Whoa, has it been scary lately.

The Dow Jones is down by hundreds of point a day, then only up by ten or twenty. Oil prices are scaring everyone.

As housing prices fall, so does consumer spending. Is there anything you can do to protect your business against the recession we are facing or (according to Warren Buffet and others) already in?

What are the main issues that we, as business people, need to think about and address? The bottom line is, every small business owner today has to be looking at what ramifications the recession will have on the business.

It comes down to three main areas that you, as a business owner should be examining. If you are like a lot of businesses, you have seen sales fall and you should be using this down time to figure out what you can to be doing to recession-proof your business.

Think CSI. No, not the T.V. show, but the three main ingredients of any business: Customers, Suppliers, Infrastructure.

YOUR CUSTOMERS

Make no mistake about it, they are the lifeblood of your business. If you are not selling, you are not earning. In a recession, it is important to remember that consumers become more value oriented. Now is the time to review all of your customer service related issues.

• Is your site/store/service easy for the consumer to access? Do a dry run as a fussy customer and make sure there is nothing about your business that is going to make a potential customer drive by, surf by or otherwise ignore your great products.
  
• Are you maximizing your marketing efforts? Now is the time to consider some novel ways of attracting new customers. Perhaps you can partner with a complementary business and get more bang for your advertising buck. This popular new concept of cross promotion allows you to share advertising space, expand your customer exposure, share mailing lists and run parallel specials.
  
• Is your customer service team properly trained? Are your salespeople friendly and helpful? Do they offer additional products to buyers? Work with your staff to brainstorm new ways of catering to the customer and increase sales.
  
• Do you have a website? Here is something to keep in mind: even brick and mortar businesses need a presence on the web, so customers can check you out and gain confidence in your business. Locations, directions, product lines and special services you offer will make it easier for customers to find you. If you haven’t done so already, now is the time to use some of your slow time to work on web development.
  

YOUR SUPPLIERS

Distributors are concerned about cash. Customers in our fast paced world have become accustomed to overnight or, at the most, second or third day delivery. Customer tastes change, and a company’s inventory must meet that challenge with new product offerings. Make sure your supply line is tightly managed so that you can offer the best product at the best price, with the best service.

• If you are in a position to do so, take as much advantage as you can of early payment discounts. In a slow market, suppliers are hungry for cash.
  
• Maintain good relationships with suppliers. Pay on time, cooperate or help if they have delivery problems, etc. When things start to get a little tough, you’ll be the customer they will bend over backwards for.
  

YOUR INFRASTRUCTURE

Employees are worried about their jobs. Costs of supplies, transportation and space are escalating. A downturn is just the time when you need to be reevaluating all of your resources and operations. The key is to make sure you are getting the maximum value from every dollar you spend.

• Cross train your employees. If each employee can wear more than one hat, they can help in different areas during crunch times.
  
• Get out the pencil sharpener. Every cost should be scrutinized so that any waste can be eliminated. Can deliveries be more streamlined or consolidated, can you save space costs by warehousing stocks, are there better, cheaper communications systems you need to be investigating?
  
• Rather than cutting employee benefits, are there some ways you can bring in some cost sharing features? Flexible spending accounts, 401 matching plans and other features that shift some of the costs of employee benefits to the employees themselves may mean the difference between keeping a benefit (even though it is in a different form) and eliminating it altogether.
  

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Being proactive in the face of a possible downturn will help your business at least survive, and, if you find solutions that give your business a unique advantage over your competitors, may even help it grow.