At this time with the economy everyone is trying to slow down and cut back.  But if your in business for yourself, now is the time to build not cut back.  Whatever you can do during this slow period will benefit you greatly when the better times arrive.

But you say, but Mike, I really cannot spend any more money right now.  And, you are probably right, so now is the time to get creative, find new ways of doing the old things that are important for your business, new ways that can save you money.  Look at new and creative ways to market yourself and most of all get closer with your existing customers.  

You have already invested in your current customers so be sure to keep them loyal to your business.  There are many ways to do this but the most important thing is to hold on to your current customers.  You can even leverage them to bring in new business from new customers.  Provide them an incentive program for recommending you.

If you are not marketing on the Internet, this is the perfect time to make the switch.  Marketing on the Internet is not very expensive but can provide a much larger return on investment than advertising in the yellow pages and other advertising platforms.  If you have not tried Internet Marketing before, this is the perfect time to start, get in now to start ranking for your market so when times are good and your competitors are starting to reaslize that the internet is the place to be, you will already be there, leading the pack forcing them into following in your footsteps and only get the scraps that are left.