What are you doing to fight the economic downturn? Plenty of small businesses are coming up with innovative ideas that promote their companies even as they help others survive and grow.

New York-based Axxess Business Consulting is discounting its business plan services, so companies looking to get funded have a viable plan to present to potential lenders and investors. Entrepreneurs who trade in their existing business plans for a new plan prepared by the Axxess consulting team will get a 25 percent discount, founder and CEO Rosalind Resnick says.

"The economy has changed dramatically since last fall, and entrepreneurs need to update their business plans to reflect today's market realities if they hope to get funded," Resnick says. She added, "Many of our clients have been successful in raising money recently, but only because they've been able to demonstrate to lenders and investors that their companies have what it takes to grow despite the recession."

San Francisco entrepreneur Victor Cheng is giving away 1 million copies of his book, The Recession-Proof Business: Lessons from the Greatest Recession Success Stories of All Time to help small business owners cope with the economic crisis.

"According to the Small Business Administration, small business owners create seven out of 10 new jobs in this country. It's crazy for [President] Obama to be giving the big guys all the money and not doing more to help the little guys," Cheng says.

"Frustrated with President Obama, I decided to take things into my own hands," Cheng says, "by giving away 1 million digital copies of my book to help ensure that other small businesses survive and even prosper during this economic crisis."

Biz2Credit has launched a service to help small business owners in the tri-state area locate and access business loans and information.

"Even in a good economy small business owners lack the resources to stay up-to-date on and compare their business loan options," says Ramit Arora, president of Biz2Credit. "The recession has added volatility in the commercial loan market, and businesses don't know how to access capital. We're bridging that knowledge gap."

The Biz2Credit system analyzes the creditworthiness and capital structure of a business and matches it to available business credit products. Small businesses can register for free on Biz2Credit.com to receive business loan options and contact lenders.

Connected-Women.com is taking the battle into the global arena, offering a 12-part teleseminar series called Women Supporting Women--Turning Crisis into Opportunity. Proceeds from the seminars will provide funding for women entrepreneurs in Iceland, which is among the countries hardest hit by the global recession. "About 70 percent of businesses in Iceland are technically bankrupt," Magnusdottir says.

On a note that's a little more upbeat, Magic Beans, a Boston-based retailer of toys and baby gear, is celebrating its fifth birthday by holding daily giveaways on its website throughout the month of July.

"We have been so fortunate to have amazing customers and vendors supporting us over the past five years, and we are ecstatic that this monumental giveaway enables us to salute both groups of people," Magic Beans' co-founder Sheri Gurock says. To enter, visit mbeans.com. The daily giveaway will be announced each day on the company's blog and website, as well as on Twitter and Facebook.