Small Business Survival Tips for a Recession

I will be providing you with some small business survival tips for the current recession. We have been in business for 9 years now. Our business had been growing at a fairly steady pace until March 2009, and since then it has started to lose a little steam. We had an excellent Christmas 2008, and we are hoping that Christmas 2009 will help us get over this little recessionary hump.

1. Customers

One of the keys to helping a small business during an economic recession is to find new customers, and this will really test your marketing skills. We have resorted to major discounting. This is a buyer's market. We have been busy discounting since March Customers are looking for deals, and one of the small business tips for survival during this economic recession, is that you will have to provide the customer with what they want. Also consider selling to the International market. The International market opens up a whole new market for the small business. We have sold as much as 40% of our merchandise around the world.

2. Credit Cards and Loans

This can be depressing. One of the small business tips for a recession is to talk to your credit card companies and loan institutions about getting a better rate than what you are receiving now. Can you transfer a higher interest balance to a card with a lower interest? Or can you get a bank loan to cover a credit card?

While we are able to pay down our over-draft, we been having a difficult time since March dealing with the credit card debt. We use our credit cards during the year to acquire new merchandise or to buy supplies, and then we pay most of it off after the Christmas rush. This is one of the business areas that you will need some address over the next few months.

3. Keep Advertising.

One of the most important small business tips for the economic recession is that you should increase your advertising. It is imperative that you continue with the spirit of competition. Advertising for many small businesses is one of the first business expenses to go. It should actually increase. It gives you a competitive edge. You are still in your customer's mind, when everybody else has disappeared

4. Look for deals for business supplies.

You are now the buyer, and believe me you will find a lot of excellent deals. We used to use one source for many of our shipping supplies, but now we use a variety of sources. We do not have the size to negotiate a deal with any supply source, so we are looking for deals all over the place. My girlfriend is a great coupon clipper. She has managed to obtain printing paper (500 sheets) for .50 a pack, free pens, padded envelopes for .05, etc. C'S, Walgreens, Staples, etc, all have great deals if you shop around and use coupons. I have never looked at coupons as a viable source of "working capital" until this year. We can now use more of our real working capital to purchase product or pay down some of our credit.

I hope that these small business tips for a recession are of help to you. Look for ways to cut costs and increase your advertising budget are the most important aspects of doing business during this economic recession.