This post is under the heading “I’m a small business – how about me?” That is what we are hearing often these days when it comes to  at least being able to get some help with a line of credit or all the services small business absolutely has to have in order to be stable and operate. For many years a small business could be certain to be a consistant and good customer at their bank, because as a small business you need your banker from time to time. Well those days are in some serious readjustment by banks in general. A comment heard frequently by good small businesses from their bank is “I am sorry, we can’t renew your line of credit, we are not doing that any longer”

WHAT AM I TO DO? I have been a great bank customer and you treat me like this?! Comments like this come ringing out way too often.

What is there we can  find for that business? Here is the answer. SBA! A bit costly for points and a bank prefers the borrower with real estate associated with the loan because it is not as happy with a 7(a) loan these days that doesn’t have real estate with it. There are a few banks that are doing some uncommon SBA lending, but for the vast majority of small business, that is not the case. If you read the previous post on this site, you will see  some statistics that show that SBA is becoming the predominate source of  lending with a  pretty large increases in loan volume (number of loans) and the SBA is attempting, rumor has it, to increase to $5 million.

Does your small business qualify? Do they really need to take a 2nd position on my house and make it impossible for me to refinance the home, is there really a pre-payment penalty on the home portion as well?  YUP!

The line of credit is always the best way to go, you only pay interest on what you have used. When you get it paid down, the line is there again if you need it down the road. With the SBA you take all the funds and pay the interest on the entire amount. I have been told that there are some exceptions, but I only know of one. The interest rate is fine, but one has to think carefully if the loan is the best choice in this economy.

While the administration is dominated by oil spills, and medicare, and loosing political dominance in congress while in this economy…I submit that the administration BEST put feet on the talk about getting real for small business. Without a confidence level of future stability  previously made possible by a line of credit to fall back on if payroll came at a short fall period; there is no intelligent small businessman going to be aggressive in hiring, it is just too risky. So many unemployed will remain unemployed unless some percentage of our entrepreneurs are given a leg up and not a hand out.  Just a answer to the question “How about me?”That is all this economy needs.  “I will step out if you will support me bank, SBA, or?”

Confidence begats confidence. Talk to me…Or look at my blog.

In April 2009 Karen Mills was sworn in as the Administrator of this nations SBA, Small Business Administration. She comes from a family that is no stranger to business. Her father was the CEO of Tootsie Roll Industries for a couple of decades. She herself had managed several small businesses and gone through some very challenging financial times in leadership of those businesses. She knows what it is like from the side that counts when you are in leadership…”Been there done that!”.

So, quite simply the good news is this; She is using her position and her voice on the national level to give a push to government decision makers and also pressing those often unwilling lenders called Banks to lend money to small business on a 7(a) loan guarantee basis. Since becoming Adminstrator of SBA these are the facts as I know them from articles I have read only. Loans guaranteed to the banks up to 90%, a major change, loan volume from SBA up 70% to 80% over a year ago. 1,200 more banks now doing SBA loans. That is all good, as they say.

It is common knowledge that this country goes forward on small business. Today all efforts to encouage and enable small business and entrepenuers to believe and go ahead with sound business projects are a top priority for Karen Mills and the SBA as well as the Obama administration.

SBA also offers research and counseling services. Service Corps of Retired Execuives (SCORE), Women’s Business Centers (WBCs) and help for Veterens and Native Americans, and those over 50, and even young entrepeneurs.

Yes, good news for small business! It is about time we hear about and see some good news. If you want more information go to www.sba.gov/services and see what is available in 2010 to encourage and assist in building your future and the future of our nations economy again.

I’m Pat Lyon and these are my views about the news.

Talk to me…What do you know?

I call my blog News-Views and Reviews. Well here is where I just dump my disgust like a dump truck today. I have talked to a substantial number of both Democrats and Republican American citizens. Good people who love this country. Admitedly, people of some years. 30 and above mostly in one group and those younger in another group. Here is what I found along with what I feel. People do not think our system works like it should. Independent is a common term in interviews.

