Surviving an economic downturn

An economic downturn is a general slowdown in economic activity over a sustained period of time. It can happen in a specific region (e.g. the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s) or on a global scale (e.g. the global financial crisis in the late 2000s). The main features of an economic downturn include rising unemployment, falling share and house prices, low consumer confidence and declining investment.

Although you may not be able to completely protect your business from an economic downturn, understanding how it could affect you will help you develop a plan to minimise its impact. You may also be able to identify new business opportunities.

Planning, reviewing and monitoring your business operations on an ongoing basis will give you the information you need to make changes to help you stay financially viable. This should make it easier for your business to respond to, and recover from, an economic downturn.

This guide explains how to make sure your business is in the best shape to survive an economic downturn.