The question will be considered from a personal as well as a business perspective. Here are things that cn be done to survive tough economic times:

Personal

1. Restrict spending to only what is necessary, resisting of course all temptation to over-indulge;

2. Establish a budget and monitor tightly all inflows and outflows;

3. Where possible reduce recurring expenditure such as mortgage payments by renegotiating mortgage facility;

4. Assess overall lifestyle and consider seriously if a more affordable home or motor vehicle would make more sense without significantly affecting comfort;

5. Pay off or restructure high cost debt (credit cards, etc);

6. Research and implement energy saving strategies (in the home and driving to and from work or otherwise)

Business

Many of the steps listed above are also applicable at the business level. Here are a few more to consider:

1. Explore and establish additional income sources or revenue streams;

2. Seek out ways to improve productivity where workers and machines are concerned;

3. Intensify the overall strategic planning process focusing especially on measures aimed at dealing with the short-term economic crunch;

4. Seek out alternate markets. For example the Internet is a frontier yet to be considered by many businesses;

5. Lay off non-essential staff;

6. Reduce fixed salaries if possible and establish commission-based schemes;

7. Keep staff motivated by offering non-financial rewards such as promotions.

Learn more about this author, Adrian Keys.
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