The latest entry in the great debate over how the quickening credit crunch will affect small businesses comes from the Wall Street Journal, which sounds a bearish note, arguing that particularly small businesses with anything other than wonderful credit histories--a category that, crucially, also excludes start-ups--are going to have a mighty hard time borrowing money over the next several months. (By the way, nice redesign, WSJ.)

A couple of other predictions from the piece:
-Small businesses will be forced to delay plans for growth.
-Little-used credit unions and community banks will be increasingly major players in small-business financing.
-Small businesses will approach nonbank lenders, frequenty requiring them to pledge assets as collateral.

The bulk of this analysis is indisputable. Yet it overlooks the point Michael Taylor made yesterday on BizBox: namely, that small businesses that weren't operating with too much debt to begin with--which is more small businesses than you may think, given how hard it is for small businesses to borrow large amounts of money even during times when credit isn't scarce--won't need to worry about these new credit problems, which comparatively will give them a leg up on every company that does. To expand on Mike's point, in the land of scarce credit, cash is king.

That said, the one place where the article really does hit the mark might be in terms of its prediction that big purchases, planned expansions, and the like will be delayed until the credit market firms up a bit. With Wall Street caving in, and with the end not even in sight, the wisest course of action may be to get your balance sheet in order, put your money into as secure assets as you can, and, of course, keep on doing business.