Further, while the 2009 financial crisis is fierce, small businesses, in general, can take a number of steps to help themselves sail safely through the storm.

To deal effectively with the crisis you'd need to assess your present financial position, plan and take measures that curtail your costs and maintain the requisite cashflows to keep your business running smoothly.

Assess and Act

• While remaining calm, review your cash position and the expected cash needs. Check whether you will be able to meet your business’ short-term needs, goals and risk tolerance?

• Assess your income and expenses and determine whether you'll be able to meet your budget projections? In case your revenues have receded, see how much of a decrease in revenues you can put up with, and for how long? Assess your cash-flow needs for the next 3 to 4 months and further? Also, whether you have sufficient cash reserves for the next 30 to 60 days?

• Check up with your lenders about the status of your lines of credit. Make sure you comply with their terms? See if your banks can renew their commitments at similar rates, amounts, and conditions?

• Decrease or forgo your dependence on credit by cutting down on any non-critical expenses.

• Take a second look at your balance sheet and see how much credit you are extending to your customers.

• If you find yourself in a situation wherein your lines of credit have frozen or have reached the brim, try striking  out a schedule of partial payments so as to sustain the delivery of critical materials and supplies for your business.

• You may also resort to alternative financing means to meet your needs. Some examples include loans from key customers dependent on your business, loans on life insurance policies, local government developmental agencies and bodies, etc.

• Monitor accounts receivable for emerging patterns of slow payments and follow them up soon. Also assess whether your large and risky accounts' abilities will be impaired in the wake of the current scenario. It's advisable to keep your receivables aging current, always.

• As for accounts payable, it may be more advantageous in preserving cash by compromising any early pay discounts, as you may need cash for critical supplies. Also keep the payables aging current.

• Take a stock of your insurance coverage, and especially if they are from companies with weak balance sheets. Be cautious about surrendering a policy, because getting a new coverage might require underwriting that could affect your coverage.

• Try to keep up the morale of your employees.

Cost Cutting Measures

• Conduct a thorough analysis of your expenses to see which ones can be controlled. Reduce spending in any areas that burden your cash-flow needs.

• Communicate to staff members about the need to curtail spending. Manufacturers of medical products such as viz. dental instrument, laryngoscopes, medical scissors, dermal instrument, etc. can review their inventory management practices to find opportunities for reducing the on-hand inventory?

• Think of ways to pass the increased costs such as fuel expenses on to your customers.

• Reduce the use of paper for routine communication, switch to email or instant messaging.

• Resort to online banking both for payments and receipts.

• Switch to electronic billing

• Move over to low energy lighting, without impairing your operations. Consult your energy provider for guidance.

• Review the frequency of janitorial services, such as how many times the office needs a clean-up.

• Advertising costs may be curtailed by exploring alternative means of promoting your business, viz. blogs as against printed materials, etc. For examples if you are dealing in medical devices such as
  laryngoscope, knives, cast instruments, orthopedic instrument, etc. From time to time you could feature your products with pictures, features, diagrams, uses, reviews, and other relevant information.
  

• See if you can save, in general, by using purchasing cards.

While the above list is by no means exhaustive, it should be enough to stir up your own creative juices in chalking out a personalized survival program for your small business. Above all, whenever in doubt don't hesitate to seek professional consulting services.