“Our members are angry that the federal government is giving taxpayer money to big companies that have been horribly irresponsible while small businesses are not getting the money they need to keep their doors open,” said Margot Dorfman, chief executive of the U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce in prepared testimony. Instead of just bailing out the big companies, the government should instead — with a “big billion dollar punch” — set aside money specifically to assist small businesses having trouble borrowing to keep their operations alive. She said several members of her organization have come forward in the past 90 days saying they’ve had trouble securing loans and the majority of them have downsized employees. Other members, she said, have reported having their credit lines slashed in half by major and denied credit when they needed money to cover payroll or other operational expenses.

She recommended that the Small Business Administration loosen its criteria on its lending programs in ways to aid small businesses right now, pointing to a marked drop-off in SBA-backed loans. But any federal aid to small businesses should just be given to banks and specifically designated to small-business lending.

A couple of small-business leaders relayed heartbreaking stories about the havoc the economic climate has wreaked on their companies. Thomas Franke, executive vice president of Riemeier Lumber Co., a Cincinnati family-owned lumber company founded in 1925, told how his company had reached 150 employees and a record million in sales in 2005 due to the housing boom. But the company began struggling financially in 2006, with the housing market’s collapse. And about 10 months ago, without prior notice, the company’s bank (which remained nameless) claimed the company defaulted on its loan covenant and insisted the bank find another lender. Unable to find other financing, the company eventually had no other choice but to close for good. By this August, the business began notifying clients it was closing and recently started auctioning off all its assets. (You can watch Mr. Franke’s testimony on the YouTube video above.)

Mr. Franke ended his testimony: “There are five employees left, including Ken [his brother and another executive vice president], myself, and three accounting people to do collections until the last day we’ll be at the facility, which is slated for Nov. 6. We will then close our door forever.”

Are you experiencing credit issues with your business? Are you satisfied with the government’s response to the credit crunch?

Election Day is finally here, and voters can get more than pick their favorite candidate. With an “I Voted” sticker or ballot stub, you’re now free to pick up your free coffee, ice cream, beer, pie or sex toy. Who knew, you can get free stuff by voting?

The interest has spurred businesses — both large and small — to take advantage of this expected turnout bonanza by participating in a long-held tradition of giving out goodies for Americans exercising their rights.

Among others, big businesses like Starbucks (coffee), Ben & Jerry’s (ice cream), Krispy Kreme (star-shaped doughnuts with red, white and blue sprinkles) are handing out tasty treats.

But smaller businesses, mainly food and drink establishments, are getting into the election spirit as well. In Baltimore, voters can get free beer at Todd Conner’s pub in Fells Point. Eat’n Park outlets are giving a free cup of Joe in the swing states of Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. In southern California, a slice of Zov’s All-American apple pie awaits you. If you live in New York, Los Angeles, or Seattle, you can head on over to Babeland, a chain of sex-toy shops, where some special discounts await those who have just voted. And restaurants in Chicago are offering major discounts on Election Night meals: At Viand, the prix fixe menu is .08 featuring such entrees as Obama & Hillary’s green plate with grass-fed beef or McCain’s big barbecue ribs (the dessert is Baked Alaska).

For more lists of freebies offered today (Dallas residents, you can even get your tattoo removed), you can go to HeyItsFree.net and GuruOfNew.com.

Will you take advantage of the freebies? Are you giving out special election-day incentives to customers today?

Yes, it’s good if employees like coming to work. But how do you strike the right balance of fun and entertainment so it doesn’t become a distraction?

Resource Interactive, a Columbus, Ohio, digital-marketing firm, offers a playful and spontaneous work environment – modeling itself after the creative, high-energy environments of Silicon Valley (think Googleplex). Just a few of the many activities Resource Interactive employees enjoy: Nerf gun wars, scooter races through the offices, video games and “jungle breakfasts,” where pouches with small boxes of breakfast cereal and mini donuts are hidden around the office.

We talked with founder and Chief Executive Nancy Kramer about how to pull off a fun workplace — and what not to do. Edited excerpts follow.

WSJ: OK, so your workplace is fun. We get it. But does that really help the business and the bottom line?
A fun environment helps people tap into their inner child and tap their creativity. We’re a creative business and that’s a hugely important part of what makes us successful. Each business has to figure out what works for it.
I also think when the leaders of the business participate in some of the fun activities and show their vulnerabilities that helps employees see that the leaders of the business are real people and creates a stronger culture. I remember one day I was playing Rock Band – a video game kind of like Guitar Hero where you pretend you’re in a rock band – and I really, really stink at it. We did a video where we interviewed our employees and asked them what was one of your funnest moments over the past year and a number of people said “watching Kramer play Rock Band.”

WSJ: Don’t all these fun activities sometimes distract from real work?
That is not a challenge. I think we’re a very open company. We share all the company financials with everyone and people are rewarded based on company performance and individual performance. There are utilization targets that people need to hit. I think people have a very clear understanding of what’s expected.

