Loan decline rates for small businesses continue at close to the ninety percent level. Small businesses have been challenged by the slow economy. Business owners have continued to invest personal funds into their businesses, getting home equity lines, refinancing mortgages, selling unproductive assets, and tapping into credit cards.

Flowers make special occasions sparkle; what’s a wedding without flowers? It’s those special occasions that keep a florist profitable. In between the special occasions though, business is slow, and many florists have trouble paying their bills.

Many would-be entrepreneurs dream of owning their own restaurant. They imagine walking around a full room on a Friday or Saturday night, chatting with customers and giving out complimentary drinks. They dream of having a full reservation book and a register full of cash. Too many of these dreamers start a restaurant and fail within their first year, because they are better at dreaming than planning. Restaurants lead the list of small business failures.

Oil is in the news and on everyone’s mind. Whether the news is about the latest oil spill or the cost of a barrel, everyone is talking about oil.

There’s been a lot of discussion over the past decade about merchant cash advances, and whether or not they are better than a bank loan. Small business owners who use the advance as a financial tool say that they do so for the following five reasons: