As of February, the United States has entered a recession, according to The National Bureau of Economic Research.

Unlike the Great Depression of the 1930s and the Great Recession of 2008, this current economic downturn was caused by a pandemic. In order to curb the spread of COVID-19, government-mandated lockdowns went into effect and most businesses were forced to cease operations, causing more than 42 million Americans to file for unemployment. Consumer spending habits have changed over the past eight months, and historically recession-proof industries have been upended.

In order to survive, businesses must adapt to the ever-evolving economy by following these critical steps.

1. Forecast
Many small business owners rely on their gut feeling rather than a formal forecast when evaluating their company. Alan G. Lefkowitz, managing director at CFO Strategies, recommends writing down all your expenses and expected income over the next 13 weeks to determine if your business has enough cash flow to survive and even grow. “You have to know your break-even point, especially during a recession,” Lefkowitz says. “This will help make sure you’re covering your costs and accumulating enough excess cash to stay nimble.”

2. Be Transparent
Don’t be too proud to express your fears and challenges. Be honest and open with your partners, employees and customers about how the business is faring, especially if they’ll be impacted. “Be ready to communicate more,” says Joseph Meuse, founder and president of consulting firm Business GPS. “If you need help, you have to ask. If you don’t ask, you don’t know what you’re going to get.”

3. Maintain Liquidity
While micro-managing your cash flow, move toward reducing your fixed overhead and discretionary spending. During the pandemic, you should eliminate any travel expenses from the budget and take your operations remotely to cut back on office space costs. “You want to hold as much dry powder as you can,” says Keith Chulumovich, managing director of financial consulting firm Conway MacKenzie. “It’s always good to run a couple of ‘what-if’ scenarios so you can anticipate the steps you may have to take to offset the impact of another outbreak.”

4. Leverage Relationships
The importance of establishing trusted relationships with suppliers becomes crystal clear during a recession. If you have a good rapport, they’ll be more likely to work with you to develop payment plans. “They might allow you extensions so you can pay over time instead of paying all at once while your cash is tight,” Lefkowitz says. “If you lay those payments out in your forecast, you’ll see exactly where and when you should make them so you can manage your cash flow effectively.”

5. Negotiate
If suppliers are hesitant to provide you some leeway, then you have to negotiate. Offer a way that you can help them if they’ll help you. “It’s all about buying time,” Meuse says. “The key to negotiation is communication, logic and respect. Most companies already have a program in place for forbearance. Ask for it and provide a proof of hardship to make things easier for you in the short run.”

6. Evaluate Staffing
Traditionally, labor is one of the first areas in the budget to get cut during hardship. Don’t just take an ax to your staff, though. Meuse recommends looking for areas where you can strategically reduce your workforce. “Eliminate any redundancies or nonessential positions,” Meuse says. “If that’s too painful, you can also change full-time positions to part time or make salary reductions across the board.”

7. Dance With Who Brung Ya
Instead of spending time and money on customer acquisition, focus on your already established clients and communicate with them in inexpensive ways. “Take advantage of social media and content marketing with SEO to generate organic traffic and leads,” says Ian Wright, CEO of retirement information portal Bequests. “Build strong relationships with them, and as you provide them with excellent customer service, they will stick with you and even tell others about your business.”