The above 30 group think our Government is broken. Two sides in a fist fight for their own benefit. Power!!! Retaining dominance or regaining dominance. Fighting and bickering and non productive wasting of their time and our money. President Obama is meeting with a Bi-partisan group as I write and I have heard non of the media comments yet. So I will take a terrible risk here and predict that there will be conflict stemming from political agendas that will have us hear that no progress was made. Everyone knows the problem, but I submit that everyone or at least almost everyone knows they in Washington are ineffective. The Republicans are licking their chops thinking they will have a great chance at “picking up seats” in the next election. The Democrats have a Democratic President, and almost an overwhelming majority in the total congress. However; the quality of proposed solutions to our problems are politisized to the point that the purpose of being representatives of the people is all but totally lost.

LET’S VOTE THEM  ALL OUT! Make congressional service a drafted position of mandatory service. Give them Social Security like the rest of us, the same health plan. Reduce their salary, have them live green if they are going to vote for green legislation . Maybe only one term. No unlimited money from Corporations would be needed! You cannot legislate the American spirit, but you sure can legislate its discouraged attitude. We take polls, but the minds of legislators are insulated from the opinions of the ones they are to represent. In Washington State a law is suspended to allow legislators to raise taxes with a simple majority when the citizens said 65%, but they can’t get that kind of agreement, in THIS economy. Or is it that they are just so divided they are not able to legislate. “One nation”, I wonder. We have perhaps become several little homogenius groups with our own agendas both in politics and in society.

My view. God help us! We face complex challenges, but the foundation of the answers is simple. We work together, you know like we did during the days following 911 or the Haiti tragedy. I conclude with this. We ARE in crisis. God knows we need to be one nation and not a fractured society. The two party system does not mean we have two seperate agendas, two seperate purposes, predetermined objections called Pary lines. Pretend we’re freezing to death and we need the warmth of each other to survive or we’re dead. It may not be the same as Global warming, but is a more rapidly approaching ultimate crisis. When is something good, NOT good. Answer; when you loose the spirit of it!

What do you think?

If you have been the number one car safety and quality leader for as many years running as Toyota has, you have in place the attitude if not the mechanics to solve rapidly these now serious issues. I have no doubt that the pouncing by every American car manufacturer to offer a $1,000. cash offer to any Toyota owner who buys their car NOW, has in its calculation the understanding that if  Ford, Chevy, etc take a Toyota in, it will get fixed and so will the resale value be salvaged. It happened to Jack in the Box, when they had a media nightmare. The public came back to Jack! His commercials helped don’t you think?

I continue to drive a Toyota, and if my gas pedal were to stick I plan to  simply push it into neutral and stop. If you are aware of the potential now, you have the same precautionary thinking you do in any other day to day potential caution. It will get fixed fast, and we will see Toyota come back as strong as ever.

Don’t drink – think! Don’t text – think! In a blink it will all be history and other manufacturers know that. If you want the $1,000. credit buy from a manufacturer that has never had a recall. Let’s see, mmmm, who is that? I guess there isn’t one, now that I think about it!

The other assurance I have that it will get fixed is that it is NOT being done by congress! Couldn’t resist….

Let me know your thoughts.

So much of politics is beyond any of us to understand. Popularity or connections or affiliations. When the nation and its’ economy is in the situation that it is, you can know ONE thing for sure. People are frustrated and will not do the same thing they have done before, they want it to get better. Take that to the bank. After all the years that Massachusetts has been Democratic with Kennedy, to have a Republican get elected was a shocker to the congressional community. Oh my God, what will happen to our health bill? How could this happen?

Well, we will see in the coming days! Does it strike you strange as it does me that Kennedy was all about this health care issue the majority of his career and they elected someone who says he will vote against it and probably put it into big trouble. Go figure!

My opinion is that there will be enough influence peddling and arm twisting, that they will get a bill passed this year, BUT will the compromises that come with getting the votes make it worse or better? Not, what is best for all Americans but what can we push through. I have an idea. Let’s put the Congress and the President all on the same plan with us, then it will get better.

The Massachusetts election shocked not only Massachusetts but the whole nation and particularly the Democratic majority in Congress. It just reminds me to never say “Done deal”

What do you think?

First off, I am not a medical Doctor. I make no statement here that is based on medcal research that I am able to give you reference to. I feel somewhat like the school teacher who came up with “AirBorne”. She just found something that worked based on her broad reading and experimenting.

Three questions to answer:

Why do the medical professionals recommend a face mask to reduce the spread of the flu?

What does the face mask help with?

If I choose not to wear a mask when around others with flu what risk am I taking?

