Salesforce.com (CRM) provides applications that manage customer information for sales, marketing and customer support. It has a customer base of approximately 85,000 clients. Its service provides sales leads, maintaining customer information and tracking customer interactions.

Intuit (INTU) caters to small businesses with its QuickBooks and TurboTax software. As well, it provides payroll and financial software for small businesses. The company has about 50 million users of its products.

The past few years have been brutal for small businesses but it looks like things are starting to improve. A report from the National Federation of Independent Business shows that confidence is at a three-year high. There are even more plans to hire employees.

Well, top companies and investors are seeing opportunity. For example, Google (GOOG) Ventures, Salesforce.com (CRM) and Sequoia Capital have announced a $32 million round for HubSpot.

Fewer business start-ups are being launched, reports the the Wall Street Journal. The Labor Department said that the number of companies with at least one employee fell by 100,000, or 2%, in the year ended March 31. That was the second worst performance in 18 years -- the worst one was a drop of 3.4% the previous year.

Why are these numbers important? In past recessions small business start-ups were the key to spurring the economy. In the three quarters that ended in March, newly formed companies created only 2.6 million jobs, 15% fewer than in the first three quarters of the last recovery.

Some highly successful businesses are husband-and-wife teams. Or, may even involve the hiring of the kids. Yes, the proverbial family business can be a powerful thing.

What's more, there may be some attractive tax benefits.

But of course, you need to know the rules (which, no doubt, can get complicated). So here are some things to consider:

All in all, there are many advantages to a home business. For example, you have more time to spend with your family, you do not have to deal with aggravating commutes, and there is even the home office tax deduction. If anything, the overall costs should be lower -- making it easier to get traction for your business.

Yet, there are definitely considerable risks, which are often overlooked. But the good news is that smart insurance planning can provide sufficient protection. And the prices are affordable, costing as little as $500 per year.

For large companies, it looks like things are starting to improve. Demand is picking up and it's getting much easier to access financing. Even IPOs are finding buyers.

Yet, when it comes to small businesses, the situation is still tough. In fact, small business confidence has reached an eight-month low, according to the index from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).

A key problem is consumer apathy. Unfortunately, this could last awhile.

It's not easy to make money from the small business market. But Vistaprint (VPRT) has found an efficient platform to do so. The company helps with the design of such things as business cards, brochures, calendars and even websites.

In Vistaprint's latest quarterly report, revenues grew 40% to $194.6 million and the company acquired 1.8 million new customers. In all, there are roughly eight million customers.

Everyone wants the banks to lend more -- even the nation's chief executive. But absent a supermajority in Congress (it takes 60 votes to get major legislation passed in the Senate), what can one do to get the banks to lend?

Like President Obama, one can request, make a strong it's-in-the-interest-of-the-banks case for increased lending, but at the end of the day, given the U.S.'s economic system, it's still a private sector matter and the bankers' call.

The markets were slightly up most of the day, but traders seemed to be unsurprised by big news from Dubai and Citi. Many of the "most actives" only moved up or down a percentage point or two. It was not a day in which the market showed any conviction which was surprising given the number of potential catalysts early in the day.

The numbers:

Dow 10,501.43 +29.93 (0.29%)
S&P 500 1,114.10 +7.69 (0.70%)
Nasdaq 2,212.10 +21.79 (0.99%)

Unfortunately, when a company cannot pay its debt, the consequences can be severe. In fact, when it comes to bank debt, liquidation may be the only alternative.

However, with the recession, creditors realize that it may make more sense to work things out, especially since there are signs that the economy is making a comeback.

So, if you're behind on your debt payments, there certainly steps you can take to work things out. Have a look:

There are certainly many advantages to getting a franchise. You receive leverage from higher marketing dollars, an existing platform that increases the speed to market, a brand, and helpful techniques and systems to improve success.

Great, huh? Well, as with any investment, there are risks. And, you need to get a sense of these before acquiring a franchise.

This means conducting an extensive due diligence. So, here are some tips:

I recently talked to someone who wanted to start a business. He said, "But there is something I don't like to do: sales. It's something I'm really not good at."

Well, I said to him, "You better learn fast."

Sales is critical for any successful business owner. In fact, it is more than just about nabbing customers. It's also about hiring, forming partnerships, and even courting the media.

And, in the current economic environment, sales is perhaps even more important. After all, who wants to part with his or her money right now?

One of the best ways for your business to get exposure and credibility is through public relations. Yet, hiring a PR firm can be expensive, easily running $5,000 to $10,000 per month.

Despite this, it's possible to do PR on your own. Keep in mind that a key to success is having an active and passionate founder or CEO who makes media relations a priority. This has been the case with many great leaders, such as Howard Schultz at Starbucks (NYSE: SBUX) and Marc Benioff at Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM).

So, let's take a look at some of the steps you can take to improve your PR.

Nike's (NYSE: NKE) "swoosh" logo is incredibly powerful and captures the essense of the company. Interestingly enough, back in 1971 Carolyn Davidson designed the logo for a mere $35 (for more stories about logos, check out the LogoBlog).

So of course, your company's logo is critical -- in terms of branding, getting customers, and presenting the right image. And, the good news is that there are many affordable options to get a top-notch one.

If you take a look at a book on microeconomics, you'll see a section on bartering. Generally, it will say that the process is fairly inefficient. Hey, that's why societies have invented currencies, right?

This is all true. Yet, for those who are trying to run a business, bartering may be a good thing. Perhaps the biggest reason is that it saves on cash. It also can be a great way to build relationships and perhaps even get new customers.