Entrepreneurs and small businesses should be able to look forward to a better year in 2010 as they start to put the economic downturn behind them.

That is the view of Michelle Khaldun, general manager of the Bermuda Small Business Development Corporation (BSBDC), who is cautiously optimistic about the future for traders based on the number of people seeking advice on starting a new business in the past four months and the restructuring or reinvention of existing businesses.

Ms Khaldun said she had also seen an increase in the amount of loan guarantee requests between September and December 2009, giving further reason to be positive for the small business outlook.

She said her hopes for the year ahead were that small business owners would continue to sharpen up their practices, including marketing more smartly, devising realistic cash flows and establishing sound credit policies, as well as coming up with a plan to create and identify new opportunities, forming alliances, streamlining operations and maximising employee productivity.