Oregon small businesses struggle with credit, growth

Factors including tighter lending standards, low consumer confidence and higher costs have all provided a challenge to small businesses in Oregon, according to reports.

Jeff Thredgold, economic consultant to LibertyBank, told the Register-Guard that the state is sharing in the same economic troubles currently affecting many areas of the U.S.

Meanwhile, Gerry Moshofsky, owner of a company that manufactures wooden shelving and retail fixtures, explained that in a B2B sales model, small firm failures have a wider impact, as manufacturing companies lose clients when businesses close.

"The normal … opportunities are not there. There are not as many people opening stores," he told the publication.

Amid pressure to maintain positive cash flow in challenging times, companies may want to look into options for accessing working capital, such as borrowing from a non-traditional lender.

Thredgold predicted that the U.S. economy will probably not pick up again until mid-2009.

His comments come after Bloomberg reported that Nobel Prize-winning economist Myron Scholes said he is "not exactly sure" when the credit crunch will ease.