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Cities in California’s Bay Area are seeing a sharp rise in the number of entrepreneurs looking to form an LLC or other home-based small business in the area, the Contra Costa Times reports.

The paper says that the city of Antioch has seen a 37-percent increase in home business licenses compared to last year. Pittsburg, California, has seen its number of home-based companies grow more than 48 percent since 2006.

As those businesses continue to grow, local officials are also working to help them expand. The city of Brentwood has signed long-term leases with commercial landlords with vacant or underused property, making any necessary improvements and then marketing the storefronts to small businesses. Companies must eventually pay back the city’s investment, but this can be done over time instead of adding to the business’ startup costs.

Officials have also paid for business consultants to give entrepreneurs looking to form a company free or low-cost advice.

While home businesses start off small, they don’t have to stay that way. Many companies, such as Hershey and Google, started out as home-based companies. Furthermore, business.gov reports that more than half of all small businesses currently operating are home-based businesses.

According to a new survey, the key to happiness may be filing an LLC.

Sixty-nine percent of surveyed small business owners in the TD Small Business Happiness Index said that they felt "very happy." The biggest contributors to their happiness were the sense of accomplishment that comes with forming a company and a personal connection to their employees. Those reasons were cited by 97 and 94 percent of respondents, respectively.

"With such optimism and determination, it’s no wonder that small businesses are leading the way to economic recovery," said Fred Graziano, Head of Retail and Small Business Banking for TD Bank. "They’re willing to tackle the ongoing challenges of managing a business in exchange for the personal satisfaction of being their own boss."

Small business owners also feel more fulfilled than the average person. Sixty-one percent of small business owners said that they believed they were happier than those around them, and nine out of 10 reported that they were happier being their own boss than they could be in a normal job.

That sense of pride can also translate into a successful business. A recent study from the Guardian Life Small Business Research Institute found that self-fulfillment was one of the biggest keys for a small business owner.

A new grant program from Bank of America will distribute $10 million in grants to nonprofit community lenders across the country, which could provide $100 million in microloans for entrepreneurs looking to start an LLC or expand their existing small businesses.

The grants will be used as loan loss reserves, which nonprofit financial institutions need as backing in order to distribute microloans from the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Department of Agriculture.

"Helping strengthen small businesses and new start-up companies stimulates job creation and is critical to our nation’s economic recovery," said David Darnell, president of global commercial banking for Bank of America. "Even the smallest grant enables a CDFI to leverage as much as 10 times that amount to lend to small businesses."

The low-cost microloans are an affordable way for small business owners to finance smaller projects. The average amount is roughly $13,000, and also comes with a low interest rate of less than 2 percent.

Microloan organizations have experienced a sharp rise in interest over recent months. The New York Times reports that many lenders have seen their number of applications double since the recession, and that the trend shows no signs of slowing.

The U.S. Small Business Administration is getting a virtual makeover.

The agency says it will launch a completely redesigned website this fall, which will make it easier for entrepreneurs looking to start a small business or file an LLC, lenders, and small business counselors to locate information on the site.

"Our goal as an agency is to get information, tools and services into the hands of small business owners more quickly so they can spend more time doing what they do best – creating the jobs that will drive our economic recovery," said SBA administrator Karen Mills.

The new website is just the latest step in a number of online enhancements for the agency. The SBA recently began using the social media websites Facebook and Twitter, and also launched an improved search function for its existing website.

SBA-guaranteed loans have helped a number of small business owners get the capital they need to start a company. A report from the agency earlier this week says that it has supported more than $29 billion in small business loans since Feburary 17.

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation has joined with Kaplan University to add new online certificate programs to the foundation’s FastTrac entrepreneurship training curriculum.

The partnership has developed two new programs – one for new companies and one for existing businesses.

The certificate for new companies includes lessons on business incorporation, business plans and financial operations, while the other program includes resources for creating marketing plans and conducting internal reviews.

"Nearly all net job growth in our country comes from companies less than five years old. So, today more than ever, we need more people starting companies, and we need current business owners to be more successful in growing their firms," said Carl Schramm, president and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation.

The Kauffman Foundation’s FastTrac program has a number of courses for entrepreneurs located across the country. Different programs can be geared toward entrepreneurs just forming a company, those focusing in technology or life sciences or even college students interested in starting a corporation.

