The firm, which is run by president Lisa Calhoun and based in Atlanta, has maintained growth by focusing on its core business…and even culling certain services from its menu.

“We’re saying “no” to work we would have said yes to last year, knowing we need to reserve ourselves for work we do REALLY well, so we can keep satisfied, long term clients,” says Calhoun.

This has helped Write2Market better hire, and fire, suitable team members. These times have also prompted Calhoun to get an even tighter grip on finances, tightly monitoring quarterly numbers and collecting promptly on accounts due. For her, while her growth numbers aren’t overwhelming, a forecasted increase in 2008 revenues of close to 7% is definitely bucking the trend. That’s a pretty impressive figure for a business that caters to companies whose marcom budgets get finicky in tough times.

The Royal Treatment

One strategy that these home-based business owners touted universally was supreme customer service.

Davenport, whose aviation business caters to clients’ special requests, such as organic in-flight meals, stresses that business basics like customer service are especially important during a downturn.

“If one guy drinks a lot of sparkling water and one guy drinks a lot of still water, you have to remember those things,” she says. “In a flat economy, you can’t afford to lose a customer because the water’s flat.”

So, while your first instinct might be to slow down right along with the pace of the economy, seasoned, successful entrepreneurs know that that’s the last thing recession-busting businesses do. Instead of crawling deep into a cave to wait out the storm, it’s time to be resourceful and let your inner entrepreneur come out.