Steve Davies Online

Boat owners will know that you have to scrape the barnacles off the hull of a boat at regular intervals to improve performance. The same is true of a business, and the barnacles are under-performing employees.

Mediocre employees slow you down and there is a disturbing tendency in small businesses to put up with mediocrity because of what I call the "fear of the unknown incompetent".

Employees focus on the paycheck they get each pay date and overlook the fact that their actual remuneration in terms of what it costs the employer is much higher. To educate them it is a good idea to produce an annual statement that details all the aspects of their compensation to drive the point home.

Business downturns come in many shapes and forms – from a recession that affects the whole economy to something very specific that only affects your industry. This year, the business soothsayers are warning us to watch out for murky credit markets, a decline in the gross domestic product, and a decrease in consumer spending—none of which is good news for the small business owner.

But downturns can also be caused by such diverse elements as a market crash, a terrorist attack, a natural disaster (such as Hurricane Katrina), an epidemic on another continent (such as SARS or the avian flu) or by one of a thousand other things.  Predicting these kind of things is virtually impossible. Lehman Brothers recently appointed a high-ranking ex-CIA official to give them information on events worldwide that could have an economic impact. That may or may not work for them, but it is way beyond the reach of small business owners with limited resources.

One of the best places to look for marketing ideas when putting together a marketing plan is your own customer base. If you can identify how, where and why you obtained your existing clients it can give you some excellent pointers as to the best marketing strategies.