A: A double-dip recession globally is still being anticipated. And that means South African business owners may need to start preparing for another September 2008 very soon. Pundits are pointing to the worrisome state of the US economy; not to mention Europe's debt woes. And if these economies hit another bump, SA will again feel the effects. That means businesses here could face more defaulting clients, more spending declines and more job losses. So how does one survive recessionary times? Entrants of this year's Sanlam/ Business Partners Entrepreneur of the Year® competition share their secrets on how they grew their businesses – even in the face of the recent economic slump.

Tip one: Don't shy away from marketing

When bad times hit, companies tend to slash advertising and marketing spend first. But this is the time businesses need extra exposure to bring in new business. Zam Nkosi, founder of boutique branding agency Born and Bred, says, "To maintain cash flow during the recession, we proposed to our clients simpler and more cost effective ways of utilising their marketing budgets. We also marketed our company aggressively during this time to get our name out there and as a result we were fortunate to win some new accounts during the recession." Sam Adams founded Living Green – a company that installs organic food gardens. He reckons it's possible to save money in other ways, so as to avoid cutting the marketing budget. "We maintained our marketing expenditure instead of letting it drop and we saved in other ways by not taking on any extra overheads, nor expanding our staff contingent," he says.