The troubled economy is a double-edged sword for franchisors. On the one hand, many people who have lost their jobs or who simply want more control over their financial future are thinking about business ownership. On the other hand, many might feel that starting a business is more risky now than ever, and even those who are brave enough to take the plunge are having trouble getting the financing they need.

But instead of sitting back and waiting for things to get better, many franchisors are actively seeking out new franchisees and finding creative ways to help them get started. Here's a rundown of what a few franchisors are doing to encourage and aid prospective franchisees:

"What do you need MOST right now to stimulate your business?" This was last week's featured question on Entrepreneur Connect, and we got a lot of good responses. Confidence and certainty, some said. Sales and easier access to financing, said others. Clearly, things aren't right yet, but no one sounded defeated.

This might be because entrepreneurs who have made it through the low point earlier this year have come out stronger. They're "battle-tested," to use a great adjective I recently heard used to describe small business owners.

The big news at Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference, as expected, was the unveiling of a new iPhone. This one's called the 3G S and, among its more advanced features, it has the ability to record video.

The 3G S is also said to be twice as fast for data as the current 3G model, which Apple is putting on sale for as low as $99. The 3G S will start at $199 for a 16-gigabyte model. It comes with a three-megapixel camera. And new software will allow users to plug into MMS technology that allows the sending of pictures via text message.

The buzz at Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference in San Francisco continues to be apps, apps and more apps - for the iPhone of course. Those little programs that do everything from find friends to provide a virtual mug of beer are the hottest topic at the confab.

The New York Times is live-blogging the event while the Los Angeles Times is checking in with updates via Twitter. While there is much speculation about a possible new hardware version of the iPhone, so far the big news is about new apps that, for example, will allow iPhone users to get turn-by-turn map directions from TomTom.

The Milken Institute, nonpartisan think tank based in Santa Monica, Calif., recently unveiled its annual list of top metropolitan areas for "high-tech industry." California dominated the list, with the Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County and San Francisco making the top 10.

"Silicon Valley's unique ecosystem of collaborating agents has an unmatched ability to spawn entrepreneurial firms that create new products, services, and even entire industries,
while sustaining major high-tech anchor firms that remain at the leading edge of innovation in their industries," states the Milken report (PDF). The top 10:

In the current economic climate, it seems like a no-brainer for quick-service restaurant franchises to court customers with dollar menus and lower prices. But according to a SmartMoney.com article, these deals may be doing franchisees more harm than good.

Normally, special deals on select menu items pay off because customers will buy high-markup add-ons like drinks and fries. Lately, though, penny-pinching consumers are purchasing just the discounted items, leaving franchisees with little profit.

Office Depot launched its "Small Business Self-Bailout Plan" today. As part of the program, the office supplies and services provider created the Survival of the Smartest website for business owners who need support during "The Great Recession."

Some reasons to check it out:

• Articles and columns from Steve Strauss, a renowned small-business expert and author.
• Weekly videos featuring products and services designed for small business.
• A free resource center with news and information.
• Smart tips and strategies for everything from greening your office to computer networking.

Congressman Hank Johnson, a Georgia Democrat, is proposing new legislation that he says will close loopholes that allow federal contracts intended for small business to go to large corporations.

H.R. 2568 would update the definition of a small business in the Small Business Act by barring  publicly traded companies. It would also allow individuals to file complaints regarding small-business-focused federal contracts.

For entrepreneurs, "Rumplestiltskin" probably ranks low on the list of required reading, but one lesson should come through loud and clear: names are serious business. In fact, coming up with the right name is probably the single-most important branding concern for a business, says Jay Jurisich, creative director of San Francisco-based naming and branding agency Igor. He is also the founder of WordLab, a website that offers free naming resources and discussion forums.

According to Jurisich, a good name demonstrates your brand and your values. A bad name forces you to resort to explaining and advertising. In the Igor Naming Guide, Jurisich breaks down naming pros and cons in four broad categories, showing why some are powerful and others are just plain yawn-inducing.

There are lots of reasons to love franchises. They give people the chance to own a business, they create jobs, and they produce many of the goods and services that we use every day. And now there's one more reason to love them: A franchise could save your favorite TV show.

That's what happened last week, as NBC announced that it would bring back the struggling but beloved action-comedy series Chuck-- with a little help from franchise heavyweight Subway.

Discover Small Business Watch's monthly survey of small business owners finds that, after a few months of rising expectations, their economic confidence is facing a dimmer reality.

Cash-flow concerns and lower business development spending contributed to a 10-point drop in the Discover Small Business Watch index, which fell to 78.1 for the month of May.

You remember that TV theme song from the 80's, "You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have, the facts of... franchising"?

Okay, so maybe that's not exactly how it went. But it does ring true. One of the big selling points of joining a franchise is that you get to reap the benefits of a well-known brand with a built-in reputation. Unfortunately, the corollary to that is that if something happens to hurt that reputation--fairly or not--you reap the damages, too.

Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy (D-R.I.) today introduced a bill that would allow small business owners to embark on a onetime deferral of income taxes in order to reinvest in their enterprises.

The Generating Reinvestment Opportunities With (GROW) America's Small Businesses Act of 2009 would allow the deferral to go unpaid for up to two years, with taxes due optionally spread out over installments if needed. The representative's office described the proposal as "interest-free, short-term loans" that "would strengthen small businesses at a minimal cost to the federal government."

Things are looking up for small-business owners. This week, they are getting well-deserved recognition, and the Small Business Administration has announced a new emergency loan program to help qualifying businesses pay down existing debt.

In a speech Monday, SBA head Karen Mills announced that the agency would back loans of up to $35,000 administered through the America's Recovery Capital (ARC) program, which was authorized in February'sAmerican Recovery and Reinvestment Act (stimulus bill). The program's purpose is to assist businesses with good track records facing "immediate financial hardship." Business owners would have five years to repay the loan, with the first payment not due for 12 months.

We are in the midst of National Small Business Week. More than 100 small-business owners from across the country are now convening at the Small Business Administration's National Small Business Week conference in Washington, D.C.
 
The three-day event is staged at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, where entrepreneurs are being honored for their accomplishments as the nation's leading small businesses.  

Apparently, this week also means legislators on Capitol Hill are turning their attention toward the importance of entrepreneurship in rebuilding our sagging economy.