Okay - who dreams up business contingency plans? And, how do you know they will work? 1. Pay attention to local trends and how they affect you. Begin thinking totally "outside the box!"  Learn to be an innovative thinker.  An event at the national or state level can affect your business.  It could make the difference in recognizing a great growth opportunity or being prepared to weather an economic storm. Form a focus group or brainstorming group with just a few local business owners who are concerned about staying power in uncertain times and aggressive growth in good times. 2. Join the biggest "local" chamber of commerce. Support the smaller community chambers after you have made your mark in the big one. If you don't believe community involvement makes a HUGE impact on your business, call me! Networking is the key to everything! As the saying goes, it's not necessarily what you know, but who you know and, more importantly, who they know! . Don't rely on your own efforts alone. Build that "million dollar address book!' Network closely with a core group of five energized business owners who know people and want their businesses to grow. Each of the five knows a minimum of 30-500 people. Now, your address book has grown from 300-500 people to a whopping (5+1) 1800-3000 people. These are warm, fuzzy contacts and relationships, not just cold names! Never make a cold call again! 3. Really get control of your marketing plan. If you don't have one, you are just floating in space. You've heard the expression "use it or lose it?" That applies to your marketing plan and your specific market share. To brainstorm your marketing contingency plans, make a plan chart and keep it in front of you every day! These three commponents are a working plan in progress. If one of the components begins to look incompatible with economic and local trends - make changes fast! If the plan you are using is no longer producing the results you expect - change it! Don't wait for things to get better - make them get better! You are in control. .