While the economy slowly recovers, a new survey has found that small business owners feel better times are on the way.

In U.S. Bank’s 2010 Small Business Annual Survey, most small business owners reported that their revenues were either up or had remained stable compared with last year. Looking ahead, 47 percent expected that their revenues would increase next year.

"There is no question that this sector will be central to our economic recovery. Taking the time to listen to their perspective and understand what motivates them is essential to providing the financial, legislative and moral support they need to thrive," said Rick Hartnack, vice chairman at U.S. Bancorp and head of consumer banking.

In addition, nearly two-thirds of respondents indicated that they felt their company was financially healthy, despite the current economic conditions.

That confidence can also be reflected in the faith that consumers have in small businesses. A recent Gallop poll found that 66 percent of people had either "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in small business – the second-highest rating of all the 16 institutions the survey examined.

Bank of America says it has loaned $45.4 billion dollars to small businesses over the first six months of this year – an increase of nearly $9 billion compared with the first half of 2009.

That puts the company ahead of its own pledge – made last December – to increase small business lending by 5 percent in 2010. Bank of America gave out $81.4 billion in small business loans in 2009. If it continues lending at its current pace, the bank will give out nearly $91 billion by the end of the year.

"Small and medium-sized businesses are central to the nation’s economy and will be a critical part of the recovery – both as an economic engine for production and growth and as a source of good jobs," said David Darnell, president of global commercial banking for Bank of America.

The increased availability of credit would help entrepreneurs looking to file an LLC or expand an existing company. A recent study by Pepperdine University found that 78 percent of small business owners had growth opportunities, and needed financing to take advantage of them.

The University of North Texas’ Murphy Center for Entrepreneurship is hosting its first entrepreneurial boot camp to help local residents take the first steps in forming an LLC.

The month-long camp – which is currently underway, and will come to an end on August 18 – will help 10 students in its inaugural class. The school said it had so much interest, it actually had to turn away several applicants from its first class.

Each of the entrepreneurs will work with industry experts and business graduate students to create a business plan, gain real-world experience and pitch their business ideas to investors.

"UNT is very interested in preparing our students for careers that are ever-changing and dynamic," Tony Mendes, director of the Murphy Center, told the Denton Record-Chronicle. "The competition is global, but the other side is, the opportunities are also global."

Each of the boot camp’s first participants are also getting a helping hand from the community. The school’s website says that an anonymous alumnus is underwriting the program’s fees to help give them a head start.

In an effort to give support to entrepreneurs looking to file an LLC in various parts of Wyoming, local business development groups have worked to try to form a number of new business incubators across the state, the Casper Star-Tribune reports.

The newest incubation program, located in Lovell, will give assistance to local entrepreneurs and have enough office space to house three tenants. The paper that reports a few companies have already inquired about getting space at the incubator, which officials say is open to all kinds of business proposals.

"A lot of times, what happens with incubators is you don’t even know who has an idea that needs to be incubated. It may be something you’ve never heard of before," Sue Taylor, executive director of Lovell, a local community development group, told the paper.

Officials have also proposed a second business incubator in Goshen County, and are currently working to receive a grant from the Wyoming Business Council.

The programs should help encourage what is already a business-friendly environment. A recent study by CNBC ranked Wyoming as the 14th-best state in the country for business and ranked it in the top half of the country in seven out of 10 categories.

Many entrepreneurs in eastern Kansas looking for marketing help as they form an LLC will be able to take advantage of a government grant program that will cover much of the cost of workshops at the Miami County Economic Development Center, the Osawatomie Graphic reports.

The scholarships – part of a grant to the county from the U.S. Department of Agriculture – will cover 75 percent of the program’s costs. Officials told the paper that most small businesses in the area will qualify for the program, and that a few businesses have already shown significant interest.

To be eligible, companies must have less than $1 million in sales and employ 50 or fewer employees, the paper reports. The classes, which will cover topics such as social media, press releases and websites, will be held starting next month.

The program is just one of many resources for entrepreneurs in the state. WIBW-TV reports that the Kansas Small Business Environmental Assistance Program – which helps small business owners learn to comply with environmental regulations – was recently awarded the national 2010 Small Business Environmental Assistance Award.

Small business owners in Nevada have a new helpful resource as they work to start an LLC.

