Is the economy bad? It's really a problem especially if you have a business and that business is just about to bloom. Here are five sure-fire ways to help your business in surviving a bad economy.

1. Back to basics. Try and look into the daily operational expenses of your company and segregate the things that are essential from the things that are for convenience. Most of the time convenience is partnered with price. And when you're talking about a business that price is not cheap. So let go of the bottled water let people drink from the tap. Use recycled toilet paper and don't forget to install waterless urinals.

2. Necessity above all else. Always put your utilities and operational must haves above all else. Electricity, water, phone and mobile phone bills must be on top of all the needs that you have. Since you have already put aside the non-essentials from your budget it will be easier to put into a budget the things that you need to actually think about.

3. Buy your debts more time. It sounds bad but you really have to make good on this one. Once you feel that your cash flow is crunching call the people you owe and ask if it's possible to ask for an extension on your deadline. Swallow your pride a little and suck up a little of your courage to make sure that your message comes across to the people you owe.

4. Embrace the 80/20. Try and remember that 80% of your business is made up of your top 20% customers. It may look unfair but these are the customers you have got to take care of, spend more time with these customers and make sure that you have their business. Customer loyalty especially during an economic downturn tends to sway to the better business so make sure that your business is on top of its game.

5. Let the people know you're there. It may be a bad time to put your money on advertising but it's a god backup plan in case your sales are on the low. Make sure people remember you and your company. Don't let people forget about.

It's important to know how to manage your business during a crisis, the more you invest on crisis management early the less you have to spend on damage control in the latter parts. Financial downturns are not permanent and it can be waited, surviving a bad economy is important above all.