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President Barack Obama’s first 100 days in office have passed with deserved fanfare. It’s clear that America has turned a corner, and both nationally and internationally, President Obama has steadied the ship to a certain extent. The signs that the economy has emerged from its deepest doldrums will only encourage the President as he goes forward in his term.

But there’s one sector that’s decidedly uncertain about President Obama’s performance, and that’s the small business world. While Obama’s first 100 days will be defined by his bailouts to Wall Street and his aid tp the automotive industry, his commitment to the small business and franchise sector has been somewhat less voluble. A story on the Wall Street Journal’s Independent Street blog profiles the tepid reaction among many voices in the small business sector towards the new prez.

“Unfortunately, small business owners largely believe that Washington just keeps cranking out more ways to abscond their limited time, capital and resources,” says Karen Kerrigan, executive director of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council, a lobby group, in a news release. “We hope that in the next 100 days and beyond, President Obama will turn to entrepreneurs for ideas that will reduce their government-imposed costs and burdens, solutions that will help them maintain and grow their workforce, and options for providing affordable health coverage.”

The story posits that some of the mixed reaction to President Obama in small business circles is political  - “many business advocacy groups tend to lean Republican”, Kelly Spors writes. And healthcare continues to be a contentious issue. But this blog tries to go beyond politics. We have seen time and time again how franchises and small businesses can reignite the economy. The macro signs show that we have endured the worst of the recession, but America will not return to its past economic glory until entrepreneurs get the necessary capital they need to get local economies – the real economy – properly functioning again.

President Obama arrived in Washington championing a mantra of change. For small business owners, it seems, the new president has not entirely delivered, and key tests, especially regarding health care, loom large.

What are your feelings about the next 100 days and beyond?

Not many entrepreneurs feel comfortable discussing the “F” word: failure. Especially at these difficult economic times, failure in business is seen by some as taboo. Yet, there is a growing consensus among business leaders that every risk brings some reward, even if profit is not the most immediate one.

Writing on Blue Mau-Mau recently, Dr Steven Stralser, author and professor of entrepreneurship, offered small-business owners and prospective franchisees some interesting advice about the path to business success.

What we can take from successes stories like Thomas Edison is that the journey to success is a journey with many milestones–some are positive and productive and some are setbacks, mistakes and failure–it is not what we lose from the setbacks, rather what we have learned, and apply, to make the future a success.

It’s a thought worth meditating on. As we’re sensing a hint of life on the economic markets, now might be the time to consider that franchise investment. The conservative  bet is to wait a few months and judge the markets evolving response to the stimulus plan. But for those entrepreneurs looking to learn — and to profit— a bit of risk may pay off in the long-run in all kinds of ways.

It’s no surprise that home-based franchises are one of the most popular franchise investments. They offer new franchisees an excellent and affordable start-up with minimal risk and the option of maintaining other work. With the recession, we’ve witnessed real growth in this sector, as entrepreneurs have been turning to business opportunities with lower overhead and higher yield.

But what does a home-based franchisee need to know to be successful?

James Stephenson has just written the Ultimate Home Based Business Handbook. It’s an deeply-knowledgeable book that tells entrepreneurs everything they’ll need to know for getting their home-based franchise off the ground. We hope to be reviewing the book in the near future, but in the mean time, here’s a brief excerpt from the Home Business Musts section.

Do what you enjoy.
What you get out of your business in the form of personal satisfaction, financial gain, stability and enjoyment will be the sum of what you put into your business. So if you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, in all likelihood it’s safe to assume that will be reflected in the success of your business–or subsequent lack of success. In fact, if you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, chances are you won’t succeed.

Take what you do seriously.
You cannot expect to be effective and successful in business unless you truly believe in your business and in the goods and services that you sell. Far too many home business owners fail to take their own businesses seriously enough, getting easily sidetracked and not staying motivated and keeping their noses to the grindstone. They also fall prey to naysayers who don’t take them seriously because they don’t work from an office building, office park, storefront, or factory. Little do these skeptics, who rain on the home business owner’s parade, know is that the number of people working from home, and making very good annual incomes, has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years.

There’s 23 other tips here.

Also, if you’d like to buy the book, which is published by Entrepreneur Press, follow this link.

It’s important from time to time get fresh perspectives on the franchising world. In fact, one of the reasons that franchising is such an interesting field is that people can have, say, 10-20 years of experience in sales or the military, before switching tracks and starting a franchise. Yet their past experience will always stand to them. Which brings us to the story of Ben Jarratt.

Jarratt was by, all accounts, a successful man in the media world. Armed with a journalism degree, Jarratt found himself writing for the Washington Post, before taking a job in the White House press office during Ronald Reagan’s presidency. His biggest moment was reading a statement to the worldwide media that the US supported a ‘peaceful transition’ of power in the Philippines.

When George Herbert Walker Bush became president, Jarratt became press secretary to the administrator of the Small Business Administration. Working up-close and personal with a number of franchise owners gave Jarratt an idea: perhaps a second career awaited him in franchising.

The D.C. area was a difficult market for fast food operators, because the real estate was expensive - which meant the territory was wide open. Jarratt interviewed with Burger King, liked the concept and the challenge. He partnered with a Burger King franchisee out of California who invested in his company. He opened 10 restaurants in seven years - from 1993 to 2000 - all in the D.C. metropolitan area. “We hit a good growth period, just when we needed to grow,” he says.

Jarrett’s life in franchising is the cover story in the latest edition of Franchising Times. He even admits franchising is harder than working on Capitol Hill:

Much of what Jarratt learned on Capitol Hill applies to running a business. While his customers at the White House were journalists, his customers now are consumers. “Dealing with customers is more difficult than the White House press,” he says. “The press you know will come back (they need your news), but you have to keep customers coming back.”

There are other fascinating tidbits on franchising in the story, especially on the politics of franchising. We’ve always felt that franchising offers an excellent second career, and as Ben Jarratt illustrates, even a life in politics can provide valuable experience before transferring to the franchise world.

Watch this week’s installment of Franchise Update to keep in touch with the latest news from the franchise community.

Download Franchise Update: 04/27/09, or view in the player below
In this week’s installment, Franchise Direct’s Lillie Burroughs reports on the publication of Franchise Direct’s exclusive report on the coffee franchise industry. Lillie also reports on Small Business expert Rieva Lesonsky, CEO of GrowBiz Media, who has spoken about how she believes that the economic recession will encourage individuals to start their own businesses. Franchise Direct is dedicated to providing quality information on franchise opportunities and also franchise advice on investing in a franchise opportunity. Keep Watching!