Recession is something that is unavoidable in a business cycle and looking at current scenarios, it seems to be again knocking at our doors. Businesses should be prepared for a recession because it can have a significant impact on their operations and financial performance. Being prepared for a recession can help a business better weather the downturn and even take advantage of opportunities that may arise.

1. 6 MONTHS CASH FLOW
You should start preparing for an economic crisis, first by saving enough that even if you don’t have income for the next 6 months you can function smoothly. Having savings with enough money to cover at least three to six months’ worth of expenses can help you weather a recession.

2. PRE – MORTEM TECHNIQUE
A pre-mortem is a risk management technique used in business to anticipate potential problems and obstacles before they occur. This is usually discussed with your core team and involving financial experts is optional. The pre-mortem technique can help businesses to identify potential pitfalls before they happen, allowing them to proactively address them and increase the chances of success. Many companies like Facebook, and Google all use this and have found it very helpful. For better understanding on the Pre-Mortem technique, you can watch my video on it – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIqukvhk8JA&t=85s

3. REVERSE ACCOUNTABILITY
Reverse accountability can help businesses prepare for a recession by fostering a culture of collaboration, teamwork, and mutual support, which can lead to increased productivity, efficiency, and employee engagement. Reverse accountability can also help businesses to identify potential pitfalls before they happen, allowing them to proactively address them and increase the chances of success. It can also help to improve communication, collaboration, and buy-in across the organization, which can be valuable assets during a recession.

4. ANNUAL GOALS
As the market is changing, you can always mold your policies, systems, and decisions according to the changing scenarios and be updated always by taking frequent meetings with your team (ideally once a week), and adapting to changing times. Take meetings with a plan, which has an agenda and a conclusion is drawn at the end.

5. START INVESTING IN YOU & IN YOUR TEAM
Investing in oneself can help business owners develop the skills, knowledge, and connections they need to weather a recession and take advantage of opportunities that may arise. It’s important to keep in mind that investing in oneself is a continuous process, and not something that happens once.
Investing in the team essentially means training them to be a notch above. This can help businesses to improve productivity, efficiency, and employee engagement, which can be valuable during a recession. This practice will also build a strong team culture, with clear roles and responsibilities, and a sense of shared responsibility, always qualities that will come in handy during an economic downturn.

6. DON’T STOP YOUR MARKETING
Marketing during a recession can be challenging, but cutting back on marketing efforts can have a negative impact on a business. Instead, companies should focus on developing effective, cost-efficient marketing strategies that can help them to maintain visibility, build relationships, stay competitive, and take advantage of opportunities that may arise during a recession. Plan ahead, make cuts on unnecessary marketing expenditure, target digital marketing, and carry a focused approach but don’t stop marketing in a recession.

7. PREPARE YOUR MINDSET
Having the right mindset during a recession can be critical to weathering the downturn and taking advantage of opportunities that may arise. Business owners should focus on staying positive, resilient, flexible, informed, proactive, and calm, which can help them to navigate the challenges of a recession and position their businesses for success.

In summary, businesses that are prepared for a recession are more likely to be able to maintain their staff, which can help to maintain customer relationships and invaluable assets during a recovery. With these tips, I hope that the time of recession can help businesses to minimize the negative impacts and potentially take advantage of opportunities that arise during economic downturns.