The Laughlin Chamber of Commerce recently launched a new business incubator program to help entrepreneurs in the early stages of forming a company, according to the Mohave Daily News.

"Instead of eggs, we hatch business," Janet Barela, executive director of the Laughlin Chamber of Commerce, told the paper. "Our goal is to create jobs. Eighty-five percent of the jobs created in America are created by small businesses."

The center is located in the Chamber of Commerce building, and provides computers, telephones, and meeting rooms so entrepreneurs don’t need to rent expensive office space. Its first client, the Daily News reports, will be the Small Business Support Network – which will also be a helpful source of advice for small business owners.

The new incubator will partner with the Nevada Small Business Development Center at UNLV in Las Vegas to help both organizations better serve small businesses in the state.

The focus on small business should help small business owners launch their ideas in an area that has some business advantages that other states do not. The state has no corporate income tax, and was ranked in the top 40 percent of states in terms of business friendliness in a recent CNBC study.

As the jobs market continues to struggle, many unemployed workers are turning to entrepreneurship.

A new study by CareerBuilder says that of the people who have been out of work for more than six months, 26 percent are considering forming a company. Currently, 6.8 million people have been out of work for more than 27 weeks, meaning that millions are considering becoming their own bosses.

In addition to plans for new companies, the survey also found that 32 percent of small businesses intend to hire more workers in the second half of this year – helping to drive down the country’s unemployment rate.

But even as hiring begins to pick back up, statistics show that salaries in the current job market are much lower than they were before the financial crisis. Industry consultants told MarketWatch that positions that used to give salaries of between $40,000 and $50,000 are now paying as little as $28,000, and jobs that paid $100,000 are being offered for as low as $85,000.

The idea of forming a company can seem like an overwhelming process to many first-time entrepreneurs. But small business owners in the San Diego area have a number of organizations that can help them with filing an LLC or any other business matter, San Diego News Room reports.

In terms of general small business mentoring and advice, the site reports, small business owners can seek assistance from a number of programs such as SCORE or a local small business development center like those located at Miracosta College and Southwestern College.

There are also a number of business incubators in the area, which help provide low-cost facilities and advice for entrepreneurs. Many, such as the University of California at San Diego’s CONNECT program and the San Diego Technology Incubator, focus on specific industries such as clean energy, technology or healthcare, according to the site.

The San Diego region has helped nurture a number of new businesses in the area, particularly technology startups. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that 300 technology startups formed in the area in 2009, and 57 more were created in the first quarter of this year alone.

A new nonprofit organization in Cincinnatti, Ohio, called the Brandery will serve as a business incubator to help entrepreneurs who are forming an LLC in the consumer marketing field.

The center was created by David Knox, the brand manager of global branded entertainment for Proctor & Gamble. It will give a $20,000 grant to five entrepreneurs in its inaugural class this fall. After three months of mentoring, all of the participants will have a chance to pitch their business concepts to angel investors and venture capitalists.

"The power of the Brandery is the collaboration between people and companies in our community," Knox said. "Entrepreneurs will benefit from a wide range of talented people in consumer marketing here, as well as globally."

All of the grants will come from CincyTech, a venture development company that focuses on investing in high-tech startup companies.

The city is also looking to use startup companies to help revitalize its failing downtown office district, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. Officials told the paper that startups have kept away from the area because of perceived high rents, but the influx of new office space has served to drive down rent.

The number of minority-owned businesses in the U.S. has shown a significant increase in recent years, according to figures from the U.S. Census Bureau.

From 2002 to 2007, the number of minority entrepreneurs who have started an LLC or other business type increased 46 percent to roughly 5.8 million companies. Small business growth by minorities also outpaced the growth rate of businesses as a whole. Overall, the total number of businesses reached 27.1 million – an increase of 18 percent.

Minority-owned companies also hired at a significantly faster rate than white-owned companies – 27 percent to 2.3 percent – and saw their average revenues grow more than 55 percent over the same period.

The number of women-owned businesses also increased more than 20 percent over the same five-year period, and now totals 7.8 million.

A recent study by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation said that the health of startup companies was critical to creating jobs and reducing unemployment. The study found that over the last 25 years, all of the economy’s net job growth had been created by small companies, instead of large firms.

Bain Capital Ventures – part of Boston-based Bain Capital, has launched the Bain Capital Ventures Innovation Center, which will help entrepreneurs network with each other and gain expert feedback as they work to start an LLC or other small business entity.

