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Even though Veteran’s Day was commemorated last week, it’s still always a good time to honour the service that veterans have made to this country. And while, as soldiers, they contributed to the country’s safety, thanks to the Veterans Transition Franchise Initiative (VetFran), honourably discharged veterans are finding they can contribute to the nation’s wealth as franchisees.

With VetFran, over 350 companies have signed up to assist qualified veterans purchase franchises by offering them financial incentives. VetFran was started 17 years ago by the late Don Dwyer during the first Persian Gulf War. The idea behind VetFran was to allow veterans easy access into contributing to the economy after their service abroad. Over 100 companies originally signed up and the operation, which was eventually taken over by Don’s daughter, Dina Dwyer-Owens, was grown from strength to strength.

Vet Fran was created with assistance from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Veterans Corporation, and the U.S. Small Business Administration, and includes outreach initiatives to our country’s military and veteran organizations. VetFran is one of the most innovative initiatives in franchising and here’s a somewhat belated thanks to America’s veterans. If you’re an honorably-disarmed veteran looking to set out on a new course in life, VetFran may have an opportunity for you.

One of the unexpected by-products of the boom of reality TV is a new-found interest in entrepreneurship. Reality TV might have grown popular thanks to exotic locales and hair-raising stints – as anyone hooked in by the first few seasons of Survivor will attest – but interestingly, as budgets have become constrained and program ideas more democratic, producers have begun put entrepreneurs under the limelight – and are reaping ratings success.

TV viewers will, of course, remember ABC’s popular program American Inventor, which ran for two seasons. Another sign of a boom in entrepreneurial TV is news that ABC has teamed the don of reality TV, Survivor creator Mark Burnett, to produce a show called ‘The Shark’s Tank’, which is based on the successful British show ‘The Dragon’s Den’. The Shark’s Tank concept, which has already proved itself popular in Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Canada, the Netherlands, Finland, Nigeria, and the UK, allows entrepreneurs to pitch their new concepts to a group of investors with the hope of receiving capital investment.

So how do you explain network television’s sudden interest in the experiences of entrepreneurs? First off, programs like American Entrepreneur make for good, entertaining television, otherwise they wouldn’t last in prime time. Still, the growth of entrepreneurial television seems to speak to something deeper in the American experience. Certainly, these programs celebrate the value and spirit for entrepreneurship. But the small business owner, who was quite common in 1950s television, has been somewhat phased out of prime time in recent years. This trend directly goes against the perceived political value of small business owners—who became the centerpiece of John McCain’s flailing campaign in its final days. Joe the Plumber, as none of us will forget, emerged as a national phenomenon.

At a time of great economic uncertainty in America, these programs reinforce the notion that it’s America’s innovative businessmen and businesswomen who got the country to where it is today and will guide it in the future. Time will tell if reality shows like American Entrepreneur help mold the next generation of entrepreneurs, but for anyone passionate about small business, it is refreshing to turn on the television and see the entrepreneurial spirit being celebrated. And, who knows, there might be a profitable idea or two to be promoted as well…

Well, wasn’t that exciting? But as the post-mortem’s are being written on 2008’s seemingly-endless presidential election, it’s a prescient time to take a look at the shape of the small business world as we head into this new historical moment.

As we all know, these are trying times for small businesses. The credit crunch is biting and insurance costs are skyrocketing.

“The state of the union for small business is bad,” says Moody’s Economy.com chief economist, Mark Zandi recently told CNN recently.

Here’s more bad news for entrepreneurs: a recent Fortune Small Business/Zogby International poll says 42% of U.S. small-business owners have had their businesses had go down in the last four years.

That said, there are still reasons for small business owners to be positive. Just look at the boom in the education and health-service sectors last year. And with the low cost of the dollar, small businesses have enjoyed a bumper year for exports. Statistics from the Small Business Administration shows exports up 63 percent over the last five years for small firms.

Financial experts are now advocating a sensible approach for entrepreneurs and small business owners. Here are three elements which might be able to bring further relief:

* Health care costs: The Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) was introduced by Congress in April 2008. The Small Business Association is excited by the cost-cutting opportunities that the bill presents.

* Credit cuts: there have been calls to the SBA to raise its current 7(a) loan guarantees from 75 – 85 percent to 100 percent. This move would go a long way towards restoring confidence of small business owners and getting them back in business

* Help exporters: some franchisors might not know about the Government’s Gold Key service. In this service, the Department of Commerce charges $700 to match business owners and distributors. There were 1,200 Gold Key requests and this is another tool that might help small business owners through this trying time.

That’s the rise in profit for Yum! Brands in 2008. Yum!, a quick service restaurant company which owns companies like KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Long John Silver’s and All American Food, had second-quarter profits of $2.65 billion for the second quarter of 2008. Compared to a profit $2.37billion for the previous year, Yum! has enjoyed a 12% rise in profits. So despite the economic turmoil, established food franchises are continuing to grow and to thrive.