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During the "credit crunch" of 2009 - 2011 when the largest financial institutions closed the spigot on small business lending, approval rates sunk to single digit percentages at many big banks. During this dry period, credit unions and alternative lenders filled some of the void and small banks, in particular, were the most willing to lend.

At a time when peer-to-peer mortgage lending in the U.S. is actually feeding loans to small banks, the situation appears to have flipped for small-business loans: alternative lenders are approving fewer loans, while big banks are approving more, according to monthly numbers from Biz2Credit. In September, large U.S.

Big banks and institutional investors were more generous in granting small-business loans in August, while their smaller competitors turned slightly stingier, according to a Biz2Credit study.

The reasons for the big bank pullback, Arora says, are three-fold. First, big banks have more challenging underwriting standards and they may be waiting for 2013 tax returns from businesses. The harsh winter has also wrought havoc on business sales as customers stayed home and businesses themselves pulled in and perhaps sought fewer loans. Lastly, Arora says, banks haven't done a good job automating their loan processes, so it slows down their loan approvals

There are times office equipment breaks down and you can simply write a check or draw from the business line of credit for repairs or replacement. Other times this is not the case. In those instances, it is necessary to call in the big guns. Equipment financing is likely the answer when other options just will not work.

Within the last few years, social media has become a powerful tool that small businesses are increasingly utilizing. Neglecting social media platforms can be a big mistake. It provides small companies with the ability to directly communicate with existing customers and attract new ones. So what are the best ways to use this tool?