WSJ: You’ve said before that it’s important that employee perks and events be spontaneous, so employees don’t come to expect them. Why is that?
I think too much regularity leads to feelings of entitlement. I learned that the hard way. A few years ago, the last Thursday or Friday of the month we had somebody come in and do chair massages. And then we decided to stop doing them, and people were like “Where’s the chair massage?” I think even Google is discovering this. There was a good interview with one of the founders of Google where he was complaining because some employees were grumbling about the kind of M&Ms they were serving.

Is your workplace fun? What are some of the things that make it so?

Ron Weidemann, a partner at market-research firm Answers Research Inc. of Solana Beach, Calif., says he has been using online sites like CouponChief.com to save money for his company. The products he has bought with coupons include office equipment (computers and printers), office supplies (at Staples and Office Depot), office furniture (chairs, lamps), electronic devices (monitors, surge protectors) and travel expenses (Expedia promotions).

All told, Mr. Weidemann saved his company more than ,000 in the past year. “Because the offers are out there, you might as well take advantage of them,” he says.

The proliferation of coupons online makes iti all a lot easier. Some of these digital coupons are even attached to loyalty cards and cellphones, making clipping the Sunday advertisements unnecessary.
About nine out of 10 people report using coupons when shopping for grocery, household and health-care items at supermarkets, according to a recent Promotion Marketing Association survey. It helps them save 7% on their grocery bill.

In fact, last year was the first time in 15 years that coupon redemptions didn’t decline, with 2.6 billion coupons redeemed for billion in savings, according to CMS Inc., a Winston-Salem, N.C., firm that processes coupon payments for merchants. It could be higher this year since food prices have climbed at a faster rate than previous years.

Online marketers also report coupon use is on the rise, with coupon trading sites such as Hotcouponworld.com boasting more than 90,000 members.

There are now many sites that cater to the frugal and thrifty. Some of them are GroceryGame.com, CouponMom.com, Coupons.com, and CouponClippers.com.
Mr. Weidemann says, “We have a saying here at Answers, I got it from my old boss, ‘If you take care of the pennies, the dollars will take care of themselves.’”

Do you use coupons to save money for your small business? Do you offer coupons to your customers?

Photo: Getty Images

Raymond Keating, chief economist for the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council argues that the presidential candidates’ proposals for changing employer regulations could potentially add a huge financial burden to small businesses – even more than the tax plans everyone’s arguing about. His analysis suggests that Sen. Obama’s regulatory proposals would be far more financially burdensome to businesses than Sen. McCain’s “sketchier” outline of what regulations he would push for.

Sen. Obama, for instance, supports expanding the Family and Medical Leave Act to apply to all businesses with 25 or more employees, compared to the businesses with 50 or more employees that must adhere to it now. What’s more, Sen. Obama supports changing the labor rules to make it easier for labor unions to organize, and tying minimum wage increases to inflation. “These key measures from Obama would be anything but positive for small businesses, and therefore, the economy,” Mr. Keating writes.

Sen. McCain’s regulatory stances, however, are far murkier. He voted for the original FMLA, Mr. Keating points out, but hasn’t openly addressed it in this election. Sen. McCain’s Web site says he sponsored an initiative to make workplaces offer more flexible scheduling to employees. But otherwise he seems not to have openly advocated many of the measures Sen. Obama has that could be very costly for businesses.

Both candidates have expressed support for opening U.S. borders more to immigration but want to enforce more costly workplace verification systems, Mr. Keating adds. (View the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council’s side-by-side comparison of the presidential candidates’ here.)

Do you agree with Mr. Keating’s view that Sen. Obama’s regulatory proposals would be far more costly to small businesses?

With election day here, many business owners are likely to feel “Joe the Plumber” wasn’t exactly the preferred voice of small business. Did he help Americans see the enormous financial burdens small businesses in this country face? Or did he make business owners look like outraged fools?

“Joe” – whose real name is Samuel J. Wurzelbacher of Toledo, Ohio – was escorted around by the McCain campaign as the voice of small-business owners in this election. He was, supposedly, just a small-town guy trying to make a decent living off his future business’s expected 0,000-plus annual revenues. He claimed repeatedly (with TV cameras flashing) that Sen. Obama’s tax plan would hurt small businesses like his by raising taxes on those earning more than 0,000 annually. (You can watch a recent video interview with Mr. Wurzelbacher above.)

But instead of uniting small businesses around key election issues, many business owners feel he became a distraction. First came questions about whether he really was a plumber at all. (Turns out he didn’t have a plumbing license.) And then came the revelations that he owed ,200 in back taxes to Ohio, among the many investigations into his past. He was continuously in the spotlight, but not necessarily for the right reasons.

Some commenters on this blog and elsewhere were disappointed he became the small business “voice” of this election and felt he was not helpful representation.

