This year was challenging, to say the least, for many U.S. small businesses. However, while many floundered, there were some that managed to thrive in 2009.
The New York Times reports that some businesses were helped this year by the Export-Import Bank, the official American export credit agency, which guarantees loans and provides insurance and direct loans.
The bank, which has seven regional offices to help small businesses export goods and services, authorized $4.36 billion in 2,540 transactions to support small business exports in fiscal year 2009.
Click here for an article about small businesses that grew in 2009.
But for many companies, 2009 marked an end, as they could not pull through the "worst year for small business since the Great Depression," according to Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Economy.com.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 400,000 businesses with fewer than 100 employees ceased operations, eliminating 1 million jobs, The New York Times reports.
Click here for an article profiling seven small businesses that did not survive and why.
