3 Things You Should Know About Small Business: July 25

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- What's happening in small business today?

1. President Barack Obama defends his statement: "If you own a business, you didn't build that." After criticism by the small business community, media and now his Republican opponent Mitt Romney over the controversial line in a speech President Obama gave earlier this month in Virginia, the incumbent had a few words to say at a recent campaign event.

Romney has been "twisting my words around to suggest that I don't value small business," Obama said at a campaign event in Oregon, according to Reuters.

"Now, keep in mind, in politics you have to endure a certain amount of spin. That's -- everybody does it; I understand that ... Although I have to say when people omit entire sentences from a speech and they start splicing and dicing, they may have tipped a little bit over their skis. They may have gone over the edge," Obama said.

Obama's speech was, in fact, indebted to a speech by Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren, which was caught on videotape earlier this year and went viral, and has since been worked into Obama's stump speech over a period of months.

2. Here are some easy ways to cut costs in your business. Thrifty is the name of the game these days in business, but as a small business, how do you ensure the quality of your product or service stays the same if you cut costs?

According to a blog on Funding Gates, there are several easy changes that can be made without a lot of time or frustration. For instance, go green. This could be as simple as installing energy efficient bulbs or switching to a fully paperless system. Promote your initiatives to customers to win business. Another example could be to enhance your technology, such as videoconferencing, to save money and time on travel.

Try buying in bulk from your suppliers, or partner with another business to get discounted rates from suppliers and vendors, or create a home office, Funding Gates says.

Finally, be sure to track your receivables by automating payment services from slow-paying customers.

3. Chick-fil-A CEO's anti-gay statement causes uproar. The business community and fans have lashed out at Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy's on the record statement last week that he does not support gay marriage. The Atlanta-based franchise, which has 1,600 locations, has been notoriously open about its Christian values, so his anti-gay statement shouldn't come as a huge shock, but the business community and government officials in key expansion areas for the fast food chain are reacting.

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino is looking to block the franchise's expansion into the city, according to Time.

A Chicago alderman is also looking to block the company from building a location within his constituency, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Even the Muppets announced a cutting of ties with the franchise, according to Yahoo! Finance.

-- Written by Laurie Kulikowski in New York.

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