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Ok so it's Monday and we all know that Mondays are grey kind of days but it's another one of those Mondays when I'm really excited about being here. Now I know that may sound crazy ... who can honestly be cheerful on a Monday? But that's the way it is for me because this week is full of interesting challenges.

This week we're working on a few of our own projects ... I've got some quick installation jobs for a couple of clients ... I'm upgrading a shop that we put online for a client a while back ... and we've got a couple of small sites online shops that are about to go live this week. Steve is working on some SEO for a couple of clients and generally doing the stuff that he does well.

Yes, it's all happening here ... but don't think that we're not facing the same challenges as everyone else. We've got plenty of outstanding accounts and I've even had to threaten one guy with legal action if he doesn't pay. We've got the same cash flow problems as every other small business has and getting new work through the front door is becoming harder and harder. We've got a couple of under-performing sites that we've built for clients that we're struggling to improve ... and we've got family and health issues to deal with as well.

Steve and I ... and many others who appear to be busy and doing quite well in these difficult times ... really are no different to you. We face the same problems as you do day in and day out. We may be doing a little better than you are but we do face the same difficulties that you do.

So how do we ... and others ... survive in tough times while others crashing and burning?

Well as the title of today's column implies ... survival starts in the good times and there are three things that you need to do in the good times so that you will survive the tough times that we're facing today.

Develop a positive mental attitude
Yeah I know ... it all sounds so very Pollyanna-ish ... develop a positive mental attitude ... it's all a state of mind ... you don't have to worry about money and cash flow ... just think positive.

Well if that's what you think that I'm about to tell you then you're wrong. I'm not saying that you don't have to worry about your income and cash flow and I'm not suggesting that you somehow inject yourself with blind optimism because that's just plain dumb.

But if you can develop the ability to look at all the problems and think positive and look for ways of achieving positive outcomes then you will stand a much better chance of surviving the hard times when they come.

If you can't develop that positive approach then when the hard times come you will see no way out of your problems because your negative attitude won't let you look for them and you will join all the others who are crashing and burning.

Prepare for the hard times
When times are good it's easy to think that the good times will never end. You want to party hard and have a good time ... you want to enjoy the rewards that come with hard work ... you're prepared to live to the very limits of your income with lots of expensive toys. I understand that ... we've done that too.

But if you do that then when the hard times come suddenly you're over-committed financially. Suddenly you've got monthly payments that you can't meet because your income has taken a dive.

So when the good times are rolling along isn't the time to go crazy with expensive toys ... it's the time to put a little away for the hard times that we hope will never come but always do. It's the time not to over-commit yourself so that when your income drops you're stuck with monthly payments you can't make.

When the hard times are here the last thing you need is to have debt collectors knocking on your door so make sure it's not going to happen by being a little cautious with your spending in the good times.

Don't be too focused
When the good times are here and the money is rolling in it almost seems like a no-brainer to focus on whatever it is that's making you money right now. After all if it's making you money won't it make your more money if you go work that money-maker even harder?

Of course it will but don't become so focused on that one income stream that you miss other opportunities that may arise. And don't become so focused on whatever is making you money right now that you exclude everything else.

When the hard times hit it pays to have more than one income stream because that one stream you've concentrated on for so long ... the one that has delivered so much cash into your bank account ... may dry up overnight and then what are you going to do?

Sure when times are good and you've developed an income stream that really delivers then work it so that it will deliver even more but also spend time developing alternate income streams in other areas so that when one dries up you'll still survive.

So the ability to survive the bad times starts in the good times ... but it's not too late to make a start now. Think positive ... look for positive outcomes ... and you will survive and maybe even prosper.