The recession is lasting longer and is deeper than anyone expected.  When a business fails, the cause can be traced back to several fundamental reasons.  Knowing those, may arm you with the ability to track your business now to avoid a catastrophic failure in the future.  What should you be looking at early and often?

1. Sales forecasts
   
   Mistake - small businesses are known for not doing an adequate job in forecasting sales.  Remember, a sales forecast is NOT: "we'll increase revenue 18% over last year, just like we've done the past 5 years".  A sales forecast shows both what you expect revenue to be and HOW you expect to generate it.  That means you identify what customers will be expected to generate specific revenue volumes.
   
   Correction - review forecasts against actual results; at least weekly, monthly is better and if you're not hitting your sales forecast, review it weekly.  When you notice a customer is not hitting their anticipated sales, ask the hard questions of your sales people.
   
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Knowing your customers and what makes them buy from you is important.  It's also important for you to know and understand your competition.  Remember, your customers are sometimes only one click away from being someone else's customers so know what might make them change their buying habits.  It's always good to know and revisit the following things about your competition:

1. Products & Market Emphasis - you certainly know the products they sell that compete with yours.  But do you understand their new product development / introduction life cycle?  You should.
2. Positioning - how do they position themselves within the market.  Does their competitive position change over time?  For example, is someone who was once tangental competition now direct competition?
3. Technological Capabilities - what types of technologies do they use to put into their products, to sell their products or support their products?  An important part of the technology review is how they utilize tools like the web compared to you.
   
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If your web presence includes the ability for your customers to order products and services, you should be aware of how their minds work when they are using your site.  Start by thinking about the way you shop on-line.  Have you ever heard yourself ask these questions while deciding to purchase something on-line:
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