By Robert Bellenir

While the U.S. economy has improved throughout 2013 so far, these are still challenging times for small businesses in most industries. Unfortunately, 2014 promises to be just as challenging for small business owners. There remain varied economic obstacles for small businesses as we head into the last quarter of 2013. These obstacles can vary depending on the type of business and other factors.

The overall conclusion is that economic conditions in the U.S. continue to ham­per small business growth and prosper­ity. In 2014, small business owners will contend with many of the same issues that discouraged entrepreneurship and restrained growth for most small businesses.

An economic report released in late this summer indicated that the economy had created 166,000 new jobs in July, but economic growth for small businesses in general remained sluggish.

So the question remains: what does the last quarter of 2013 and 2014 have in store for small businesses? Here are some points to ponder as a small business owner looking for guidance moving forward into 2014.

Small businesses aren’t likely to get much encouragement from the economy. It’s expected to grow by no more than 3% in 2014, according to the Federal Reserve. That’s a moderate pace, better than the 2.2% that the economy grew during the first three quarters of 2013, but it’s also far from robust.

Congress is still maneuvering around the fiscal cliff, the combination of billions of dollars in tax increases and budget cuts. Even if Congress reaches some type of agreement, small business owners won’t have the certainty they need moving into 2014. Economic uncertainly usually results in delayed decision making on capital expendi­tures no matter the size of the business.

Health care (or Obamacare as it is called) has been another source of uncertainty for small business owners. Small businesses will continue to try to determine how the new health care law will affect them.

Many small business owners will have to devote new resources in order to understand and administer the law or hire someone to help them do it. Under the law, companies with 50 or more employees will be required to provide affordable health care insurance for their employees starting Jan. 1, 2014. For some owners who have close to 50 work­ers, they may decide to not hire more workers in order to remain outside the law’s jurisdiction.

Small businesses need money to grow. Unfortunately, the small business lending climate does not look to be a whole lot better in 2014. Small business owners who are uneasy about the economy, taxes and health care aren’t expected to significantly increase their borrowing, especially as many have been paying down debt since the last recession. But even those who are ready to borrow are expected to find it’s still hard to get a loan. Bankers are unlikely to be more liberal in their lending poli­cies without outside influence or legisla­tion. The problem isn’t just that banks are cautious about small business loans.

James Schrager, a professor of entrepre­neurship at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, notes that home equity loans, a traditional source of money for people starting or expand­ing a business, remain difficult to get, the result of the collapse in the mort­gage market in 2008 and 2009.

There may be help in a form legislation introduced in Congress this year to allow credit unions to make more loans to small businesses. That bill would more than double the amount of total assets that credit unions can use to lend to small businesses to 27.5%.

Another interesting trend that is expected to gain traction in 2014 is onshoring (sort of the opposite of outsourcing when manufacturing that had been done overseas is now taking place back in the U.S.).

In fact, manufacturing in the U.S. has become more attractive than it has been in the past 20 years as China becomes more of a middle-class country, pay­ing middle-class wages, and because fuel costs remain high, which has made transporting goods more expensive.

Lastly, small companies that want to hire new workers are finding it difficult to find qualified, skilled workers that fit within their budgets. Many new manu­facturing jobs require high-tech skills. Because of the changing technology required by many of today’s start-ups and small businesses, owners are strug­gling to find qualified workers since they must compete against the larger corporations in terms of talent and pay packages.

However, the workforce is changing and becoming more highly-skilled in these areas of demand. But training takes time and the demand for jobs may continue to outstrip the supply of qualified workers moving into 2014.

As the economy continues to improve into 2014, small business owners are going to have to be creative in order to grow their operations and bottom lines in the face of the numerous ongoing economic challenges.

The Army Navy surplus business has always been resilient despite economic conditions. A paradox of the industry is that generally during economic downturns and national or regional emergencies, the consumer tends to be drawn to the Army Navy store because they represent value, security and stability.

Regardless of what the economic forecast has in store, the industry will continue to thrive.

For more information, see www.forbes.com and Steve Strauss: Small Business Economic Report Card at www.bizengine.com.

Robert Bellinir is an entrepreneur, university instructor, business counselor and attorney. He is the co-founder of Entrepreneur Fuel.com, a small business consulting firm focusing on helping small businesses succeed. Email robert@entrepreneurfuel.com or call (517) 376-8135 for inquiries.