You might say Americans have lost their entrepreneurial mojo.

A recent study by the Small Business Administration showed that U.S. has dropped to THIRD PLACE from first when it comes to fostering entrepreneurial creativity. We now rank third behind Denmark and – gulp – Canada.

So, what’s up America? Have we gotten lazy? Are we broke? Have we lost our zesty “go get ‘em” attitude?

According to those who’ve spoken out about this, the answer is yes.

Entrepreneur Magazine asked its Facebook fans to weigh in on the matter, and here’s what a few had to say about what we’re doing wrong:

“Complacency.” – Luke Thomas

“The cost of insurance, licensing, small-business taxes and hiring employees is astronomical. Most mom-and-pop businesses are on a shoestring budget.” – Dawn Boyer

“Americans are not developing new technologies to sell on the global market. We need to slow down our consuming and increase production in order to export more goods.” – Alana Weaver

“By the time young executives get out of student loan debt, they are at a point in their lives where it is hard to take the risk of entrepreneurship. There are student loan forgiveness programs for teachers. Why not for entrepreneurs?” – Timothy Ericson

“Running a business is like balancing on a log in the water: Fancy footwork will keep you up, but it takes bulldog tenacity to stay there. With so much negativity, undermining and unpatriotic chin-wag, it discourages honest, hard-working people from giving it a go.” – JC Crellin

“Bureaucracy.” – Carmen Lane

Sure, we can say there is too much red tape. We can also scream at the government to get out of the way. But the truth is, in my opinion, people don’t have the money or the courage to take a business idea and run with it. The banks are simply not lending like they used to and that’s scary to a lot of people.

The good news?

America still has a few model entrepreneurs – like Mark Zuckerberg - whose stories will inspire and, not doubt, light a fire under many people in the coming years.

Until then, we’ll have to look to Denmark for inspiration.

What many small business owners don’t know is that there is free software that can help them operate smoothly – and professionally. I’m talking about email servers, HR software, word processing programs, graphic design software. Even antivirus programs.

Yup, all FREE.

Here are five open source software programs that are easy on the wallet and your operations.

1. OpenOffice

Kiss MS Office goodbye. This is your open-source alternative. It is FREE to download and use and it contains programs like word processing, spreadsheets, presentations – and more. It’s also available in many languages and works on common operating systems.

2. GnuCash

Get to know this software – fast.

GnuCash is a personal and small business accounting software that is FREE and available for GNU/Linux, BSD, Solaris, Mac OS X, and MS Windows. It’s easy to use and allows you to track bank accounts, stocks, income and expenses. Some have even called it “as quick and intuitive to use as a checkbook register.”

3. OrangeHRM

This human resource management software comes with rich features and a friendly UI.  The system is backed by professional support services as well as a fast-growing and knowledgeable worldwide open source community.

4. GIMP

This is your alternative to Adobe Photoshop.

GIMP is an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program. It has many capabilities including photo retouching, image composition and image authoring.

5. Clamwin

ClamWin is a antivirus program for Microsoft Windows 7/ Vista / XP / Me / 2000 / 98 and Windows Server 2008 and 2003. ClamWin Free Antivirus does not include an on-access real-time scanner. You need to manually scan a file in order to detect a virus or spyware – which could be a good thing for Windows users who are barraged with automatic scans and updates.

This, of course, is not an exhaustive list of free open source software for small business. There are dozens more.

The bottom line is that you’ll want to save where you can now so that you can invest in specialized computer software down the road – and really take your business to the next level.

According to those who voted at Lifehacker, there are three other business blogging platforms that serve as good stand-ins if you’re adverse to WordPress or its plain stepchild, Blogger.

As any small business or powerhouse company will tell you, blogging is an ideal way to spread knowledge and ideas. It’s also a great marketing tool. And, most importantly, it’s cheap!

If you haven’t started a blog yet – like some people I know – do it NOW for the sake of your business.

Here are three other blogging platforms – besides WordPress – that’ll get your blog up and running in no time.

1. Tumblr

Tumblr is an interesting fusion between a full-fledged blog and a Twitter feed. Known as short-form or micro blogging, the style of blogging on a Tumblr blog is focused on short and frequent posts that are normally longer (or more focused on media like images or video) than Twitter updates but not as involved and formal as a regular blog post.

It’s a style that appeals to a lot of people and the ease of setup coupled with the informality of Tumblr is a winning combination for people who aren’t looking to commit to a blog as an involved and time-consuming project.

