3 Things You Should Know About Small Business: Oct. 22

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

1. Franchise lending drops. Franchisee credit access in September dropped on a year-over-year basis and from the prior month, according to the latest International Franchise Association/BoeFly Franchise Lending Index.

Franchise lending fell 2.01% in September compared with credit access in September 2011. It was the first drop after eight consecutive months of year-over-year gains. Lending rose 6.32% from August 2011 to August 2012.

The index also found that loans to franchise businesses decreased by 2.11% from August to September of this year, after a 3.64% increase from July to August.

"The drop in the Franchise Lending Index is a reminder to franchise executives that they need to be proactive in helping their franchisees through the financing process, and those that do not will likely face slower growth," says Mike Rozman, co-president of BoeFly.

The index is created from a monthly analysis and integration of proprietary data from BoeFly's online loan matching marketplace and franchise loan data from the Small Business Administration.

BoeFly's data are collected in real time based on the activity of more than 2,200 community, regional and national lenders who use BoeFly to source franchise borrowers. The SBA data used in the analysis dates back to 2002 and cover more than $20 billion in franchise loans.

"Credit access continues to be a headwind to growth and job creation and while we have seen some improvement in lending, it continues to be hampered by ongoing uncertainty in the tax and regulatory areas," says IFA President and CEO Steve Caldeira.

2. How to look stupid on Twitter. Just because your microbusiness has a presence on Twitter doesn't mean it's doing itself any favors. In fact, it may be doing itself a disservice if the brand is making some common mistakes, says Micro Business Hub contributor Gaz Copeland.

If you give your business a persona, don't let it go too far overboard. Followers and more importantly, customers, don't need to know the intimate comings and goings of the person behind the account. Keep political views, personal issues and general opinions out of the account.

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