Last Week In Entrepreneur News: 3/15/09 - 3/21/09

Micro-loans for Americans? - CNN
March 23, 2009
When the economic downturn took hold last autumn, the management team at non-profit Kiva.org made a calculated bet to curb investment, anticipating that donors would slow the volume of small loans they make to entrepreneurs in the developing world. That slowdown never came. Read More...

Out of business: Enterpreneurs struggle with life after closings - Wausau Daily Herald
March 22, 2009
It is not uncommon for small businesses to run on tight margins in good times; when times are tough, a tight margin can turn into a nonexistent one.
For those who are forced to shut down their businesses, it has meant not only re-entering the job market, but in many cases making a new transition from entrepreneur to employee. Read More...

Business Began at DCEDC Incubator - Post Crescent
March 21,2009
Door County entrepreneurs who started their own business 15 years ago are having a blast.
Jerry Spude of Sturgeon Bay and Don Rudolph of Sevastopol are co-owners of TF System, a manufacturer and distributor of insulated concrete forms. Read More...

House Suggests A Bigger Tax Break For Start-ups - WSJ
March 19, 2009
Just a few days after President Obama announced a stimulus plan for small businesses, more breaks might be in the works. Yesterday, Rep. Frank Kratovil of Maryland, a Democrat, and Rep. Chris Lee of New York, a Republican, proposed amending IRS code to allow new businesses to write off more of their operating costs. Read More...

Small Businesses Not Advertising Online - Inc
March 19, 2009
Half of small businesses spend less than 10 percent of their marketing budget online, even though 63 percent of those small business respondents look online first themselves when seeking local products and services, according to a recent survey by Nielsen Online. Read More...

Senate Extends Vital Small Business Programs - MarketWatch
March 18, 2009
The United States Senate passed a bill last night sponsored by Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Chair Mary Landrieu, D-La., and Ranking Member Olympia J. Snowe, R-Maine, to temporarily extend the Small Business Administration's (SBA) programs through July 31, 2009. Read More...

BizTimes announces winners of Bravo! Entrepreneur Awards - BizTimes.com
March 18, 2009
BizTimes Milwaukee today announced the winners of its 2009 Bravo! Entrepreneur Awards.
The winners include some of the most dynamic and innovative company leaders in southeastern Wisconsin. They were selected based on their accomplishments and their devotion to their workforce, their customers and the community. Read More...

Can Obama Jolt Small Business Lending? - BusinessWeek
March 16, 2009
In a move that took even some of his allies by surprise with the timing, President Barack Obama on Mar. 16 unveiled a package of measures aimed at boosting lending to small business by freeing up the frozen markets for credit that serve the nation's entrepreneurs. Read More...

Small Business Owners Trying to Hold On - WISC
March 16, 2009
As countless large companies across the nation have suffered losses due to the economic downturn, some small locally-owned businesses are trying to avoid the same fate. Many of them are turning to the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Small Business Development Center for advice, WISC-TV reported. Read More...