2. SquareSpace

SquareSpace is a commercial blogging platform with packages ranging from $8-50 per month. One of the nice things about their pricing schedule is that it’s based almost entirely on volume.

Aside from a few features, mostly focused on volume and big site management, the user experience from the smallest users to the biggest power users is consistent. SquareSpace’s strongest focus is on making good blog design easy for design/coding newbies. They’ve built their system around a modular design so building a brand new blog is as easy as snapping the pieces you want together.

3. Posterous

This is the no-fuss and zero-stress way to blog. You don’t need to sign up, you don’t need to know any code, you don’t need to know how to do anything but send an email to set up your own Posterous blog and start sharing your ideas and media. Simply email post@posterous.com from any email account and Posterous will create a YourName.Posterous.com blog for you.

You can write posts and long as you want, attaching photos and media files. (You can use the site’s rich text editor to create or edit posts, but its by-email updating is what its best known for.) The only micro part about Posterous is the amount of time you’ll spend setting it up. While email-based blogging might not be for everyone, it’s impressive how much you can do through the Posterous system with a single email.

If you already have a blog set up, chances are you’re probably deep into WordPress and wouldn’t even consider giving another blogging platform a shot. But check out these others – at the very least, for peace of mind in knowing that you wouldn’t be happier using anything else.

Google Chrome

The browser everyone was super duper excited about a little more than a year ago – appears to be sitting stagnant.

Sure, its third iteration was just released – but as a devoted Chrome user, I see no improvement in its functionality.

It appears small business owners aren’t getting any sparks from Chrome either.

In fact, small business owners are being warned to steer clear of Chrome altogether.

Sure, it has speed that far surpasses the likes of competitors Firefox and Internet Explorer, but it lacks what small business owners really need: compatibility.

Certain advanced web applications (Microsoft)  simply don’t work with Chrome - and the browser’s sparse user base only compounds the problem. Web developers are not designing apps with Chrome in mind.

Nevertheless, Google has made strides in trying to maintain Chrome’s edge, adding improved Javascript performance and HTML 5 support.

Can Chrome eventually cut it in the small business world?

Perhaps, but it has a lot of catching up to do.

I’m a big proponent of Chrome because of its small user base . I can browse quicker and surf safer – but I sure get annoyed when it can’t support a simple app.

It might be fledging, but we shouldn’t lose hope in Chrome. After all, it was developed by the world’s search giant.

And think of the alternative – Internet Explorer.

I love hearing them. I love reading them. I love writing about them.

This one, though, takes the cake – but I couldn’t resist.

Enter Moonit.

This is a startup website that claims to measure your compatibility with other people – professionally, romantically, and for friendship.

It was demo’d recently at TechCrunch50, both for entertainment and business purposes.

But, here’s the rub.

Moonit uses the science of astrology to deliver it’s compatibility ratings.

The site explains:

“Moonit is a social compatibility tool that is rooted in astrological and psychological underpinnings. We use thousands of years of data from the stars to help determine whether two people are compatible from a romantic, platonic and professional perspective. Then we track your relationships to help you learn from them over time so that you never make the same mistake twice, kinda like a virtual relationship therapist. We know you could probably figure out if you’re compatible with someone after a few interactions, but we can save you some of that time so you can spend it doing fun things instead.”

Is it hokey?

Sure, but I just had to try it out.

I entered my name, email address, and birthday – along with my boss’s name and birthday. One click and the astrological results revealed that yes – we are indeed compatible.  In fact, we received a 76% compatibility rating and along with this blurb:

“Issues will always come up during the course of any long-term partnership, but the two of you have the good sense and peace of mind to find a viable solution to any problem at hand and can see it through while others might resort to finger pointing and name calling.”

Yada, yada, yada… yeah right.

Will Moonit add any value to your small business or office?

Unless you’re a new agey kind of person – probably not.

This is a site that’s fun to use once and move on.

Although, I have to say it was spot on about most of the people in my life – enemies included.

We live in an app-crazed, social networking world folks.

I thought I had heard it all last week when the “drunk dial” app was unveiled for the Apple iPhone. Now comes word of a yet another new app –  one that could really help small businesses.

Introducing “Salesforce CRM for Twitter.”

When people talk about you and your business – Salesforce let’s you know.

