well De,
As a small business owner of less than 50 million a year, I recommend a couple of things.
1. PAY OFF your property asap. Just like a mortgage for your home. All they do is suck money out of people every single month regardless of whether they are having a great month financially, moderate or horrendous..
It requires discipline and commitment but should be a strategy that is used and is especially useful for those "rainy day" periods. It worked for me.
IMO, TOO many larger companies have too much debt and monthly obligations that are fixed costs.
Your most important assets are your employees because they are the ones who make money for you.
If ya run out of money because you are too busy building the Taj Mahal , how are we going to pay them people that make the income for the company when things get tight?
To me, it has always been a matter of priorities and I do not believe that many companies set their priorities right or have none at all. If Personnel is not at the top of that list, then they will reap what they sow.
It is one huge reason I always wanted to know every person in my company by name and something about them to let them know I cared about them and they were important.
So that's how I did it. It worked and I went through some recession period of time without difficulty because my priorites were good and I was never over extended..
That's about all I can tell ya. My method is not real new or creative. I can tell you that was personable, people were always my first concern, and their families, and their loyalty was amazing. 98 percent of my employees were with me and my companies over ten years and a high percentage were lifers. As far asa I know theay are still with the new owners..
I feel good about that....
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