During a town hall meeting in Tampa in recent months, Tampa, Fla. entrepreneur Steven Gordon had the opportunity every small business owner would kill kittens for – the chance to ask President Barack Obama why the Small Business Administration won't make loans directly to small businesses.

The president told Gordon that the process, which would mean the government would have to "stand up a massive bureaucracy," would take too long, Obama said, and would only serve to frustrate small business owners.

Gordon wasn't satisfied with the answer he received, and he recently attended a joint hearing of the House Financial Services and Small Business committees in Washington.

Karen Mills, SBA administrator, echoed Gordon's concerns, saying business owners need access to loans and counselors who can help them become creditworthy.

The SBA has a long and storied history of lending. The Small Business Act created the SBA in 1953, and allowed the agency to finance businesses directly or in cooperation with banks or other financial institutions. Direct loans are limited up to $350,000, and the SBA lent money to businesses that banks rejected through the late 1980s, and through the late 1990s to disadvantaged borrowers. Since that time, the agency has undergone restructuring and downsizing, but is still making loans to homeowners and businesses following a disaster.

The House has twice passed legislation calling for direct SBA loans.  Its SBA reauthorization bill creates a new capital backstop program tailored to recessions, which would allow the SBA would help borrowers prepare a business loan application and then shop it to banks. If no bank is willing to make the loan, the SBA would make the loan. This program will end in September 2011.

In the Senate, no one is particularly enthused about the bill, including Ben Cardin of Maryland, who is on the Small Business Committee. And so the debate continues.

In the meantime, what’s a small business owner to do in order to obtain need funds for the cost of operation, expansion or new hire-related costs?

An unsecured loan or line of credit could be the answer, and will help a small business owner establish credit.

Okay, allow me to plead guilty right from the start.

When it comes to last minute shoppers, I'm first in line. Christmas, Valentine's Day, family birthdays -- you name it and I'm the one in line the day before - - and often the day of -- the big event.

Turns out that could be a big mistake, money-wise. A new study by three university researchers: Jennifer Aaker, the Xerox Distinguished Professorship in Knowledge at the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business; Cassie Theriault, a marketing Ph.D. candidate at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business; and Ginger Pennington, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, says that last-minute shoppers pay more and get less than their more time-savvy counterparts.

"Last-minute shoppers on a tight deadline will pay more for a product advertised as a means to prevent a negative outcome (such as disappointing their spouse) than for a product advertised as a means to promote a positive outcome (such as thrilling their spouse with the perfect gift)," Aaker explains.
After conducting a series of experiments with hundreds of college students, Aaker, Theriault, and Pennington found that the time before deciding to make a purchase is a critical factor in a consumers' decision making.

One study involved a group of students facing midterm examinations who either perceived the exams as “soon, only a week away” or “still a full week away.” These students received sales pitches from a fictitious tutoring service that were presented either as a way to avoid failure – highlighted with the marketing slogan, “Don’t do poorly in any class!” – or, more ambitiously as a way to achieve success, with the catchphrase, “Ace every class!”

The research group says that their experiments found that consumers caught in a bind of having to buy something as soon as possible worry about failing their goal. This concern leads them to settle for products advertised as having the bare minimum features needed, as in the case of the tutorial service pitch claiming to help students to “not do poorly in class.”

With more time to make a decision, however, consumers become more confident that they can reach “higher goals” in their purchase, so a product that is “good” will likely appeal more than a product that is merely “not bad," according to Aaker. Moreover, Aaker found through her experiments that consumers are willing to pay more for items that sellers present as having desirable features, or products that are “promotion-framed,” sold under such sales slogans as “You desire the very best!”

For consumers, the research poses important questions on how they make decisions. Should we worry that our standards decline when time is running out? And if we have more time to decide, should we think about setting overambitious goals, and perhaps even ask ourselves: “Would I really buy this if I had to make the decision tomorrow?”
With a little planning - - and a well-placed calendar -- time management doesn't have to be so pressure-packed. Now excuse me while I go off to do some early Christmas shopping.

I was talking with a mortgage banker today about possibly refinancing out of my own mortgage loan if rates go down. After we ran through that, he told me a story about a friend of his who thought he had his estate planning all worked out. Turns out there was a snag, and one worth mentioning.

First, you know I'm big on having a will.  A will is the first step towards creating a plan for the benefit of your heirs. A will can accomplish some important goals:

•     Naming your personal representative – someone to guide your estate through the probate process when you pass
•     Naming a guardian to watch over your minor children
•     Distributing your personal property according to your wishes

With a will, you make these important decisions. Without a will, the state makes these decisions for you.

But you need to plan it right. My mortgage friend told me the following story to prove that point:

Unhappy with his past investment performance - and skeptical of his adviser's intentions -- "John Doe" moved his accounts to a new adviser.

That's all well and good, But did John Doe take the time to also check his will?

In my friend's story, John Doe didn't do that. That led to the realization that, although the guy's investment accounts were reinvested to his satisfaction, the prior (ineffective) adviser would still take over management when John Doe  passed away.

That would have left his heirs with an untrusted adviser who he thinks made unethical, commission-driven investment choices," my friend said. "The lesson to be learned is to review and update your will regularly."

A wise point, and a good one.