Here’s how is works:

Salesforce plugs into the Twitter API, and customer care reps can start Twitter searches from within Salesforce’s service, bypassing search.twitter.com. If a company discovers someone tweeting about them (good or bad), a button click can import the entire Twitter thread into Salesforce’s software. From there the Twitter user is notified via software, giving them the precious opportunity to respond to the original Tweet.

This is a brilliant idea, given that Twitter users can’t possibly monitor what is being said about them in real time and respond to people’s questions. Twitter is just too large now. Too powerful.

Thankfully, Salesforce can help business owners sleep at night by giving them the tool they need to track complaints – and compliments.

This is beyond better customer care. This is could very well be the life jacket that saves many of our small businesses.

Twitter.

What would businesses do without it?

While various cost-cutting measures have hurt some business-customer relationships – CRM applications have taken some of the edge off in at least a portion of the business sector.

Small businesses have embraced these applications and, for some, they’ve become their bread-and-butter.

Stefania Viscusi of TMCNet.com writes that CRMs are the key to success simply because they can leverage overall benefits of better customer relations. CRM applications, like Highrise and Kapture, can also help sales professionals target potential customers, and help them keep track of their interactions with customers.

Bottomline: CRMs save time. They save money. And, even better – their user-friendly interfaces make data entry a breeze. 

Customers want loyalty, quality and personalized service.

With CRMs, small businesses can give them that.

Seriously, they’re all that – and a bag of chips.

Some banks – Fortune 500’s mind you – are embracing the world of social networking to finally gain insight into the financial needs of small business owners.

Banks like Bank of America, Capital One, and Visa, Inc are barrowing a page from Facebook to really get at the heart of their small business customers.

B of A – a leader in the banking world of social networking – launched its Small Business Online Community web site in October ‘07.

There’s no advertising – no user fee – just a good old fashion forum on all things small business finance. Kudos to B of A for not trying to generate revenue here.

While business owners won’t find a “status update” feature, the site does give them a place to get tips and feedback from their counterparts.

Some of the more popular topics include: how to start a home-based business, how to convert online traffic to sales, and how to develop successful marketing plans.

The other guys are using their social networks a bit differently.

Instead of just one site, Capitol One has created a network of sites as a way to reach more small business owners online.

Visa, Inc has even gone so far as to set up a Facebook business network. And get this – as part of the effort, Visa promised to give away $2M of Facebook advertising to small-business owners. 

I checked the Visa Business Network this morning. It has nearly 23,000 active monthly members – no telling, though, which of them won the $2M in advertising.

It seems to me some of these banks may be grasping at straws here.

You would have thought they had this small business insight already –  right?

Banks – I offer you this one piece of advice:

Loosen up the purse strings and start lending again.  Small business owners – and the economy – will thank you for it later.

There are too many sites. Too many profiles. Too many friends, followers, and contacts.

In the beginning, MySpace and Facebook were the end of the social media line. Not anymore.

Enter LinkedIn and Twitter.

Both are in a head-to-head fight over popularity and validation, especially in the world of small business.

True both can help generate links, forge relationships, and generate direct sales. But, like in any race, there is only one victor – and this case, I believe it will be Twitter.

Here’s why.

Twitter. It’s all the rage lately. It offers the unique ability to connect with a ton of people you normally wouldn’t have access too – and it all begins with a simple one line update, or tweet.

Here’s a real life example.

A recent Wall Street Journal article featured a woman named Alexa Scordato. When Alexa was looking for a job she didn’t email her LinkedIn contacts about possible openings. Instead, she sent a tweet via Twitter.

Her brief message: “Hey there! Looking for a Social Media job up in Boston. Are you guys doing any entry level hires?”

Within a week, according to WSJ, Alexa had an interview. Within two weeks, she had a job.

Twitter also has the potential to drive some serious traffic to your site. Simply enter the URL into your tweet and your site is golden.

Now Linkedln, on the other hand, is whole different ball game. The site is all about e-mail invitations, connections, and building a professional network.  You build your profile, then invite people (or friends) to join your network. While LinkedIn does have the one line update feature- like those found on Twitter and Facebook – it’s not the driving feature on the site. In my opinion, you really have to know LinkedIn to use it to your advantage. Think of it as a meet and greet arena; users must set up a profile and start introducing themselves around.

Seems to me Twitter can maximize your brand with minimal effort. For LinkedIn users, well, that could take a while.

Go ahead. Give a tweet on Twitter – and see where the next big thing in social media will take you.

Sorry LinkedIn.