I am frantically looking for the signs that things are improving, and in that search am finding that things are.

They may be small indications but they are there. Plus, while it’s good that the media is bringing light to bear on how strained American families, and global economies, are (it’s as if they’ve just discovered it….truth be known, this condition has taken time to get to this point. It’s just that massive numbers are now beginning to feel it so the media, lest they become totally outmoded, must be reporting on the realities).

That said, the clock is ticking forward not stuck as it was in 2008. Now we are moving, through mud perhaps, but at least we are moving forward.

The stimulus money in Our Town, St. Louis, hasn’t shown up as yet. Well, it’s here, but now it has to be distributed (that’s the moving through mud part) so the communities aren’t feeling the impact.

These things take time, I presume, but come on. People are still losing their homes, unable to put food on the table, losing health insurance, so what are we waiting for?

Seriously. The notion that millions, in some cases billions, of dollars are just sitting someplace waiting for some government genius to dole it out properly just sends the hebe jeebies up my spine (grammar visitor, feel free to comment on that spelling).

I’ve just spent some time reviewing the SmallBiz April/May 2009 issue stating the best opportunities for entrepreneurs from Obama’s Stimulus Plan and gotta say, there’s not much there. It’s pathetically puny infact, unless the new head of the SBA, Karen Mills, figures out it’s time to actually fund small business rather than train them.

The SBA is upping their guarantee to 90% on loans but who gets those loans, well that’s gonna be interesting. The beauty of this recession and these massive layoffs is that an entire bumper crop of new businesses and methods and technologies are about to spring up but without the proper funding they’ll go nowhere.

And frankly, IMHO, this is what will save this country. With jobs totally disappearing and the state’s only recommendation is to go back to school (who educated us to get to where we are anyway?) for retraining, oy vey, it’s that good ole entreprenurial spirit that will forge us ahead while the big guys continue to duke it out for the lion’s share of the stimulus money.

I say, forge ahead. No time like the present. Just be sure you are picking an industry that will survive well into the 21st century. My take? Same as SmallBiz, Social Entrepreneurs. For a time they may well be the ones who create the most change. You can read more about them @ www.businessweek.com/go/sb/social. Since money is actually becoming available for these ventures, they have the greatest chance of creating the cutting edge business models that the rest of us can look to for the next great thing (not to mention how not to do it).

I confess, the ideas have merit.

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