The AICPA (http://www.aicpa.org/) is the nation’s largest professional non-profit association representing more than 340,000 CPAs that specialize in the area of tax, accounting, and consulting services such as personal finance.

As one of small businesses’ most trusted advisors, CPA’s offer these eight steps to help entrepreneurs in tough economic times:

Step 1: Focus on your balance sheet.
Business owners love to talk about sales and tell you how many millions of sales they had this year, but as you get closer to the recession the focus should be on your balance sheet. Make sure you’re managing your cashflow well. It’s something you should be doing all the time but it’s even more critical in a recessionary environment, because there’s just that much less cash floating around. While the going is still good, try to put cash aside to build a war chest.

Step 2: Diversify and launch.
Economic downturns have a benefit for business. A recession gives you the opportunity to step back, rethink, and review all sectors of your operation. Consider launching a new product or service offering not currently offered in your market. Use the time for diversifying your products, services, or industries so you don’t have too many eggs in one sinking basket.

Step 3: Start looking at your credit and debt.
You should begin looking at increasing your debt. Negotiating with a bank from a position of power and good financial resources in a good economy is a lot easier to do than trying to negotiate in a recessionary environment. Don’t think of that extra credit simply in terms of reserves to get you through cash-trickling times.

Step 4: Review your accounts receivables.
When things are starting to turn down, you want to keep a sharp eye out for someone who is in to you for quite a bit, because if they go under and cash is tight that could have a huge impact on your small business. Similarly, review your agreements with suppliers. Maybe you don’t have to pay in 30 days; maybe you can pay in 45. Again, it’s easier to negotiate in a good economy than in a downturn.

Step 5: Review your company discretionary spending items.
Although small businesses are typically very lean, recession survivors often still manage to trim some fat. Think of all the discretionary items. Take whatever steps you can to reduce your debt. The less you have to pay out on a regular basis during an economic slowdown, the less painful it will be. Employ labor and time-saving technology to reduce business costs. More effective use of the Internet can save on travel, training, administration, and operations costs.

Step 6: Review your customers.
Start reviewing about how a recession will impact your customers. If your customer base is involved, for example, in the home-building industry, and home building is down, then you know these customers are not going to be demanding as much product, so you better get ready for that. One way to do that is to search out alternatives. Somebody’s always making money, even in a recession, so if you can find out where those pockets are and if you have services you can provide to them, maybe you want to expand those services.

Now is also the time to take customer service to a new level. Get in touch and stay in touch with your active customers. Take nothing for granted. Make sure your pricing is competitive, your service exceptional and your attitude reflects how much you value their business. Revisit dormant customers and see what you can do to bring them back into the fold.

Sometimes it takes as little as just asking to restart a relationship. Other times it can take some imagination, but resurrecting a past customer can still be easier and less expensive than finding and breaking in a new one. Ask your customers for referrals. While this is a good practice at any time, it is particularly important in a down economy.

Step 7: Keep up marketing.
Many companies cannot afford to stop marketing, regardless of economic conditions. New products are always sure revenue generators if marketed properly. Determine what sets your business apart from the competition and market it like crazy. Attend networking functions, spruce up your Web site, send out post cards, put out a new sign in front of your office.

New business, however, doesn’t have to come from new customers. Many small-business owners can find that their best prospects for new revenue are their existing customers and clients—established relationships mean an owner doesn’t have to spend time, energy and money trying to make a good impression and knowledge of customers’ needs makes it easier to come up with new products or services they’ll want to buy.

Whether prospecting for new business or working with a long-standing customer, success can turn on making a valid case that your product or service will benefit the buyer, even if the economic times are uncertain.

Step 8: Do additional research.
The CPA profession in the United States has created free resources and tools to help small business owners with personal finance issues.

To learn more check out the CPA profession’s 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy visit http://www.360financialliteracy.org/ and check out the “Entrepreneurs” tab.

Salt Lake City Utah - I spent two days offering sales training as continuing education for the SLC sales team.  We find that regular training visits pay exceptional dividends.  Tradia® is in a constant evolution of Franchise training & support.  We believe in a hand-held system of training where we see the Franchisee and their staff frequently.  The more they know, the better they serve the Tradia® Membership.

Our SLC Franchise Group owns all three (3) Tradia® Franchises for the greater Salt Lake City area.  New member growth is consistent in SLC and we anticipate an increase in new member development for all of 2008-2009.  Tradia® is already the largest barter exchange in SLC Utah.

Tradia® expects to sell 3 more franchises in the state of Utah before the end of 2009.

Are Barter Sites Right for You?

Online bartering sites want to change how consumers shop.

By Chris Penttila | Entrepreneur Magazine - October 2006

Don’t want it? Swap it. Or so says a growing number of entrepreneurs running sites that let people swap all kinds of stuff. Bartering is the oldest business practice around, and a handful of swap sites arose during the dotcom era. Most didn’t survive. Now the sector is re-energized, thanks to better technology and shrewder online shoppers who have accumulated stuff they no longer want or need. “The model was around a long time ago—it’s just re-emerged now because of the flood of DVDs, CDs and media,” says Bob Alvin, 48, founder of Los Gatos, California-based BarterBee, a six-employee site launched in 2005 that specializes in online trades of CDs, DVDs and video games.

Numbers revealing the size and potential of the swap sector are hard to find. Talk to “swapreneurs,” however, and they’ll tell you they’re on a mission to change the world of buying and selling. “In the way eBay changed the fabric of society, we have the same opportunity to do that,” says Jessica Hardwick, 39, co-founder and CEO of Sili-con Valley-based SwapThing, a year-old swap site whose sales—which are earned through transaction fees—will approach $1 million this year. SwapThing’s membership base is growing 40 percent a month, and the company boasts a growing list of professional services up for swap, from haircuts to innovation consulting.

Still, swap sites face challenges. Shipping and geography can prohibit some trades. Users must also spend time matching up trades that aren’t equal in value. But the hurdles aren’t stopping swapreneurs, who are in a fast and furious race to become the eBay of barter. It’s anyone’s guess who will take the lead, but swap sites are betting that people’s love of stuff will drive them toward the online swap marketplace. “I think everyone at heart is a bargain shopper,” Alvin says. “[Swapping] is a valid [business] model.”

Tradia ® Commerce Network, Inc. announces the launch of the most sophisticated software available within the barter exchange industry.  This new database is the culmination of 2 years effort made by the Tradia ® IT Department and is the foundation of the Tradia ® Exchange Membership.  We track everything with this software, from barter transactions to barter auctions and classifieds to travel bookings, cash payments, email broadcasts, local events, member directories, blogs, edits, updates, reports, automated merchant services, member-driven transactions & listings, contact management software, a prospect database, cash discount opportunities, franchise inquiries & training, and an enormous amount of small business training.

As Tradia ® founder and President, and with 28 years experience in the retail barter industry, I have never seen software capable of performing at this level.  I really thought I had seen it all but our IT Team working in tandem with current MicroSoft® technology is writing break-through automation that will change the way barter is viewed, marketed, managed and performed.  We believe the name Tradia ® will become the branded name for barter or cash-less transactions in America.

Tradia ® will sell more franchises then any barter company in US history and we can only guess the number of new members we will attract and serve with this amazing technology.  It will support thousands of entreprenuers simultaneously in multiple languages, countries and currencies.  Tradia ® is building a training system to support 500 Tradia ® Franchises and 5000 Trade Directors in North America.  We estimate that each Trade Director can serve a minimum of 300 Tradia ® Members each.

Why Pay Cash When You Can Tradia? ®