How To Survive The Credit Crunch

With all the talk of the credit crunch and recession in the news, it's easy to start to feel nervous about the future. Here are a few tips to make sure your business can ride out any rough waves.

1. Watch your cash closely

Make cash and cashflow the priority in all your deals. You might be about to win the deal of your lifetime but if it means committing serious cash and relying on income streams from the future you may not be around to enjoy it. Think about how you maximise cash in, and minimise cash out in everything you do.

2. Create reliable cashflow forecasts.

Make sure you know if things are going to get tough in the next few months so that you can prepare for them.

3. Look at where you're spending and consider the value.

Many companies gather a lot of little recurring costs and expenses along the way and they're forgotten about. You can save a lot just by reviewing where your cash is going in the business.

4. Look closely at your working capital.

In tough times, your customers will try and stretch out their payment terms and your suppliers will push for early payment. Keep to the contract terms and try and negotiate for improvements.

5. Credit check your customers.

You don't want to be caught out by a customer going bust while still owing you a chunk of money. Keep close tabs on any poor payers.

6. Review your marketing.

Are you still using marketing messages designed for a fast growth boom market? Perhaps you need to reconsider the current economic climate and take a leaf out of the recent M&S "a meal for 2 for under £10" campaign.

7. Watch your fixed costs.

The hardest thing in a recession is to manage your unavoidable fixed costs. The longer you're tied in, the less flexibility you have. Look at where you can improve flexibility in your expenditure.

8. Watch out for fraud.

With rising fuel and living costs the temptation for staff to take a little extra increases. It certainly won't be everyone but internal fraud is still one of the most common factors impacting business. You need to have strong controls and robust procedures to prevent losses.

9. Broaden your customer base.

With the potential for companies to go under or reduce their spending, reliance on one or two large customers could be fatal for you if one of them fails or cuts back their purchases.

10. Look at your financing.

As the market contracts, you need to be careful about breaching your banking covenants or finding that the facilities you were relying upon are no longer there. You cannot wait until you need the money to arrange new facilities and you must make sure that you have a Plan B in the event that your current lines of credit are squeezed.

It's not the first time things have been rough in the economy and it won't be the last. There are many companies that thrive and survive in these kinds of markets whilst others go to the wall, so just make sure you're in the right crowd by following these tips.