Pay Attention to What Is and Isn't Working

• Don't mimic what the major corporations are doing. It’s not only have they exhibited wildly flawed practices; as a small business owner, you have much more wiggle room in the way you run your operation. Your contracts are probably not as inflexible, and your ability to pick and choose merchandise means that you can shorten your reaction time.
• Keeping your head during these times, means thinking on your feet and adapting to circumstances as they present themselves. Really, you need to stare at yourself in the mirror and identify exactly what it is that you do or have that can be sacrificed, and what can't. Act accordingly.
• Pay close attention to the customers that you currently have, as your small business survival may depend on it. It will be much harder to find new customers than keep the existing ones.

Knowing How and When to Streamline Your Business

• Sadly, employees that under-perform or have excessively demanding pay pretensions need to be taken out of the picture—or, at least cut down a size and given a serious lecture on just how things will be in these difficult times.
• If you're a retailer, check your data: stop buying junk that's not selling. Remember, in hard times, people indulge less and prefer to put their precious dollars in products that actually serve a purpose, or at least don't scream “ostentatious” at the merest glance.
• Put some effort into researching how to optimize your supply chain, and consider looking abroad for alternate sources if your local provider has dried up. Though it may seem a bit harsh, globalization is not going to be stopped, and you'd be wise to embrace this trend all the sooner. Though the rules of the market seem to be going through some redefinition, the cheaper option between two comparable products will always be the winner.
• It is important to continue marketing and advertising in order to keep business alive during a recession. Meticulously look at your marketing budget to ensure that the money is being spent in the most effective way, and cut costs where possible.

Making Your Business Stand Out in the Crowd

• Crises like the current one generally mark the end of one era, and the beginning of another: make sure your business pertains to the latter, not the former.
• Marketing is a good case in point here: companies have tended to empty (not so) small fortunes into redundant, wasteful marketing strategies that hew to ancient advertising principles, all the while forsaking potentially dynamite fields like the net and strategic alliances. Don't be a member of that crowd! Exploit the web, and discover what business alliances you can develop—either at a minimal cost or, yes, even for free—that will produce a symbiotic relationship in your favor.
• Community outreach programs can work like a charm in this regard: social solidarity tends to increase in times of recession, so using this venue to get your name out will be that much more effective.
• Consider making the investment in sponsoring a community group during hard times will win you an enormous debt of gratitude from the community, and will be the equivalent of a giant seal of approval on your brand name.
• If you have not done so already, offer discounts or special deals to first time customers, but only if it is financially viable.
• Take advantage of dwindling or recently closed nearby businesses, and look to acquire their customers and/or talented employees.

Take the Blows Standing Up

• Don't let a few setbacks spell doom for your small business
• Talk to other small business owners in your field, and consider setting up a cooperative to wade through the worst of the downturn; though in the future you may sever these bonds, they could prove the difference between life and death for your business.
• If you are having cash flow problems, discuss with your providers ways to modify payment schedules—this is not a great time to commit yourself to 100% up front payments for all your purchases. Master the art of quid pro quo.

Final Word