Small Business Woes

We've been talking for a while about the need for banks to begin the flow of loans in order to help get businesses growing again, but a new report out yesterday undercut that a bit. The National Federation of Independent Businesses - the small-business lobby - released a survey of small-business owners yesterday and reported that finding money wasn't their problem.

"Only 5 percent of small business owners cite 'financing' as their top business problem but 31 percent cite 'poor sales,'" reported the NFIB. That's a more difficult problem to fix: It's easier to grease the skids for lending than it is to persuade people to start spending money they may not even have.

The NFIB also compiles something called the Small Business Optimism Idex, sort of a consumer confidence report for small businesses. That's still in below-average territory, but it's been rising as of late. The NFIB said seven of its ten components were up in January, especially improved outlooks on jobs, inventories and capital spending. In other words, small business owners are much like the rest of us: still struggling, but hopeful of better times ahead.