Tips From MarketWatch

From The Wall Street Journal Online's Market Watch come 10 tips for surviving the economic downturn. Most are pretty common sense tips, but here are couple that offer some food for thought.

 4. Really get to know your customer. Rip out your answering machine, step up your
service and ask what they need. Understand how your target customer has evolved. In
general, "It's best to target high-end or budget buyers, the middle is gone," Steppe says.
"Do something fast or you're about to go out of business. People will be buying what
they need and cutting back on their wishes and wants."

5. Embrace the current economic reality, Part I. "The bottom of the cycle is a really
good place to start a business," says Wuensch, "because when you start off on an up
cycle, your assumption is that this (level of profitability) is going to go on forever." Those
who have studied the history of business will be comforted by the knowledge that
downturns always eventually go up.

6. Embrace the current economic reality, Part II. Competitors' failed businesses present
an opportunity. "If the fundamental need of their business didn't go away, people who
understand this can exploit it (often by buying the failed company or hiring top
employees left without a job)," Steppe says.

You can read the full list of tips here.