1. Money

The main issue small business owners face is money. If you read our post about Bank Loans for Small Businesses you would know 3 things. First it is very hard during a recession to get money from a bank. Second, the Banks only lend to businesses that don’t really need money. Third, even if they take an application for a small business loan it will take 6 weeks to get a response and that response could be and most likely will be NO.

Money to keep going during the recession can be gotten from private lenders much easier than from a bank. The application is just one page. Most private loans care more about your business income then your credit. Usually you get you money in 1-3 days.

Money for small business owners when they need it does many things. Money will keep the lights on. Money will pay employees. Money will buy inventory. Money will keep systems running. This usually is all that is needed to survive a 10 month recession. Ten months is the average length of a rescession.

2. Better Serving Customers

While other small business owners heads are spinning you could be thriving! How? Give your customers what they want and do it well. If you have some basic things in place to surprise and delight your customers with great service then they will be back for more and they will tell their friends.

What are we talking about?

1. Proper software to keep organized and automate processes
2. Text set up to keep in contact with your customers
3. Email auto response system for receipts and communication
4. Great credit card process and processing company
5. Virtual Assistants- Can help run you administrative duties for very little money

This is a few ideas to keep your customers very happy and your business on their minds.

Here’s an example. My dermatologist office has several of these in place and here is the experience from my point of view as a customer. I usually make an appointment while I’m there in the office for my next visit. As soon as I do I get a confirmation email of my appointment. I also get a thank you for choosing them as my dermatologist. Then in the few months till I go, I will get emails from them talking about other services that they provide and asking for a review of my last visit. About 2 weeks prior to my appointment I get a text and email reminder asking for my confirmation response. Even if I respond yes I still get 3 more reminders before that scheduled appointment. This is a great example of how automation makes a customer happy.

These services Bounteous can help you obtain for less cash than you think. These services do not cost an arm and a leg as you would think they do. Because my dermatologist is so Awesome I tell people about them all the time and I guarantee they have gotten more customers because I have spread the word. The same would happen for your business.

So you can see how just these 2 things will keep you business going during a recession and probably even help it to thrive!