Others pointed out that even if Joe the Plumber owned a plumbing business and made more than 0,000 annually, he’s still unrepresentative of the vast majority of small businesses – less than 5% of owners earn that much, according to the Tax Policy Center.

Readers, what’s your take? Are you glad Joe the Plumber’s story was heard? Or would you have preferred “Joe” stayed out of the spotlight?

TAXES: Sen. Obama pledged to keep taxes at current levels for Americans with income of 0,000 or less – which includes the vast majority of entrepreneurs, tax experts say. Those earning more than 0,000 annually, however, would see their tax bills rise under the Obama plan. The president-elect also proposed eliminating capital-gains taxes for investments in start-ups and small businesses.

HEALTH CARE: Sen. Obama proposed changes that would eventually require employers to purchase health insurance for their employees, or pay a fine into a pool. Some small employers would be exempt from the mandate (though how many isn’t clear). Sen. Obama also proposed giving employers a 50% tax credit on the cost of employee health insurance to reduce the cost burden.

EMPLOYMENT: The candidate called for a two-year plan that would give a ,000 tax credit to businesses for every new job created. He would temporarily extend a tax break allowing small businesses to write off up to 0,000 of investments. He suggested tying the minimum wage to inflation.

FINANCING: Sen. Obama proposed providing relief to small businesses struggling to borrow money to run their operations right now, along with expanding Small Business Administration lending programs devoted to minority- and women-owned businesses.

IMMIGRATION: The candidate supported allowing legal status to illegal immigrants, but requiring employers to take on the role of verifier.

UNIONIZATION: Sen. Obama wanted to make it easier for employees to unionize by offering a check-off system.

Do you think these will actually be implementable? How would they affect your business?

Photo: Associated Press

The celebrations provided a great opportunity for entrepreneurs as well.

In Union Square in New York, entrepreneurs seized the moment, targeting the spontaneous crowd that formed. Amid the revelry, these entrepreneurs did brisk business, hawking stuff for customers looking to commemorate the historic night. Setting up makeshift tables, they sold Obama buttons, Obama caps, Obama T-shirts, Obama sweatshirts, Obama whatever.

On Election Day morning, Ryan Paonessa and his friends came up with the idea to sell T-shirts for with the Obama-styled logo “11.04.08 Today, I voted to change history.” Such a quick turn-around wasn’t easy, but it was worth it, he says. Spending about a couple thousand dollars, he was hoping to make a profit of ,000. (See my interview with him in the above video.)

What do you think of these election profiteers? Can they build on momentum and still be able to sell these Obama- and campaign-related products in the next few weeks?

But some business groups and Democratic leaders say an Obama presidency is likely to be much more business-friendly and moderate than many business owners fear. They point to Mr. Obama’s current economic advisers, including former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker and billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who are seen as moderates with deep understanding of the business world.

My colleague Elizabeth Williamson writes today that first to get pushed forward by the Obama administration are likely to be broad economic-stimulus initiatives, such as alternative-energy incentives and relief for homeowners facing bankruptcy. A slew of regulatory initiatives talked about on the campaign trail – such as reducing greenhouse gases – will take a back seat for now, Democratic insiders say.

Very worrisome to some business groups, such as the National Association of Manufacturers, is Sen. Obama’s apparent support of a bill that makes it much easier for workers to unionize. But that’s unlikely to be a top priority.

Do you agree that Obama will end up being a more business-friendly president than many assume?

But there’s evidence that small-business owners may have swung a little further left this election.

A recent analysis of election contribution data, reported recently by USA Today, found that Obama out-raised McCain, .5 million to .4 million, among contributors in the “miscellaneous business” sector, which includes many small businesses. (Those numbers don’t include September and October, when McCain wasn’t taking private donations.) What’s more about 5,845 contributors who classified themselves as “CEO” or “chief executive” gave money to Obama, compared with 2,597 of McCain donors. These numbers are almost opposite what happened in the 2004 election, when a far greater number of business owners and leaders contributed to President Bush compared with Democratic Sen. John Kerry.

Some pre-election polls also showed that entrepreneurs were pretty evenly split between Obama supporters and McCain supporters — again, in contrast to previous elections where the Republican candidate was clearly the favorite.

“Overall, we have seen a swing from Republican to Democrat” in this election, said Todd McCracken, president of the bipartisan National Small Business Association in an interview yesterday. One explanation could be young entrepreneurs. Younger voters tilt heavily toward Obama and the Democratic Party in general, and young entrepreneurs likely do so as well.

He also thinks the perception that small-business owners have traditionally been overwhelmingly Republican is perhaps somewhat overblown. It could be Republican business owners are more outspoken about their political beliefs. But Mr. McCracken quickly pointed out that, “You may have small-business owners who consider themselves Democrat but don’t want to see their taxes go up.”

Readers, what do you make of this? How many of you voted Republican in the past, but switched parties this time around?