For months there has been speculation as to whether a recession will take place and, if so, how bad it will be. And since no one can see into the future, no one can really say for certain what the outcome will be. However, regardless of the outcome, one must ask themselves, “do I want to be prepared for a recession, or do I want to react to a recession”? If you’re a smart business owner, you know that the correct answer is that you want to be prepared for a recession since reacting is much more expensive and filled with uncertainty. But how can your business be prepared for a recession or go about “recession-proofing” it? Well, to put it simply, you become flexible with your expenses. Here are a few examples: 

1. IT Equipment

Pause before purchasing new laptops or equipment, and ask yourself, “Do you really need all new laptops or equipment this year”? Generally speaking, laptops need replacing every 2-3 years due to a lack of memory processing power, however, you might be able to upgrade your memory by replacing it for a fraction of the cost.  

Another way to become more flexible is to stagger your hardware purchases by replacing only 20-30% of your fleet each year. That way, your company won’t have to budget for an extremely large bill every 2-3 years, and instead, you can budget a smaller portion each year.  

And lastly, standardize the make and model of your equipment for each of your businesses because equipment repair can be expensive, and not every computer brand is built the same. Also, when you use the same make and model across your businesses, you’ll always have a backup or spare parts to fix another.  

2. Implementing a Hybrid Workforce

Having a hybrid workforce is a great way to give your business flexibility because you need less space to accommodate this work style, especially if you allow your employees to choose which days they can work from home and allow for no assigned desks. Therefore, you can reduce your operating expenses by renting smaller, cheaper office spaces.  

Also, hybrid work models have been proven to increase productivity and worker satisfaction. Thus, giving your employees the tools they need to work more effectively while decreasing employee turnover.  

3. Outsource your IT

By outsourcing your IT needs to a managed service provider, you’ll need less staff and, therefore, will have to do less training. Also, MSPs offer fixed monthly rates, making a company’s expenses more predictable, allowing them to budget more effectively. They can even offer flexible rates in lower states of business operations.  

Managed services are excellent for teams that might not have the experience or time to manage all the business’s IT needs. Also, companies might be unable to hire all the necessary people to handle their IT needs because they lack funding. Therefore, managed service providers can give your teams access to the expertise they need for a fraction of the cost.  

4. Alternative Revenue Source

As a business owner, it’s important to pay attention to market trends to understand what people are buying in your industry. Knowing what’s “hot” will give you an idea of how to grow your business to meet the needs or wants of consumers. However, you need to be strategic about how you grow because, as stated before, you need to plan for changes in economic standing rather than react to them. So, plan on having a second or third way to grow revenue. 

SAGIN, LLC is a professional services firm which provides services in consulting, technology and talent management. If you would like to learn more about these solutions, you can contact us at: +1.312.281.0290 or info@saginllc.com. Also visit us at www.saginllc.com