Surviving the Recession: How to Run a Small Business During a Recession

You may be feeling nervous about the economy, but running your small business shouldn’t be one of those things. After all, running a small business is all about keeping things afloat and making ends meet. If you can keep it small, that is. Keeping things simple will help you keep sane while the world seems to be against you.

So how do you run a small business when the world is conspiring against you?

Here are some tips on surviving the recession:

Be flexible and adaptable

During good economic times, you have to be flexible and adaptable. Keep an eye on the competition, learn from your competitors, and be willing to change with the times. During times of economic hardship, you have to be flexible and adaptable. You have to change your business model to fit the current situation. For example, during the Great Depression, businesses that sold luxury items had to change their businesses to sell more affordable items such as soap, toothpaste, and canned food. If a customer cannot afford the high-end items you are selling, find a way to fit them with what they can afford. In addition, make sure that your employees are flexible and adaptable, as they will be the ones on the front lines of your business.

Stay in touch with your employees

Employees are an extension of your family, so keep in touch with them. If you can’t be there in person, at least keep up with your employees’ lives by sending them texts and emails. If you see an opportunity to help an employee out, take the time to do so. Whether it be paying off their bills, giving them a free vacation day, or just letting them know that you care, employees will appreciate those small things.

If you have to, hire more people

Hiring more employees will cause your overhead to increase, but if you have to, it is better than closing up shop. You should hire people slowly and be sure that they are a good fit for your business. Hire people who have experience in your industry. It is also important to make sure that your employees are happy with their job. Be sure to treat your employees with respect, and make sure that they are making enough money to support themselves and their families. If your employees are happy, they will be more likely to stay with your business and serve as brand ambassadors. A happy employee is an active employee.

Don’t forget advertising your core products and services

Don't stop your advertising and marketing efforts. Putting a complete stop to SEO and social media would put a serious impact on your traffic. If you are not currently working an SEO campaign, now is the time to put that in place. SEO helps Google index what people are searching for. Even small business need SEO. Devote a percentage of your marketing and advertising budget to SEO. If your competition  is showing up ahead of you in search, they are probably working SEO for their business. Learn more about SEO here, and make sure to watch our video.

During a recession, your core products and services may be the only thing making money in your business. Find ways to promote your core products and services and try to make some extra money on the side. During a recession, people will try to save money all over the place, so you might be able to make some extra money selling the extra products and services you have laying around that nobody is using.

Network, network, network!

During a recession, networking is more important than ever. People who are in your industry are probably going through the same thing that you are. Get to know them, find out what their goals are, and see if there is any way that you can help each other out. Network with other businesses in your industry and find ways to collaborate on projects. This can be as simple as sharing marketing techniques or shipping products and services together.

Conclusion

Running a small business during a recession is tough, but it isn’t impossible. If you want to survive this tough economic time, you have to be flexible, adaptable, and you have to keep your head down and focus on your core products and services. If you do these things, you will be able to keep your business afloat and make it through the recession. Now that we’ve survived the recession, let’s keep our heads down and make some money.

Tommy House Studios has the experience, team and tools to help small business market their business smartly and efficiently. Contact us today to see how we can help you!