The network – modeled after Facebook and LinkedIn – will allow entrepreneurs and potential business partners to connect and share ideas. The center’s website also posts a list of upcoming events where entrepreneurs can meet in person.

If entrepreneurs are in the Boston area – where the company has its headquarters – they can even sign up to meet with one of the Bain’s experts every Friday afternoon after submitting their business idea online. Meetings will last approximately 15 to 20 minutes, and give entrepreneurs helpful ways to improve their business plans.

The New York Times reports that while the program is designed to help entrepreneurs refine their ideas, the company will also "keep its eye out for any possible investments."

Officials with the Venture Capital Association told the paper that a few other VC firms, such as First Round Capital, have also held office hours, but that the company did not keep up with them on a regular basis.

Silicon Valley members of the Santa Clara-based nonprofit networking firm TiE have formed an angel investment group to help area entrepreneurs who are looking to form an LLC.

The group says its members will work to provide startup companies early-stage investment, along with ongoing support and advice, as they grow.

"Since its inception, TiE has served exceptionally well as a mentor, educator and advisor to entrepreneurs," said Vish Mishra, president of TiE Silicon Valley and venture director for the VC firm Clearstone Venture Partners. "TiE Angels will now fill that role by providing seed capital to put promising entrepreneurs on the first-rung of the success ladder, a crucial need in the current economic environment."

Companies interested in getting an investment should not have received other VC funding, and should be seeking investments up to $500,000.

The company has a global reach, and is the largest nonprofit organization in the world for entrepreneurs. It has more than 15,000 members spread across 55 different chapters in 13 countries. TiE says that since 1992, entrepreneurs associated with the company have started businesses that are now worth more than $200 billion.

Small businesses may not each employ a huge number of workers, but when added together, they are believed to represent all of the country’s job growth – showing that the path to growth may lie in encouraging entrepreneurs to start an LLC or corporation.

The results of a new study by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation say that between 1977 and 2005, new companies created an average of 3 million new jobs per year, while older companies lost 1 million per year. The same trend was also seen in 75 percent of the individual years evaluated in the study.

"Policymakers tend to focus on changes in the national or state unemployment rate, or on layoffs by existing companies. But the data from this report suggest that growth would be best boosted by supporting startup firms," said Robert E. Litan, vice president of research and policy at the Kauffman Foundation.

The study also found that job growth at startup companies was consistent and resistant to economic recessions, while older firms struggled to gain jobs during tougher financial times.

The results of the study place an even greater importance on the small business legislation currently being considered in the U.S. Senate, which aims to encourage small business investment and lending in an effort to promote job creation.

St. Petersburg College has created a new Entrepreneurship Certificate program, which will accept its first students later this summer, according to the St. Petersburg Times.

The program involves four eight-week courses: an introductory course, then three more on management, marketing and sales and planning, the paper reports. The classes are designed so they can be taken at the same time, and can also count toward a full degree.

"We really think that this program is going to take off and that there is a market for it," Nicolle Panuthos, director of entrepreneurship and academic chairwoman for business technologies at the college, told the paper. "It’s the wave of the future."

School officials told the paper their program is targeted both at ambitious high school students and those who have been in the workforce but want to start a corporation of their own.

According to the Times, the program will start at the college’s Seminole campus, but could be expanded to other campuses depending on how popular it is with students.

The school also helps support aspiring small business owners through its Entrepreneurship Academy – an idea developed by a local entrepreneur and funded through the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship and the local chamber of commerce.

The latest Small Business Employment Index from Intuit says that small businesses added 18,000 jobs in June.

That figure is part of a continued trend of job growth, giving encouragement to entrepreneurs looking to start a corporation.

The results also showed a rise in both the average compensation and hours worked per small business employee, meaning that employees already working are taking on more responsibility.

While the rate of job growth has slowed compared to earlier this year, the Index has steadily risen since bottoming out last fall, giving more signs of a recovering economy. Since last June, the index says that small businesses have added more than 300,000 jobs.

The survey is based on employment data from 57,000 small businesses – each with 20 or fewer employees.

Lawmakers hope that a package of small business bills currently being debated in Congress will accelerate small business expansion. The Senate voted to begin debate on the bills on Tuesday, and Democrats hope to have the bill signed into law by July 4.