Read on and see if what I share with you makes sense to you as a layman like myself. First they recommend the face mask when there is a spread of flu going around because much of the spread comes from airborn sources. Secondly, the face mask filters out some of the infectious flu bearing airborn germs. Last, but not least, if you or I are in the company of someone who may be passing on the flu bug by coughing, etc. we breath in those germs.

Now comes the interesting discovery I got from reading several health care providers, not just one. The germs may reside in your nasal passages in the mucous membrane for a sufficient amount of time for the germs to do their damage. It is a commonly agreed upon theory that in 2 to 3 days the germs become flu and then can move into the rest of your body.

HOW CAN WE REDUCE at least  that one method of contracting the flu? That is the question I want to pose to you. In your nasal passages a saline solution can perform a wonderful service for you. It is not claimed that the saline will kill all the germs, but that it will help. Here is what I have experienced and has been substantiated by my health care professional. It clears the sinuses and nasal cavity of the mucous where these germs reside long enough to do their damage. If subjected to the saline twice daily there is the twofold benefit. Some germs are killed and most or all are removed before they can infect the entire body.

I tried it years ago, and I am a real believer. There are many methods and I will discuss those another time, but for now see what you can find out and let me know what you learn. Still wash your hands and do all the things recommended, BUT consider this idea, it could save you a lot of misery. In fact the swine flu is more than misery! Comment…

It is only a few days until this nation celebrates the annual THANKSGIVING day! I wonder how many of us know the history that would be good to recall.  In 1822 Sarah Hale, a young widow from New Hampshire, decided to revive the forgotten remembrance of thanksgiving. You see, in 1621 when a Pilgrim leader, William Bradford, proclaimed a day of feasting to commemorate the first harvest after a long year of suffering. What you may not know is that, as the colonies grew more prosperous, the people forgot all about Thanksgiving and the meaning it held for their ancestors. For generations Thanksgiving was celebrated sporadically, if at all, with no set date.

Sarah Hale desperately wanted Thanksgiving to be celebrated as a national holiday. For some 40 years she appealed to governors, and presidents to get Thanksgiving officially recognized. Here is the amazing thing for us to ponder IN A YEAR LIKE THIS. She wrote to president Lincoln. Here is a snippet of what was going on for him at that time. According to the book What Makes This Day Different? “His own life was at a very low ebb at the time. The country was literally falling apart and Lincoln’s political future looked bleak. Many of the members of his own cabinet openly despised him, and joked about him in public. His wife had been investigated as a possible traitor a process which Lincoln personally found to be bitterly wounding. In the face of such personal and national circumstances…”

At a time like that President Abraham Lincoln responded positively to Sarah Hale and proclaimed the last Thursday in November as an annual celebration of Thanksgiving.

My reason for writing this today is to encourage Thanks. Many in our land are suffering and have tremendous loss. (work, homes, self esteem). Think of President Lincoln and how he delt with the stresses of home and country. He obviously decided to GIVE THANKS. That was his response and it should be ours regardless of circumstance. I would imagine that anyone reading this is not among the homeless, but you may have personally many difficult problems, and our Nation certainly has monstrous issues to cope with.

Here is my thought! It was at such a time as this that President Lincoln decided to give thanks. Can we do any less? I am thankful to be an American, and to have a faith in my God, and my hope rests not on the problems but on the opportunities in this great land. God Bless America!

Oh, by the way. Sarah Hale was not even normally remembered for this accomplishment. She is normally remembered for …are you ready for this?!  she is much better known as the author of a little poem written in 1830 which begins like this: “Mary had a little lamb, Its fleece was white as snow . . .”

If you are in a thankful mindset, give my your comment. I would love to hear it.

In this world there are so many people who are determined to find a way to disrupt. Today notice has been going wild all over the Blog world of Wordpress that there is an Iframe issue and I received word to immediately update again, even though I have the latest version of  WordPress. I doesn’t matter what software, or platform you are using every once in a while a virus or some kind of gliche can completely put  a wrench in your online material and machines.

When I received the advisement to update for the fix of the problem, it caused me to wonder what goes through the minds of persons involved in this tactic. I live in the Seattle area of  WA State and in the last weeks we have had 14 set fires in one particular neighborhood. This morning they announced the arrest of a possible person of interest. I could not help but wonder, what profile would describe his thinking and subsequently his actions. People were seriously effected, millions of dollars of  building damage, and thank God no deaths. In my mind, because of that fire bug situation, when I heard of the WordPress Blog vulnerability issue I just seemed to go to the identical question regarding the person or persons responsible for this virus or attack on blog software. What goes through the mind of someone who initiates that? Is it a power issue, a mental issue, a dry run for a major future event based on some agenda? I am just a novice and I really am not qualified to answer any of my own questions. One thing is for sure, in this world we as people when it comes to technology, or even day to day living need to be aware that we are vulnerable.

