hadn't documented a corporate credit profile. "They couldn't prove any good corporate

Businesses that are seeing increased revenues during tough economic times have six things in common, according to a survey of nearly 1,100 business owners conducted by the Guardian Life Small Business Research Institute.

"Growing revenues during the recession was no small feat. However, insights from the Institute's most recent Index provide a fresh understanding of how higher-growth small business owners achieved their success," said John Krubski, research advisor to the Institute, which is part of the Guardian Life Insurance Company. Businesses surveyed ranged from sole proprietors to those with more than 5,000 employees.

Based on comparisons between respondents who projected 2011 revenues higher than 2009 and 2010, and those who projected "about the same" or "declining" 2011 revenues versus the prior two years, Guardian recommends the following six steps small business owners can take to improve their revenues in the year ahead:

1. Be Prepared for Contingencies. Rather than react to

"Business owners who seek to learn from others and reach out to resources for help are more successful than those who don't." So says Ken Yancey, CEO of SCORE, a national nonprofit network of experienced business executives who offer free counseling to entrepreneurs. In his 20-plus years on the job, Yancey says he's come to see that small businesses really need two things most: money and mentoring. Could a coach help your business stay afloat?

While nearly three-quarters of business owners who responded to a recent Yahoo! survey said that their business is suffering the effects of the stalled economy, Yancey says a SCORE year-on-year survey showed that some 90 percent of businesses that had consulted SCORE for help in 2009 were still in business a year later. Yancey won't take all the credit for that—"we all know there are a lot of factors that come into play"—but he has no doubt that SCORE's 13,000 volunteer mentors who counsel businesses at 364 chapters nationwide have played a big role.

In addition to SCORE, Yancey points to

Mom and Pop are taking off the gloves. Today the New York Times reports on a growing trend among independent online businesses to tap into the anti-corporate zeitgeist that fueled the Occupy movement. Independents have long competed using tactics such as personalizing service and dodging direct price comparisons. Now there's a new approach: small business is good business.

The Times quotes one online small business owner: "you end up relying on what hopefully becomes an emotional or personal connection with the retailer online."

What's your experience? Does your business compete directly with the online goliaths? If so, share your success strategies in the comments.

We're pleased to announce that Yahoo! Small Business Advisor - including the Profit-Minded Blog - is now available on iPad through Yahoo's Livestand iPad app. You'll find us in the Business & Finance section. To pin Advisor to your Livestand library, simply tap the green plus sign when you view Advisor in the Livestand table of contents.

Advisor for iPad includes the same lineup of ideas and advice for entrepreneurs and growing businesses as the Advisor web site, in a format optimized for tablet viewing. You'll find original articles and blogs as well as content from leading partners including Entrepreneur, Inc., and Reuters. The iPad is a great place to explore Advisor's video library.

More about Livestand here.

Small business information any time, anywhere. Check out Advisor on your iPad today!

annoyanceMistakes teach some great lessons. But they are often painful, so it's better to learn from others' mistakes, whenever possible.

Rene Shimada Siegel was nice enough to share some of her hard-earned lessons with me. She started her business, High Tech Connect, 15 years ago after leaving the corporate world so that she could have more flexibility in raising three young children. Her firm matches companies with talented marketing and PR pros and is based in Pleasanton, California.

Her four lessons:

"Trust your instincts. Slimy prospects make even worse customers. Every time I went against my gut and opted for the money, I regretted my decision. Big time.

"Being successful doesn't mean you have to be big. There are some things much more important then giant revenue. Profits. Sanity. Fun. Sleep. Focus on what you do best, and then OWN it.

"Best business decision ever: joining a small business CEO group (called Vistage). Every entrepreneur needs a mentor or peer group to provide honest

politicsResults of a recent Yahoo! Small Business survey about political issues in the upcoming election revealed a lot of anxiety about Washington right now.

While you can find more details in my article "Small Businesses: 'Washington Is Worse than Wall Street,'" I didn't get to quote very many of the desires that respondents articulated in the survey.

Here is a larger sample of the comments, made in response to the question: "What one issue affecting your business specifically would you like to see policy makers address, and why?"

"Taxes! It is hard to know what the taxes will be at the end of each year, and the system is set up so that we don't want to earn over a certain amount or there is a 40% increase in what we pay. There should be a flat tax amount."

"I'd like to be able to provide my employees with better health coverage and retirement packages, and not have to lay off so many because my income flow has been severely reduced lately."

"I would just like for our government to work hard

Good news for those of you happy to see 2011 disappear: Business owners' optimism and hiring plans are looking up as 2012 gets underway, according to a monthly indicator of the U.S. small-business economy.

Half of small-business owners said they plan to hire in 2012, and 56% said they intend to raise wages for some or all employees, the SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard reported today.

"We saw caution in 2011, but the leading indicators suggest 2012 looks positive," said SurePayroll CEO and President Michael Alter. "The sun is on the horizon. Optimism is higher, 50 percent plan to hire and wages look to go up."

The monthly scorecard also noted that optimism among small-business owners rose to 63%, up 10 percentage points in the last two months.

Could 2012 be a year of opportunity for you? Our recent article "7 tips for becoming your own boss in 2012" offers good advice from experts on how to start and/or grow a business this year.