Network Solutions recently conducted a survey with the University of Maryland to create the Small Business Success Index (www.growsmartbusiness.com). The Small Business Success Index measured the strengths and weaknesses of small companies, and found that small businesses are succeeding despite the economic downturn, and also that they are still investing in their companies, in spite of the 48% of small business owners expecting the economy to be in decline in 2009. According to Network Solutions, small businesses can optimize their performance for maximum success using the index.

Cloud computing is coming to small business, and it brings benefits in terms of price and stability. A number of different services, necessary for running a small business, can run as a hosted (cloud) service. We explore the issue in an exclusive Q&A with Scott Kinka, Senior Vice President at EvolveIP.

Idea Cafe: What is the cloud and how can it help small businesses? What types of services run in the cloud?

Here at IdeaCafe we were thinking of possibilities to create new networking opportunities for the thousands of Idea Cafe Regulars. And then it hit us: we can use the existing social platforms! So, you are hereby cordially invited to join Idea Cafe on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Click on the links to join the Idea Cafe community on the respective online service.

An optimistic outlook towards the economy prevailed among small business owners in March, according to a study by online payroll service SurePayroll. In the same time, salaries dropped 0.89 percent in one month. The survey was completed on March 30th and consisted of 234 respondents randomly selected from the 25,000 small businesses.

As we’ve reported previously, the government is concentrating on securing loans for small business. Steve Kaplan—an entrepreneur and Wall Street Journal bestselling author—presents all of the steps necessary to get a small business loan in his upcoming book Sell Your Business For the Max.

The good news keeps on coming...and we owe it all to you! Thanks to Idea Café and our winning their “Innovation & Originality Grant” in January, the interest level in WOMbeat! continues to rise. Just this past week, we learned that WOMbeat! founder, Linda Olson, was honored as one of the “Tampa Bay 100” by Tampa Bay CEO Magazine. You can read the full story here if you like.

Registration for the current Idea Cafe small business grant is ongoing with significant interest on part of small business owners. Entrepreneurs from all across America are submitting their applications. Did you submit yours? It's free.

With the credit crunch in full force, many small businesses are finding it harder and harder to land traditional bank loans. Even business lines of credit are being squeezed tighter—often yanked right out from under companies that have long established histories with financial institutions.

Fast-growth companies are especially vulnerable in the current credit environment. Those with 20 percent or higher annual growth rates can make banks nervous even during the best of times, since fast growth can knock their ratios out of whack and result in temporary periods of unprofitability.

Are you one of those business owners who continue to resist “the pressure” from well-meaning friends and peers to join LinkedIn? Maybe you actually signed up once, but are you having a hard time find any value in it? If this sounds like you, you are not alone…but you may be missing out on a very powerful tool. WOMbeat! owes much of its early growth to LinkedIn , so let me share a few of the pearls I found in Linkedin.

Never need to lookup a phone number again

As a business owner, one of your first decisions is the name of your company/product/service. It is, after all, your corporate identity. There is nothing worse than being forced to change your name once you have begun doing business because of a cease and desist letter or an application refusal from the US Patent and Trademark Office. The first plan of action: do not get attached to your trademark until it is yours officially.

Here are a few best practices in finding that name: