Though the entire world seems to be on the road to recovery after that terrible recession, businesspeople should still be cautious. After all, they're living in the dog-eat-dog times. If you're a start-up, you're in a more difficult position as you're up against the veterans and you're strapped with very limited budget.

Don't worry, though, as there are many ways on how you can make your business survive. Here are 8 of them:

1. Come up with a feasible plan. You just don't create a plan. You come up with one that's doable or feasible. This means it contains tasks you can accomplish and figures you can reach, given your designated time line.

Now don't really expect you can accomplish everything in the plan-though you're expected to do your best to do so-as you'll never know what's going to happen. You have to adapt to the times. However, you should not completely ignore your plan if it happens. You can use your projections and list of objectives and goals in comparison with actual data. Then you can determine your variables, analyze them, and come up with sound decisions and conclusions. Which ones worked, and which ones didn't? What happened, and how can you control the certain variables?

2. Market your business. A lot of businesspeople, especially those who are starting out, make the mistake on cutting back on their advertising expense. The truth is you need to spend more for it. Keep in mind that you're still beginning. You really don't have a big or a steady clientele. Therefore, you need to achieve prominence, and you can only do that if you market your business.

But more than selling your products and services, you should create a USP or unique selling proposition. It's an attribute that's specifically unique to your product and service, something you should always include in your marketing materials. Cheap price isn't really a good USP, though, as in the end clients or consumers are always willing to pay more for a high-quality product or service.

3. Provide A-rate customer service. When it comes to your customers, go the extra mile. For example, if you promise to deliver the goods in 10 days, try to do it at 8 or even 5. If you say you're going to call back, make sure that you do. Customers these days demand highly from businesses; they want to feel special, that they're getting real value for their investments. Do that, and profits will surely follow.

4. Strive to have a good cash flow. There's a stark difference between profits and cash flow. A business may have high profits but isn't completely liquid because of a very bad liquidity. If you're asked to choose between the two, prioritize cash flow over profits first.

5. Limit your bad debt. Not all debts are bad. Some of them are good since they provide you with excellent returns. For instance, a business loan is a good debt provided you use the funds to come up with your own enterprise. In the process, you earn profits. It is a bad debt if you use it to pay off other existing debts.

It is also a bad debt if you borrow funds for your office equipment and supplies. These things diminish or depreciate. This means their value goes down over time. It's best if you can buy them in cash.

6. Assign routine tasks to others. If you truly want your business to grow, then you should leave the routine tasks such as business transcriptions to others. This way you can free up at least 40 percent of your time and use it for something more productive, such as becoming more aggressive with your campaigns.

Fortunately, some companies already specialize in transcription services, so you are assured that you have a reliable team to back you up.