Concentrate on your basic core business. Recognise what that level of business was, may have become, and now is, and build your costs around that and nothing else. Anything better then becomes the cream on the cake - not the cake itself.
	Don’t commit what you can’t afford to lose – it’s going to be that kind of a year!
	Lock in low-interest loans on any major core borrowing. It is better to pay a slightly higher rate now to secure lower rates in the future.
	Get the managing director to personally run a spreadsheet of cumulative daily sales v budget and breakeven. Why? Because it sharpens up the accountants and expedites the ‘What the!!??’ response.
	If there really is to be a recession then do what the big boys do; get rid of your expensive overheads earlier, rather than later; do not spend unless you have to; and keep as much in reserve as possible.
	Do a ‘cost chase’ through the organisation by asking staff to identify savings in their areas - they know where there are savings to be made.

	Don’t automatically cut the marketing budget - this is the time when you really need to get close to the customer.
	Keep in touch with your existing customers. How often have you spoken to a customer you have not been in touch with for a while and they say "I wish I had thought of you, we just let an assignment last week". Remember, it is (statistically) five times easier to sell to an existing customer than to a new one, so make sure your clients think of you first for everything.
	Try next year to listen to what the customer thinks they want, and then position your services to suit, rather than just going out and selling whatever service or product you have as ‘flavour of the month’. It will make it easier to sell, and also make the customer feel that you care and come back again.
	If you are falling short of your sales target, then do not reduce the target, set a strategy to meet it instead.

	Free up your people to work smarter for you by encouraging and supporting new ways of working.
	Make every day at work a learning experience - get creative about rewarding people with development instead of cash.
	Drive your business through its values - when skills are scarce you’ll attract and retain people who care about the same things.

	Laurence Grainger - financial management, business performance
	Ros Southcott - people, organisations