Are you a small business owner (sole proprietors count)? Well, it’s time to celebrate you! May 16-20 is National Small Business Week, which has been celebrated for nearly fifty years. Who knew? There are approximately twenty-seven million small businesses in the U.S., and they create up to eighty percent of new jobs. And, though the U.S. Small Business Administration rightly boasts that small business create sixty to eighty percent of new jobs, we know that small businesses still face some unique challenges, including access to capital. Bloomberg Businessweek just reported that credit card issuers can still hike up rates on existing balances for small businesses, even though such practices have been barred for personal credit cards. Thirteen percent of small businesses indicated that one of their biggest challenges is securing capital to continue their operations. Do the Bloomberg Businessweek and Wall Street Journal stories reflect your experience with financing and running a business? Are you a business of one, or do you have employees (full-time or otherwise) working for you? What’s the biggest challenge you face? (photo by ADoseofShipBoy, via Flickr)