Regardless of what the technocrats say, most individuals and small-business owners still feel that we're in a recession. Demand for our products and services remains suppressed, we face continued downward pressure on prices, we're about as lean and mean as we can get and--speaking of "getting"--small-business loans are as hard to land as ever.

The blunt truth is that the economy remains very challenging for most business owners and will continue to be so for a very long time.

We could go cry in our coffee, but that's not what entrepreneurs do. We survey the landscape. We think, we tinker, we adjust--and sometimes we make bold moves. Most of all, we don't stand still; we continue to invent and reinvent our business. As Benjamin Franklin once said, "Drive thy business or it will drive thee."

Here are some practical, right-now steps you can take to shore up your business and prepare for the inevitable upturn. Yes, the sun will come out tomorrow, even if we don't know exactly when tomorrow will come. Make sure your business is ready.

1. Have a plan. At the risk of stating the obvious, make sure you have a plan to deal with various contingencies and scenarios. It doesn't have to be complicated, but it should address the following issues:
    
   • Viability of your existing business strategy, including its objectives and milestones. Perhaps your overall approach is sound, but the nature and timing of major milestones needs adjustment. Your strategy isn't a sacred cow; change it if you must.
      
   • Evaluation of alternative paths. If you're like most small businesses, you put all your eggs into one basket. If there ever is a time to plot out what different strategies look like, this is that time. Start by changing one major assumption in your plan, and think through what might need to change in order for you still to achieve your business goals.
     
     
   • Planning for the inevitable "what ifs"--those foreseeable events that business owners tend to ignore, but that have huge impacts on their plan. What if your top producers get poached? What if a major client defects or postpones a major piece of work? What if a new product launch is more successful than expected, and orders double? Have an answer, even if in broad strokes, to a variety of situations that could dramatically affect your business success.
      
2. Open the kimono. Not literally of course, but a certain degree of openness with your staff can pay huge dividends. Prepare a one-page financial statement; help the rank and file understand how the business both makes and loses money. Not only will this give them clearer insight into how their daily work influences the bottom line, but you can get some fabulous ideas from unexpected places in your organization. You just have to open up a bit, and do so on a regular basis.
   
   Doing so requires that you have appropriate "financial visibility" on metrics that are critical to your business success. Such metrics can include which products, services or clients are responsible for the greatest profit (or loss), average cost of sales or other important financial markers. If you don't have the financial visibility to make and share sound financial decisions, consider hiring an interim chief financial officer to help get you there.
    
3. Remake the sausage making. Front of house, we all have these simple, beautiful processes. Back of house it can be a different and messy story. Diagram your value chain: the unique sequence of events, milestones, people, processes and tasks for every product and service you deliver to market. You'll be amazed at how much complexity has crept in over time, most of which can be stripped out altogether. There are a few things I like to keep in mind when helping clients rethink their value chain:
    
   • Think differently in order to do or to be different. "That's how we've always done it" has no place in your business. Ever.
      
   • Be curious; always ask, "How can we do it better, faster, cheaper?" Sometimes improvement in even one area--bringing an existing offering to market more quickly, but at its previous cost and quality--is enough to give you a business advantage. Or you might eliminate a product ingredient to make it less expensive--but equally effective--for the customer. Don't worry if you can't tackle better, faster and cheaper; focus on improving at least one of these variables.
      
   • Simplify how you do what you do. Remove time, steps and resources without sacrificing quality, cost or time to market.
      
4. Embrace co-opetition. You know what they say about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer? Well, sometimes your arch competitor can be your best collaborator. The decision calculus of what makes for mutual success changes in a recession, as nearly everyone needs something someone else has. Be smart about your chosen partner, and make sure to lawyer up and put any agreements in writing. Look for:
    
   • Compatible business philosophy, ethics and values
      
   • Different but relevant value proposition
      
   • Ability to strengthen your position in current markets or open doors to new ones

As business owners, we can't do anything to change the overall climate in which we operate. But we're not helpless; there are many things we can and should be doing not only to strengthen our businesses now, but also to be dominant when the economy turns a corner.