Getting around tight credit: a virtual forum

Nearly 60 percent of small business owners rely on credit cards to finance operations, according to the National Small Business Association.

But the credit card market is shriveling up. American Express shut down two small business lending programs early this year. In June, Advanta cutoff credit extensions. Meanwhile, a major lender to small and medium sized businesses in the U.S., CIT Group Inc., needed a bailout by its bondholders last month to continue to provide financing.

So what do business owners do when they can't access a main source of financing?

We invited nine entrepreneurs to an online virtual forum to discuss the facts around credit and financing a business today. Included in this discussion are small business owners who explain how they have relied on credit cards, the ripple effect of those who are struggling to get capital, and the ways to get around the credit crunch (such as going to an all-cash system).