I personally feel the need for faith. Faith in law enforcement, faith in Fire fighters and faith in internet and software experts. I would also go so far as to say faith in God. Because we live each day trusting the lights will go on when we flip the switch, the house will be free from a fire nut while we are away, and that cyber space is safe. God only knows how we best cope with the future in a very vulnerable world. So be safe, and talk back to me! Oh, and  update your WordPress Blog if you have one!

My view is that so many of our military are scattered in many parts of the world and are sent there as our several branches of the military. Some of them are not in harms way but they are all serving our nation. I want to go on record with a hearty thank you for their sacrifice.
The holiday celebrates those who have died in service to our country and for them our words are not enough. We live in blessing because of the selflessness of those men and women. Thank you Lord for the Veterans. Past and present in service!

I have been doing what you all have been doing…listening to the media reports about unemployment for example. Today the reported statisic was 10.2% unemployment in our country, the highest it has been in many years! I have a problem with that statistic! If you want to know why, it is simple to answer. Firstly, statistics are not static. They change and more significant to my mistrust of statistics is that they can be chnanged by manipulation whether intended or not. Today the President signed a bill that extends unemployment benefits for some 20 weeks and that on the surface is great. We must however acknowledge that many, and I mean many thousands, have gone off the statistic grid, because they either took part time work, or they ran out of benefits. It makes the point that statistics don’t tell the whole story. I would feel comfortable with a guess -t -ment of 19 percent or more of our workforce are either off the unemployment statistic or not looking anymore. Becuase of other situations and circumstances thousands are still without the ability to make a livable wage near what they were making prior to this economic downturn. Jobs and entrepenural efforts need to be encouraged. We have done something for cars, and first time home buyers, both by large cash payments. What can be done for free, by giving incentives!?

I don’t write as a critic, but more to open our eyes to the substantial amount of hurt that is going on. Such stress brings health issues on. “I Can’t pay the house note, even if I didn’t have one of the 2/28 subprime loans. It is because I am laid off!”  Stress… “I have used up all my unemployment benefits and I still don’t have a job.”  Stress… “Total personal credit collapse.”   Stress… “I have no way to pay the really high insurance premium for COBRA interim insurance at $600. to $700. for a family and an unemployment check doesn’t cut it!”  Stress…  Is our Government doing much to help? Yes. The extended benefits help some. The first time home buyer $8,000. credit helps some. More than cash doles, can we have incentives offered? We are an entrepenural society where small business employment is crucial. My view is that encouragement and incentives often cost nothing and our children and grandchildren won’t have to pay for it at some point in the future.

ARE YOU READY? Here comes the biggest boulder in the rock quarry. Credit Bureaus are also going to cause stress with what they consider to be normal statistics and practices. Well my view on that statistic is that this is not a normal time. More of my view on that at a later time! Banks look at a statistic and raise credit card costs. Close accounts on people that have never been late, because of their statistics of the overall statistical class of a given client.

MY VIEW is: On one front the recovery needs something other than clunker cash, or stimulus package payments. We need to have Government, and business, and entrepenuers to come together and have one heart beat! To work together. We all need to make decisions as one, based on this unique time and circumstance we are facung in 2009-2010 .economy.

Make sense decisions, not always by the statistical numbers. Make those decisions not just on credit scores, but character, or historical consistancy before the downturn. In our early history, that is how funding was done. Amazon didn’t make sense, it didn’t make any money for 5 years, it was a make sense business planhowever, and look at it today. Google did not make any numbers sense when it started, but look at it now! What vision and statistics have in common is hope of a future positive result.

We live in the greatest nation in the world! I believe that and I hope all Americans do. It began with a dream and a vision of what could be and did not let the dream be swallowed up by the doom sayers. The congress needs to be once again people of vision and not party commitment first. One thing statistics DO tell us,is that if we don’t do something together as a nation of Democrats and Repulicans united we will be far further down the stress road as a nation, just like many individuals are now. Talk to me!