This guest post is from Martin Povey, a business marketing coach located in Canada.

When you operate a B&B, a resort, a camp or other hospitality sector based business and a recession hits, or for whatever reason occupancy is down you sometimes have to think sideways to get things straight!

“Sometimes the situation is only a problem because it is looked at in a certain way. Looked at in another way, the right course of action may be so obvious that the problem no longer exists”. Edward de Bono

Think in terms of what your assets are and how you could “repurpose” how those assets could be used. Stop thinking about what you are and start thinking about what you could be.

By this I mean if you operate a B&B, can you keep the cash flowing by providing a venue for a local networking groups breakfast or lunch, or are you a great afternoon tea destination, a perfect spot for an intimate wedding? How about business think tanks, hosting yoga or reiki classes and, of course, don’t forget corporate stay business.

If your asset is a resort or camp can you handle family reunions, a vintage car show, become the ultimate yard sale destination. Do an online search for retreats, find out who’s hosting them, who’s attending and for what reason. Are you located in a birdwatchers paradise or ideal for stargazers? If you have the infrastructure, sell daily, weekly or seasonal passes to town and city folks just itching to “get away for a day”.

My point is to start thinking sideways. Only you know the attributes of your operation, what the physical infrastructure would allow and how best to repurpose them.

So become a “possibility thinker”. Take a moment and a piece of paper and make your list of what could be. It may just surprise you.

Martin Povey owns buildingyourbusiness.ca and is a business and marketing coach who helps entrepreneurs and small businesses that need focus direction and creative solutions to build their business and achieve their goals. He can be contacted at: martin@buildingyourbusiness.ca or 403-529-9259 or visit http://www.buildingyourbusiness.ca/

More on this topic:

1. Improving Cash Flow Management by Using Pink Shoe Boxes
2. Improving Your Cash Flow by Getting Paid Faster
3. Mistakes About Copyrights Can Hurt Your Cash Flow – Attend This Tweetchat
4. Will Credit Card Profiling Kill Your Cash Flow Chances?