Small business owners focused on saving

With no end in sight to the small business lending crisis, entrepreneurs continue to consider "saving money" and "economic issues" to be their top concerns, a new survey reveals.

Office Depot surveyed more than 1,000 small business owners and found that while the economy may be showing signs of recovery, small businesses have yet to feel the effects.

In fact, companies are being forced to cut down on expenses - 38 percent reported they have decreased business travel, another 29 percent have cut advertising and marketing expenses and 22 percent said they have outsourced fewer jobs.

However, overall economic outlook remains muddled - small businesses are almost evenly split over whether they are seeing signs of growth. Additionally, 36 percent of companies with 99 employees or fewer are unsure whether conditions will improve, but 22 percent said they expect a full recovery within 5 years.

In a move that many hope will aid small businesses, a survey by the Federal Reserve has found that in recent months, big banks have moved to loosen lending standards. However, standards still remain much tighter than they were prior to the financial crisis.