I heard on the news that even businesses with property as collateral are having a hard time getting a loan to stay in business.   The economy is at an all time low, and small businesses are getting hit the hardest.  So how do you keep your small business from failing in these rough times?   Now is when you might have to make some tough decisions…  take a hard look at your staff to see if there are any under-achievers that might need to be let go, analyze your product line (if you carry inventory) to see if there are any items that are tying up capital, start cutting unnecessary expenses, and take a hard look at your marketing strategy and budget.  By fine tuning some of your expenses, and focusing your efforts on sales/keeping customers coming through the door, it is possible to ride out these tough times.