Small business lending up in March

5/3/2011

Entrepreneurs are borrowing more money, with a recent report from PayNet indicating that small business lending improved marginally in March.

As Reuters reports, the Lending Index was up 12 percent year-over-year compared to March 2010. While March saw a slower growth rate than February, this is still a positive sign that the economy is slowly but surely improving and that business owners are seeing conditions begin to normalize.

"Small business balance sheets are pristine right now," William Phelan, PayNet's president and founder, told Reuters "There's a lot of potential out there (for growth), but we need to see the demand come back to ignite it."

Meanwhile, consumer spending is also on the rebound according to PayNet data. Business owners should be spending more money on advertising so they can capture a greater portion of consumers' dollars.

The key to low-cost marketing is social media. By leveraging social networks, businesses can promote their brands and generate awareness without breaking the bank. Moreover, sites such as Facebook and Twitter have big followings, giving entrepreneurs a broad audience to leverage.