Unless you’ve been half asleep for the past year or so, you’ve probably noticed that the United States economy isn’t doing as well as it once was. In fact, some think we’re either in a recession or are headed straight for one. For people who own their own businesses, like myself, this can pose some unique challenge.

I don’t have the same worries as some people. For example, I heard on the news today that GMC is letting some of their employees go because they are cutting production of their trucks. Since I am self employed, I am not worried about losing my job. Instead, my main concern is to keep the work flow coming in.

This is nothing new. I’m always concerned about finding new work. But the economy definitely changes my approach. Mainly, I am concerned with learning how to recession proof my business.

Multiple Streams of Income

This is a concept that is more important than ever. If you have multiple projects, clients, and streams of income if one mode of income dries up, it won’t sting as much if I have other projects lined up. Diversify your business as much as possible without compromising quality.

Market, Market, Market

Since there may not be a lot of work out there, efforts need to be made to market harder than ever. If you’re a writer, spend time each day making sure you are securing new work. If you make money from your blogs, spend extra time driving traffic to it. It may seem like you are spending a lot of time for nothing, but your marketing efforts will pay off when the checks start rolling in.

Focus on Existing Clients and Customers

If you have a steady customer base or clients that you work with regularly it’s worth your while to keep them around. There are several tactics that you can use to accomplish this including providing great customer service and to make sure you listen to them and meet their needs. You can also launch marketing campaigns designed to target your clients and customers and potentially get more business from them. An example of this is to alert them of any sales and sending out a newsletter.

Work as Hard as You Need

You may find that you need to work harder than you did in order to make the same amount of money. But, it’s important to work as hard as you need to work in order to get the job done. Mostly everyone is experiencing the same thing. We all need to pay the same prices at the gas pump. Those of us who love to travel are getting slammed by the poor exchange rates on the dollar. These problems are real. As business owners, we do what we can in order to keep our business growing strong. The work is there, it just may take a little longer to find it.

How has the economy affected your business?