Insurance policies are another thing to look at twice. General business-liability coverage, for example, seems like common sense, but if the company's survival is at stake, it's expendable. The same might apply to other kinds of specialized insurance policies; at NewWest.Net we've dropped our libel insurance, and I'm less nervous about that than I thought I'd be.

Managing your payables and receivables aggressively can also do a lot for your cash flow. It's no fun hounding your customers for payment, especially since they might well be in a tight spot themselves, but sometimes you have no choice. You might also look at changing your payment terms to require up-front payment, or at least credit card numbers, for some types of sales.

On the flip side, you may have to do to some of your vendors exactly what you don't want people to do to you, which is to stretch out payments. Some companies will understand and might even agree to a payment plan; after all, it doesn't do them any good for you to go out of business.

Finally, you should think creatively about how to come up with additional cash if you absolutely need it. The rich uncle who declined to invest in your business venture at the outset might be more amenable to a one-year loan with principle and interest paid back every month. If your personal credit is decent, you can probably get a credit card loan, although, of course, the interest rate is likely to be exorbitant. If you have any assets or parts of the business that you could sell, keep an eye out for any possible buyers.

The one good thing about this recession is that almost everybody is feeling some pain, and that in turn has changed a lot of the ground rules. You probably have more options than you think.