5 Things to do with your small business to survive the recession

NetworkSolutions Blog

January 12, 2009 :: Steve Fisher

... Like I have said previously, now IS a good time to do great things for the future.

I have read tons of advice around the web and I have come up with five things that have worked for me in past economic downturns.

1.) Manage Your Cash Flow. ... Crack open your accounting software and really look back at your previous year and how your cash went in and out. ... You need to prepare for things to be slower in the good periods and really slow in the normally slow periods. It is harder to get business lines of credit these days if you need to bridge for 60-90 days. ... Having a good cash position makes you look good to a bank and having confidence you can pay it back will keep you going through this period.

2.) Launch new products or services. Now is the perfect time to test the market for new ideas. ... Use the time to test out what is working and what doesn’t. This will help you diversify your products, services or industries ... Not only that but you will have launched something that has value during a tough time which means selling during good times will be super easy.

3.) Avoid death by frivolous discretionary spending. ... In good times ... most people don’t really look hard at expenses because they are profitable and can afford it in the name of “doing business”. It is time [to] seriously evaluate all expenses and more effective use of free services and alternatives to accomplish the same things you did before.

4.) Take customer service to a new level. ... Love them 10X more than you ever have before. ... Take nothing for granted. Make sure your pricing is competitive, your service is exceptional and your attitude reflects how much you value their business.

Also, open up that Rolodex and call dormant customers and see what you can do to bring them back. ... Resurrecting a past customer is less expensive than finding and breaking in a new one. ... Ask your customers for referrals.

5.) What ever else you do, don’t stop marketing. ... You should never stop marketing. ... Low cost but effective things you can do to market and have conversations with people are to attend networking functions, spruce up your Web site and leverage social media effectively. You can also go the traditional route by sending out post cards or put out a new sign in front of your office if that applies to you.

What’s in your brain?

So do you have any things you are doing with your business to ride out this challenging economic period? Please share in the comments below.