Smaller businesses are finding new ways to boost their bottom line despite the continuing credit crunch, the FSB has claimed.

The organisation, which has over 215,000 members, claimed entrepreneurs and small business owners are proving resilient in the face of tough economic conditions, including the shrinking credit market and rising fuel costs.

Mike Cherry, financial affairs chairman at the FSB, said: "Small businesses are under severe pressure financially. Credit is drying up, big companies are taking longer to pay their bills and fuel costs are having a massive impact on the bottom lines of businesses in almost every sector.

"But small business owners are made of tough stuff and the size of their operations allows them to be far more flexible and adapt to changing market conditions quickly.

"Agile entrepreneurs are finding new ways of targeting customers, changing the focus of their output or breaking into new markets altogether. Yes the credit crunch is a worry, but it is great to see that small business owners can still find ways of making the best of a tough economic climate."